What I'm currently thinking about...

Some chess related life advice, murder most foul, and a needful read for surfers...

I've been thinking a lot about various self-steering systems, evolution, and performance lately. So much so, that I really need to spend a couple of days working through those thoughts and ideas to come to some sort of conclusion that makes sense.

More on that thought process soonish.

Listening to Marah

So it goes...

Some interesting windvane steering news...

Werner Herzog on skateboarding,  EBM with some bullet points, and in the "An apt use of a Warren Zevon lyric" department...

My current favorite builder of Wind Vane self-steering systems, Mister Vee, keeps innovating away in a quest to improve and make his products more affordable. Something a lot of people in the marine trades would really should take note of.

In his ongoing quest for a better more affordable system he's now producing a kit version and is now considering a more hybrid  vane that is a cross between the kit and the production model and is currently asking for feedback from potential users (another thing folks in the marine trades might want to pay attention to).

So, check it out a let him know what you think.

Listening to some excellent covers

So it goes...

$180 and change...

Some idiocy of note, way too interesting times, and in the "Just the important economy stuff" department...

So, here's a very interesting home built  self-steering gear.

 

Better yet it only cost about 150 Euros ($180 and change) to build. More about it can be found over at Hisse et Oh.

Listening to Billy Bragg

So it goes...

 

On the subject of DIY self-steering...

A good point being made, “We don’t comment on pending investigations.” has a nice ring to it, and in the "Just in case you haven't been paying attention." department...

I've been following a forum thread where a guy is building a self-steering gear based on a very simple established commercial design and another design from the Walt Murray stable. The thing is that the person building the windvane has no real experience with self-steering and, instead of just building either one or the other, he's decided to combine the two and "improve" them in the process. 

Unsurprisingly the self-steering gear in question does not seem to work.

More importantly, I'll be getting emails using this windvane project as a justification of why you should not build a self-steering gear and buy a new one next time I write about DIYing a windvane and yes, Dear Readers, I'll be writing a lot of DIY self-steering gear stuff in 2021.

Which is a not all that unusual state of affairs where boat projects are concerned. It seems people just can't resist screwing around with something that works just fine. Which is not to say that a thing can't be improved upon or refined but it is important to keep in mind that improving something that works really well requires a lot of talent and experience with how something actually works to accomplish that sort of development.

I've been told, more than I appreciate, that I over-champion the idea that folks on boats should DIY more and throw money at problems less. Truth be told, I have a deep abiding faith that most all boat projects are within the capabilities of just about anyone with the will to take on a project, the willingness to do the needful research to suss out how to actually do the thing right, and the realization that there's always a learning curve in the mix.

Listening to the Drive-By Truckers

So it goes...

Speaking of DIY self-steering gears...

Some hurricane science that won't make your day, a point well made, and in the "Someone's setting themselves up for some Karmic justice" department...

Mr. Vee's been busy.



What's really exciting is that, for the cruiser on a budget, there's now a lot of options for excellent and affordable self-steering gears available.

Listening to Nikki Lane

So it goes...

A couple of possible projects...

On cultivating stupidity, a prestigious medical journal speaks out, and something on what Krugman is saying...

I've been spending a lot of time thinking about the new B&B Yacht Designs kick up auxiliary rudder self-steering gear. The whole kick-up feature makes all kinds of sense.

So much so that I just may splurge on a set of plans and build one.

That said, there's also a very neat servo pendulum gear of the DIY sort over on the JRA forum that's also quite interesting.

Maybe I should just do one of each and see how they compare?

Listening to Thea Gilmore

So it goes...

A few things to check out...

An astute take on our current situation, a very good analogy, and some important needful reading...

B&B Yacht Designs have a few interesting designs you might want to check out. For starters a very cool little 24' 6" pocket cruiser I'll be very interested in learning more about.



If you look closely at the transom you might see a very cool self-steering gear. Better yet, the self-steering gear will be available as plans in the not-too-distant future and is available now for pre-order.





Of course, what B&B is best known for is their nesting dinghy plans and they have a new nesting Two-paw 7 (Minipaw) set of plans you might want to consider.

Listening to Jorma Kaukonen


So it goes...

The real advantage of DIY...

Something I'm not looking forward to, some religious death cult news, and an impressive show of stupidity...

The other day, someone interested in finding a used Auto-Helm self-steering gear dropped me a line asking if I knew of any for sale at a reasonable price. As I didn't know of any I suggested that, as the Auto-Helm is a very simple design, he might be a whole lot better off just building a reasonable facsimile and I sent him several links to sites that had information on the subject.

His response was that he wanted something better than a cobbled-together DIY wind vane and he'd just have to swallow the price tag of $5250 to have the needful piece of mind.

That's a lot of money.

Since then I've been thinking a lot about the whole DIY thing and the common opinion/misconception that DIY somehow results in a less than good result.

Which got me thinking about building a clone of the Auto-Helm and how or why the build might result in a lesser product. The first part of that equation is as the Auto-Helm is a very good, solid and very simple design. The idea that it is too difficult to build is silly and only a tyro-on-steroids could screw it up as there's really no rocket science involved. Or, to put it another way, you'd really have to be pretty useless to screw it up.

The second part of the mix is that the materials needed to build such a beast are pretty cheap. You'd be hard-pressed to be able to spend more on materials than $500 and, with a bit of savvy shopping, you could pretty easily do it for about half that.

This means that if you have an IQ above room temperature, are not a total tyro, and don't pay silly stupid money for needful materials, you can save around $5000 on a just-as-good-as an Auto-Helm self-steering gear.

Sounds like a win/win to me.

So far so good but there's another factor of DIY that comes in to play here as DIY gives one the opportunity to build something that is actually superior to what you can buy.

Take the Auto-Helm as an example. It's a very good, solid, and very simple design that is somewhat long in the tooth. For instance, the foils (rudder and trimtab) are a bit crude and could easily be improved by adopting a NACA foil. Another easy to improve upgrade to the Auto-Helm would be the use of Dyneema vane-to-trimtab control lines which would be stronger with less friction than the stainless wire. Lastly, the Auto-Helm is a beast weight-wise and a bit of thoughtful weight reduction during construction would be no bad thing either. It wouldn't surprise me either if you'd find some other improvements as well.

Truth be told, any of those improvements would result in a better self-steering gear than the standard Auto-Helm on the market so it's not like the only reason you go the DIY route is just about money.

Then again, you can do a whole lot elsewhere on your boat with that extra $5K in your pocket.

Just saying.

Listening to Letters to Cleo

So it goes...

Something you might want to check out...

A very good point being made by EBM, Tom Tomorrow nails it, and regarding spineless minions...

Peter Foerthmann, who runs Windpilot, has an excellent post today regarding windvanes, sailing related business, and a modicum of common sense. It's even entertaining.

You really should take the time and read it.

Yeah, now.

Listening to the Rally Club

So it goes...

Something you might want to check out...

A setback for a good cause, something worth reading concerning climate change, and in the "Frogs in a saucepan" department...

Mister Vee is working on something new...

That's right, it's a new wind vane self-steering gear. What makes it even cooler is that the design brief fills a very real need in a market where the average price of a self-steering gear hovers around $4K.

You might say the world could really use a vane gear that only costs $500 (+/-).

Sure, it's a sorta/kinda kit (some assembly, gluing, and painting required) but non-problematic for anyone who can handle putting together a chest of drawers from IKEA.

The WoodenB is still in development but you can get on the information train by signing up for the WoodenB Newsleter.

Listening to Neal Casal

So it goes...

Something simple...

Something from Dorworth, Rude Pundit saying what needs to be said, and the ongoing plight of billionaire snowflakes...

I'm pretty sure that the average cost of a new self-steering gear is somewhere around $4.5K all up these days.

That's really a lot of money for a piece of gear that is inherently simple. Especially when most of the designs around are easily reverse engineered, well suited for home building with readily available affordable materials.

Fact is, I'm sitting here contemplating building a couple of designs based on a clone of the Auto-Helm or the very basic Moitessier style Trismus design.

They both have a lot to offer, are well proven with countless ocean crossings, and will pretty much steer you wherever you want to go.

Mainly, I'm just trying to come up with the bottom line least expensive self-steering gear that does the job with the least downside.

Self-steering for the VolksCruiser budget and lifestyle if you will...

One other gear I'd really like to find, so I can test it in comparison of more modern gears, is the old John Adam designed version of the Windpilot vertical axis auxiliary rudder gear.

So, if anybody reading this knows of one gathering dust in the back of your local yacht grot (spelled c-h-e-a-p) for sale please drop me a line.

Listening to Lucinda Williams cover Hendrix with Charles Lloyd & The Marvels.

So it goes...

changes afoot in the Golden Globe...

Regarding the American carbon footprint, some sense being made, and over in the "crooked imbeciles and toadies" department...

Peter Foerthmann (the Windpilot guy) has an interesting take on the GGR and self-steering.

Listening to A-WA

So it goes...

Good stuff regarding the Pelagic Autopilot...

A distinction of note, an important question, and in the "It is what it is" department...

Atom Voyager installs and tests the Pelagic Autopilot.



Listening to Chris Thile and friends cover the Beach Boys

So it goes...

simply simple...

Promising research in Dementia, an iceberg of interest, and in the "Where there's a will there's a way" department...

There are times when I devote far too much time and mental energy trying to improve things which already work just fine.

Apparently I'm not alone.

Take this self-steering design for instance...

Pretty much your basic vertical axis trim tab to rudder affair that was drawn up for a very popular Trismus design. Some might say as far as self-steering systems go this is, at best, somewhat crude, simplistic, and agricultural.

Which it is.

That said, it's also a self-steering design which has piloted hundreds of transatlantic crossings, maybe as many transpacific voyages, and at least a couple of dozen circumnavigations. In short it works just fine, costs very little to build, and, being so simple, is ,easily repairable.

For instance, if you want to see a truly brilliant, elegant, and affordable solution to the problematic issue of course setting take a look at this...

Which, for our non-Telemark skiing readers, is part of a cable ski binding and is such a great solution to what is the most difficult design step in a self-steering gear that it really is close to genius.



Of course the cables are a replaceable item so you don't have to buy the whole binding.

So, while I have been giving quite a bit of thought of late to how one might improve the Trismus self-steering gear, I keep finding that it is already so well thought out that any attempt to improve on a good thing winds up being counter-productive at best and downright foolish in most cases.

For those interested in building such a beast everything you need to know is available for free on the Trismus site.

Certainly worth checking out.

Listening to the Devil's Box String Band

So it goes...

Everything you need to know for DIYing a windvane...

Something from the "Overcast with a chance of rain department", a bit of needful reading regarding hurricanes, and the word for today is a-n-n-u-l-m-e-n-t...

HEO has a pdf available of the Loisers Nautique articles that have spawned hundreds of successful DIY windvane self steering systems.

Good stuff.

Listening to Sandy, Richard, and Linda

So it goes...

Pending projects...

tRump sending a message, a bit of needful reading, and some agribusiness criminality that really pisses me off...

So, the metal bits for my Jean du Sud style side mount outboard bracket project are now on island and, hopefully, I'll be able to get to doing soonish.

The real advantage of the new outboard location revolves around some serious boat butchery to the cockpit and going into test-bed mode for a couple of rudder designs with integrated self-steering while improving the general stowage and ergonomics of the cockpit in general.

Fun stuff.

Oh yeah, there will be bumpy (spelled t-u-b-e-r-c-l-e) bits.

Listening to some Springsteen coverage

So it goes...

Whale bumps...

How 1500 becomes a worrisome number, regarding a recent "accomplishment", and some stuff you really need to know...

I've been spending a lot of time pondering over better ways to build a better auxiliary rudder self-steering gear and I keep thinking whales and rudder shapes.

Why whales you might ask.

Take a look at a humpback whale fin...

Note the bits on the leading edge?

Now check out this rudder from rudder wizards Betts Boats who always seem to be just a step ahead of the cutting edge (pun intended) where foils are concerned.

Notice a similarity?

The word for today is T-U-B-E-R-C-L-E though some folks just call them whale bumps and what those bumps do is affect the flow coming off the bumps forms pairs of counter rotating swirls or eddies coming off each side of the bumps. The bumps act as vortex generators that keep the general flow attached to the suction side of the fin when there is an angle of attack that normally would cause the flow to separate from the leading edge. Which, where rudders are concerned is very much a goodly thing.

There has been a lot of research and application in the aviation world, foils for wind generators but pretty much bugger all in sailing circles. Though, I expect that's about to change quite a bit in the not-too-distant future.

They even use them on surfboards!




So why are we not using them on self-steering foils?

Listening to a whole lotta Springsteen

So it goes...

on the subject of sheet-to-tiller steering...

Some needful reading, an interesting thought provoking interview with Chris Darwin, and in the "likely not to go very well" department...

Some good ideas in this video.



More of the same can be found on the scallywagII youtube channel. Worth checking out...

Listening to some Soul Train goodness

So it goes...

Good design at a fair price and a question...

Something you may have missed in the news, color me in agreement, and an obvious but seemingly overlooked fact...

Here's an impressive self-steering gear that you might want to take a look at.

It's actually a quite simple but elegant design not all that dissimilar to some other vanes from way back when. Of course, as designed it is a direct vane to tiller sort so not quite up to the rigors of most cruising boats unless said cruising boats are perfectly balanced and have a very "light" steering. Still for its price it is not a bad starting point if you have a transom mounted rudder (or are thinking of building an auxiliary rudder) which can be controlled with a trim tab.

Crafty folks will no doubt see just how simple the open source design vane is and the possibilities of doing a DIY clone approach which would appear nearly tyro-proof.




At a cost of between $200-$300 or so it really should make you wonder just why the Auto-Helm upper vane only unit costs an astounding $2350.

Listening to Midnight Oil

So it goes...

another affordable windvane self-steering gear...

Meals on Wheels, some folks who don't have our best interests at heart, Chuck Berry is no longer with us, and just plain interesting...

I've always admired  the Mr Vee self-steering gears which were an evolution/offshoot of the Walt Murray DIY pvc pipe and copper tubing design ethos. I also like the fact that the Mr Vee self-steering gears are the most inexpensive windvanes around in spite of being more advanced than most of their competitors.

It gets better...

WoodenB, the first flatpack self steering system.

Made from CNC routed plywood, based on the design of Y&B.The kit comes with some cnc made plastic parts where wood is not suitable and fasteners are included. Material for the unique Mister Vee windvane are also supplied.

 Now is that neat or what?

While still in development (so no pricing available as of yet)I expect that it will bring the cost of self-steering down to the point where you can actually use windvane and affordable in the same sentence. For anyone considering a you should drop Mr Vee a note and let them know.

Listening to Good Graeff

So it goes...