Windvane Steering

[Robert Sheridan]

Hi all,
We would like to fit windvane steering to our Tiki 30 at some point and I am trying to work out the best way to do it. Unfortnalely I do not think we have suitable deckspace for the wharram design solution and we need something that we can adjust without leaving the cockpit. We have a old boom as a aft netting beam which we could put a fitting on but not sure if it would be adequate as I can't see how to triangulate the fitting.

Any suggestions?

Thanks

[Ann and Neville Clement]

What you have in that pic looks good, Robert.   This whole subject is so darn much fun!

Another option:   somebody somewhere posted that they fixed a deck stancheon directly to a rudder head at a similar angle to your pic and they attached the long rod to the top of that stancheon. I believe there was a little ring at the end of the  stancheon and the long rod from the tiller pilot just had a peg that dropped through the stancheon's ring.   All these are great ideas. 

Robert, is your system easy to engage and disengage in emergency situations like seeing a freighter come right at ya out of the fog?  Ease of operation even if the solo sailor is impaired through injury or fatigue is always the Holy Grail.  I wonder if it might be possible some way to make a quick release fastening between the tiller pilot and the long rod?  That way it would be easily within  reach of the cockpit...  Just some way to flip the rod and have a disconnect so you could grab that big old wooden tiller  bar and get outa the way of that freightor...   (I would want to be able to disconnect any self steering within about three seconds so as to be able to make a quick manual turn of 90 degrees away from danger.  I actually had that kind of freightor come out of the fog right at me when I was sailing solo in my old monohull and the three seconds were all the time I had to get turned 90 degrees out of danger on that occasion.)

There are enough clever folks here to make this Holy Grail steering system really happen.     

[Robert Sheridan]

Hi Anne,

Could not agree more! There is a pin which attaches the extension rod to the tiller pilot push rod but in an emergency you can just lift the whole tillerpilot off and it sits on the tiller bar to give you complete manual control.

We would have liked to have driven the windvane servo with the tillerpilot but could not see a way to make it work for a Tiki 30. The mounting position for the tillerpilot was the only one we could find that was at about the right height, easy to get at and did not foul the tiller bar or tillers or intrude into the cockpit.  

We need to improve the connection between the rod and tillerpilot as it is abit sloppy at the moment (I am the king of the bodge), but it works.

[Ann and Neville Clement]

IT WORKS is the first shout of victory, Robert, and the second shout of victory on a boat is IT FITS!  That's all that matters.  Ann

[wakataitea]

it will cost you 20 dollar and it works... (on our tiki46)

just hinge it somewhere on you deck. 2 screws under the sail for the adjustment of the angle to the wind... 2 ropes to the ends of the tillers and  that's it. if you don't need it any more, you just pull it out and roll it together.

forget about "monitor, pacific ...." and all this expensive stuff. think "wharram style" be creative... or do it like hans klaar... use you heatsail and rubber band...

there are so many ways. and the best ones are often very easy to do...

have fun hans

[laurent]

ok you saved me 250 € thank you