Simple Wind Indicator Design

Stringy and Tony have convinced me that I need to get a wind indicator. I had a look in the shops but the small range that I saw didn't look to be robust enough, so I thought I'd knock one up myself.

This is what I came up with:

Cable tied a PVC end cap to the end of the mast. The brass fitting is a male pneumatic connector that is inserted through a hole in the cap and epoxyed in.


The indicator is a cut down arrow with a broadhead. The brass fitting here is the female pneumatic connector.


The pneumatic connector not only makes the indicator secure but is ideal for easy removal.


I took it for a drive, hanging it out the car window, and it worked great. The tension on the lock nut at the top adjusts the friction so that it's not too sensitive and has some resistance. In these shots it looks huge but it's only 250mm long and in the flesh it looks fit for purpose. I do like the quick connect function even though the pneumatic connector does add extra weight to the design.

As long as it stays up there and doesn't pay me a visit, I'll be happy.

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Don't take life too seriously................it ain't permanent.

A ribbon is simple.
Now could you design a simple mouse trap?

Personally Dave, I don't go much on the ribbon in either looks or function. For me this indicator points to exactly where the wind is coming from, not just the general 'it's coming from somewhere over there' direction.
Some mouse traps are just better than others I suppose.

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Don't take life too seriously................it ain't permanent.

Dave, I know you are of the "real men can feel the wind direction on their cheeks" school , but being able to instantly see the actual apparent wind to an accuracy of within a couple of degrees makes sailing a lot easier. It is no coincidence that just about every racing sailboat has one fitted.

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Tony Stott
2012 Tandem Island "SIC EM" with Hobie spinnaker

Now that's got that unique Slaughter stamp to it!
I'm not so sure it's 'simpler' than a plastic vane though!

Davew,
What Tony said!
I'm a convert from using the ribbon. Been using the vane for a few months now and I really like it's accuracy.

Certainly not simpler than buying it over the counter Stringy. I must admit I already had an old bent arrow, a bit of spare time on my hands and the use of a lathe for the white plastic pivot. Otherwise I probably wouldn't have bothered. Was a bit of fun though.

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Don't take life too seriously................it ain't permanent.

... or pluck a tail feather from the family pheasant! (Well it is heading for the oven soon!)

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Rob,


2011 Hobie TI

Arrow mousetrap ribbon whatever works for you as long as it's simple

Tony - are you saying every racing boat is fitted with a real man?

You're right Dave, whatever works.

And nothing works better than a feather. Well done Rob. Now that's cool. I'm pinching that idea and as soon as I find an eagle feather, the arrow's in the bin.

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Don't take life too seriously................it ain't permanent.

Dave, in 2013, I would never dare say such a thing!

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Tony Stott
2012 Tandem Island "SIC EM" with Hobie spinnaker

So long as the feather doesn't get near the furling process. I imagine that would trash the feather and risk damaging the sail.

For that matter, ribbons can jam things up quickly if they are too long and badly placed. We've had some dicey moments with these.

You may recall that the traditional Hawaiian wind indicator was a lei of bird feathers. It worked great for them. But being "real men", Hawaiians never furled.

If I had to watch a wind indicator on the top of the mast of an AI my neck would require medical attention - my preferred position would be on the bows of those outrigger things about 500mm above the deck (if I had a wind indicator) but I haven't worked out how to fix em there. Ideally unscrew the D fitting and screw the vane mount in?
When sailing an AI to windward this is the wind angle point I seek - so the feather (or whatever) would be pointing in a line between me the bow of the outrigger thing and the wind direction.

Or the bow and arrow = wind direction.

I had problems with the ribbons wrapping around the sail as well, preventing unfurling. More so when they got wet and stuck to the sail.
What happens to a feather when it's wet?

Slaughter,
Just wondering whether you did a drop test with your arrow vane? Does it fall arrow head first?
Mate...I'd hate for you to be the latest recipient of a "Darwin" award!

Thanks Stringy. I needed that.

Reckon I might be do'n a bit of this

Come on fellas, what could possibly go wrong.

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Don't take life too seriously................it ain't permanent.