Update after a good bit of (inshore) use:
* The more I use the Hydrovane, the more I like it, even for short-ish trips inside SF Bay. A Monitor vane would be even nicer there, I think, since it has an easily raisable-lowerable rudder, which is clearly pretty handy. I got the Hydrovane for other reasons, mainly involving my particular wheel.
I have to put the Hydrovane rudder on by hand each time before going out. I have a swim-step, so that is not hard -- I do not turn the boat around to be stern-in to the slip, as I was told I would have to. Despite the hassle, I am using it more and more... I find taking the mainsail cover off more onerous, if that gives a measure of the perceived hassle-factor.
A few comments:
- The fact that it is silent is awesome. My Raymarine EV100 wheel pilot noise really annoys me.
- It works in any wind, up to 30+ kts so far. By contrast, the Raymarine struggles more and more over 22 kts, and especially downwind with any swell, even "in the bay" 2-3' wind waves after a long day of high wind.
- I don't use it for short tacking (e.g. in a narrow-ish channel like Racoon strait), but don't mind steering by hand in that case. I do use the Raymarine a bit then though....
- I find the fact that it steers to the apparent wind -- and so no adjustment by me is required as the wind shifts around an island or something -- to be very nice. Easy to chill and eat lunch without mucking about with the heading.
- I will always want a wheel-pilot though (if singlehanding) for those times when I need the heading fixed while I do something else (e.g. if avoiding shallow water to one side, or a known hazard).
- Upwind the vane works pretty well; by a broad or deep broad reach course is held only to ~ +/-15 deg. This is disconcerting at first (30 deg total arc, which is pretty noticeable), but you get over it. I did calculate how much extra distance one covers (I am not a racer, so only care marginally) -- for +/- 15 deg, you travel only a couple of percent extra distance... no wonder cruisers don't mind.
Anyway, I am quite happy with the windvane (+ wheel-pilot), and glad I did not plop equivalent money into a fancy below-decks autopilot.
Thanks again to all that provided advice on the selection/decision!
PS: For anyone new to using a Hydrovane:
- The resources I saw instruct one to get the boat well-balanced on a heading, then lock the wheel, then set up the Hydrovane. I find this difficult singlehanded -- when I turn away from the wheel, the heading always drifts before I get the vane get up properly.
Rather, what I do is:
- Get the boat on the desired heading, vaguely balanced (possibly even with vane still engaged on wrong heading, e.g. after a tack)
- Lock wheel (P.S: engaging my Raymarine clutch helps reinforce my not-great wheel lock)
- Engage/adjust windvane. Probably it is not in the right position / it's rudder is fighting the mis-positioned main rudder.
Then:
- Observe Hydrovane tiller position; if it is off-center, on average, adjust main wheel to reduce that. Vane tiller position then moves closer to center (on average).
- Iterate a time or two until Hydrovane tiller stays pretty centered. This results in the boat being balanced as they say it should have been, but in a (to me) more achievable set of steps. I can see the boatspeed increase as I iterate into optimal configuration, as the rudders fight each other less.
- If I change heading a bit using the vane controls, I can then (if I'm not too lazy) repeat this optimization to rebalance the boat on the new heading.
* The more I use the Hydrovane, the more I like it, even for short-ish trips inside SF Bay. A Monitor vane would be even nicer there, I think, since it has an easily raisable-lowerable rudder, which is clearly pretty handy. I got the Hydrovane for other reasons, mainly involving my particular wheel.
I have to put the Hydrovane rudder on by hand each time before going out. I have a swim-step, so that is not hard -- I do not turn the boat around to be stern-in to the slip, as I was told I would have to. Despite the hassle, I am using it more and more... I find taking the mainsail cover off more onerous, if that gives a measure of the perceived hassle-factor.
A few comments:
- The fact that it is silent is awesome. My Raymarine EV100 wheel pilot noise really annoys me.
- It works in any wind, up to 30+ kts so far. By contrast, the Raymarine struggles more and more over 22 kts, and especially downwind with any swell, even "in the bay" 2-3' wind waves after a long day of high wind.
- I don't use it for short tacking (e.g. in a narrow-ish channel like Racoon strait), but don't mind steering by hand in that case. I do use the Raymarine a bit then though....
- I find the fact that it steers to the apparent wind -- and so no adjustment by me is required as the wind shifts around an island or something -- to be very nice. Easy to chill and eat lunch without mucking about with the heading.
- I will always want a wheel-pilot though (if singlehanding) for those times when I need the heading fixed while I do something else (e.g. if avoiding shallow water to one side, or a known hazard).
- Upwind the vane works pretty well; by a broad or deep broad reach course is held only to ~ +/-15 deg. This is disconcerting at first (30 deg total arc, which is pretty noticeable), but you get over it. I did calculate how much extra distance one covers (I am not a racer, so only care marginally) -- for +/- 15 deg, you travel only a couple of percent extra distance... no wonder cruisers don't mind.
Anyway, I am quite happy with the windvane (+ wheel-pilot), and glad I did not plop equivalent money into a fancy below-decks autopilot.
Thanks again to all that provided advice on the selection/decision!
PS: For anyone new to using a Hydrovane:
- The resources I saw instruct one to get the boat well-balanced on a heading, then lock the wheel, then set up the Hydrovane. I find this difficult singlehanded -- when I turn away from the wheel, the heading always drifts before I get the vane get up properly.
Rather, what I do is:
- Get the boat on the desired heading, vaguely balanced (possibly even with vane still engaged on wrong heading, e.g. after a tack)
- Lock wheel (P.S: engaging my Raymarine clutch helps reinforce my not-great wheel lock)
- Engage/adjust windvane. Probably it is not in the right position / it's rudder is fighting the mis-positioned main rudder.
Then:
- Observe Hydrovane tiller position; if it is off-center, on average, adjust main wheel to reduce that. Vane tiller position then moves closer to center (on average).
- Iterate a time or two until Hydrovane tiller stays pretty centered. This results in the boat being balanced as they say it should have been, but in a (to me) more achievable set of steps. I can see the boatspeed increase as I iterate into optimal configuration, as the rudders fight each other less.
- If I change heading a bit using the vane controls, I can then (if I'm not too lazy) repeat this optimization to rebalance the boat on the new heading.
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