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Hello,
There was some discussion this summer about the Cape Horn wind vanes…has there been any follow-up. Someone mentioned the possibility of a group purchase. I have been mulling over the purchase because I currently have a 20 year old Benmar autopilot that I really don’t feel that secure about taking off-shore as my primary steering system.
I am currious what other 424’s have done/are planing for steering off-shore.
John
Indulgence
Portland, ME
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Hi John,
I have a Monitor windvane which also can use a tillerpilot autopilot. In addition, I have a new Raymarine ST6002 autopilot.
Bob
On Wed, Sep 10, 2008 at 5:31 AM, John Sommer < ([email][/email])> wrote:
Hello,
There was some discussion this summer about the Cape Horn wind vanes…has there been any follow-up. Someone mentioned the possibility of a group purchase. I have been mulling over the purchase because I currently have a 20 year old Benmar autopilot that I really don't feel that secure about taking off-shore as my primary steering system.
I am currious what other 424's have done/are planing for steering off-shore.
John
Indulgence
Portland, ME
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Bob Fine
Fine Software LLC
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John,
I’m the one who brought up the notion of a group discount on Cape Horn windvanes. Didn’t get any response from
this group at that time so I assumed little or no interest. I’m discussing a vane for my ketch with Cape
Horn’s designer/builder, Yves Gélinas, and will probably order one in the not-too-distant future. I don’t
actually expect to use it until spring, but do want to leave myself ample time for the installation.Regarding a multi-order price break, Yves wrote on August 8th, “We are presently building some Cape Horn
Toucana gears for a group purchase that was originally organized by Westsail 32 owners. Some Bristol Channel
Cutter owners who use the same model, the same dimensions, heard about it and joined in. This is the second
group purchase by Westsail 32 owners. The original offer was for a 15% discount if there was 5 or more units,
20% if there was more than 10. After they had 15 potential customers, they asked if the discount could be
increased to 25% and I agreed. Now the group purchase has reached 22 orders (with $500 deposit each).”Bottom line is we’d need at least 5 of us to qualify.
Tor
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Silver Heels, P-424 #17
http://www.SilverHeels.us
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Hey Bob,
Is your boat a ketch? Do you have davits?
Tor
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Silver Heels, P-424 #17
http://www.SilverHeels.us
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I’m interested, but I am really struggling with the Cape Horn Vs. The Monitor. The monitor seems to be pretty much used by everyone with great success so i’m trying to find a short-coming of the Monitor which would make me not stick with the norm.
Anyone have any factual / date driven points to share along those lines?
-p
s/v Deep Playa | Pearson 424 #152 | http://www.DeepPlaya.com
Patrick’s Sailing Blog | http://www.shipsrecord.com/blogs/patrick
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Patrick,
To answer your own question, you’ll want to peruse Cape Horn’s web site, http://www.capehorn.com . It’s worth taking
your time there. You’ll learn a lot. A long-winded answer to your specific question is at
http://www.capehorn.com/sections/Comparaison/Anglais/ComparaisonAnglais.htm .I had a Monitor on my last boat and was satisfied with it. My personal reasons for considering a Cape Horn
windvane for my P424 ketch are:– Cape Horn can utilize a shorter wind paddle, allowing clearance beneath the mizzen boom.
– My boat came with davits, which I want to use when appropriate. According to my measurements the Cape Horn
will mount close enough to the transom to allow room for that. The Monitor would stick out too far, at least
on my boat.– The Cape Horn appears to be better adapted for steering by a low-draw tiller autopilot when motoring. The
low draw is not such an issue – you’re likely to be motoring when using the autopilot, anyway, especially with
a Cape Horn – but since my boat doesn’t yet have a heavy duty autopilot, being able to use a much less
expensive tiller pilot is likely to save me a few thousand dollars – even if I buy two tiller pilots to carry
a complete spare.– With the Cape Horn, I’ll avoid steering lines running across the cockpit.
– If their claims and multiple testimonials are to be believed, Cape Horn is the only windvane capable of
steering downwind in light air due to its superior design characteristics.– Incredibly, the Cape Horn is actually a thousand dollars less expensive than the Monitor: $3,795 (for a
custom-built Pearson 424 unit) vs. $4,790 ($4,295 base + $495 wheel steering adapter).– The Cape Horn design is so much more elegant, not a jungle gym on the boat’s transom.
I don’t think you’d regret getting a Monitor windvane, Patrick. I just believe the Cape Horn is a better
alternative.Tor
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Silver Heels, P-424 #17
http://www.SilverHeels.us
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Hi Linus,
The Cape Horn is actually a thousand dollars less expensive than the Monitor: $3,795 (for a custom-built
Pearson 424 unit) vs. $4,790 ($4,295 base + $495 wheel steering adapter).Tor
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Silver Heels, P-424 #17
http://www.SilverHeels.us
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Tor, the windvane configuration you are looking at, is it designed to fit a sloop or ketch? I'd think the mizzen boom would interfere with the operation of the device.
Chuck
On Wed, Sep 10, 2008 at 9:36 AM, Silver Heels < ([email][/email])> wrote:
John,
…….Bottom line is we'd need at least 5 of us to qualify.
Tor
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Silver Heels, P-424 #17
http://www.SilverHeels.us
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Chuck
Somewhere on the cape horn site (http://www.capehorn.com) it speaks to fitting a ketch. The site brings up several interesting issues
1) depending on the height of the paddle, a bimini would be a bigger issue in that it can disturb more airflow. they suggest putting the paddle up high above the bimini
2) a mizzen coming across would deflect the paddle for a few seconds at a time when you are actually at the wheel or during an accidental gibe in which case the windvane is really not the problem– pat
Doris EOn Fri, Sep 12, 2008 at 9:01 AM, Chuck Ruble < ([email][/email])> wrote:
Tor, the windvane configuration you are looking at, is it designed to fit a sloop or ketch? I'd think the mizzen boom would interfere with the operation of the device.
Chuck
On Wed, Sep 10, 2008 at 9:36 AM, Silver Heels < ([email][/email])> wrote:
John,
…….Bottom line is we'd need at least 5 of us to qualify.
Tor
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Silver Heels, P-424 #17
http://www.SilverHeels.us
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That is a nice looking vane gear, very clean and simple-looking. I didn't look at this product before making my decision to go with the Monitor. It sure looks better on the transom than my oil derrick. If the performance is good enough to allow the use of a shorter vane, then it is likely you can tack the mizzen without having to jack the mizzen boom up with the topping – something I have to with my monitor.
I'd still be a little uncomfortable with so much of the gear and lines inside the aft locker, but that doesn't seem to be a problem for the users of this vane. The installation will certainly be a lot more difficult than the Monitor and any other vane gear that just bolts onto the transom. I installed the Monitor in two days. It could have been one day, but I decided to think about it overnight before starting to drill the holes. Anyway the installation is a one time activity so that isn't a big deal.Geez, the price of the Monitor has sure gone up since I bought mine in 2004. I think the price at that time, for everything required, was just a little over $3K. Of course that price was the normal boat show discount.
I was little put-off by the comparison web-page that tried to run-down the Monitor in comparison to the Cape Horn. I've never heard Hans run-down a competitor's product, he just pushes what he believes are the Monitor's qualities. Oops, I just found Hans' dig at what must be the Cape Horn, “Another windvane currently on the market is sold at a somewhat lower initial price. An installer has told us that a 3-1/2 inch hole had to be drilled in the middle of the transom, and in order to support the single(!!) mounting tube, four pads (“should have been six pads”) had to be glassed in for the supporting tubes. It took a professional rigger four days to get the gear installed and the installation cost turned out to almost match the purchase price of the unit. The lazarette was filled with the steering apparatus and all storage space was lost.”
BTW, I've found the Monitor's light air performance to be very good, but only with the large vane.
John
On Fri, Sep 12, 2008 at 10:01 AM, Chuck Ruble < ([email][/email])> wrote:
Tor, the windvane configuration you are looking at, is it designed to fit a sloop or ketch? I'd think the mizzen boom would interfere with the operation of the device.
Chuck
On Wed, Sep 10, 2008 at 9:36 AM, Silver Heels < ([email][/email])> wrote:
John,
…….Bottom line is we'd need at least 5 of us to qualify.
Tor
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Silver Heels, P-424 #17
http://www.SilverHeels.us
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Regards,
John Stevenson
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Chuck,
I have an aft-cockpit ketch, so that’s what I’m planning to accommodate. The Cape Horn’s vane is (or can be) short enough and/or low enough to allow the mizzen boom to pass over it. However, that raises another issue, which I’ll address in my next email.
Tor
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Silver Heels, P-424 #17
http://www.SilverHeels.us
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Pat,
I won’t know until later how much my new bimini/dodger actually effect a windvane when sailing hard on the wind. They may not. On my last boat it was not an issue. Anyway, I’m not worried about it because our Pearson 424’s (and most other decently designed sailboats) will self-steer to windward in most conditions with nothing more than reasonably good sail trim. On all other tacks, the cockpit canvas won’t interfere.
Maybe switching to a taller vane will be an answer, at least in light airs when the boat might not stay balanced to windward on her own. As you say, if the mizzen did come across it would only deflect the paddle for a few seconds. I tend to use windvane steering on long tacks anyway.
Tor
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Silver Heels, P-424 #17
http://www.SilverHeels.us
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John,
I agree with you that the Cape Horn web site is a little pushy about it’s comparison to the Monitor windvane. No doubt this is because Monitor is the proverbial elephant in the room, so heavily dominating the US windvane market, and because Cape Horn’s creator obviously feels (passionately!) that he has a better product. Still, I would not have taken that tack myself. In my opinion, they’re both excellent windvanes, each with some pro’s and con’s.
I would not blame Hans Berwall, whom I have known for 20 years, for being a little defensive about Cape Horns, either. He’s right that the Cape Horn installation is a bigger deal than external units like Monitor, but you’re also right that the installation is a one-time activity and not the primary consideration when choosing such an important piece of equipment.
As for the “lazarette… filled with the (Cape Horn) steering apparatus and all storage space… lost,” that will not be the case on our boats. I believe the windvane’s quadrant will perch immediately aft of my boat’s aft-facing rudder post steering quadrant (complete installation info at http://www.capehorn.com/sections/owners/Owner's_Manual_for_Web.htm#In). So I expect to lose a few inches of space along the central forward edge of the lazarette. Also, the connecting tube will run aft from there to the transom, passing through the lower middle of the locker. But our lazarettes are huge compared to most 42-footers. All the rest of the space – to port & starboard and above & below the tube – will still be available for general storage. While there will be some inevitable loss of space in there, I do like the fact that the steering gear is protected inside the boat rather than hanging out off the transom, vulnerable to whatever bangs up against it.
Are there trade-offs whichever way you go? Yep. The best we can do, with windvanes and most other boat gear, is list the good, the bad and the ugly and then decide what suits us best.
Tor
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Silver Heels, P-424 #17
http://www.SilverHeels.us
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Hi Tor,
To add fuel to the fire, I have both a short and tall vane for the monitor. In light wind, the tall one is used and of course interferes with the mizzen on a tack or gybe. I'm sure I'll break at least one of them. The short one for winds over about 15 knots doesn't interfere at all.
The bigger problem for all windvane steering systems is that on very close reaches and close hauled courses the spilling wind from the main on sloops and mizzen on ketches or yawls give the windvane false directions. It causes the whole system to hunt at best and not be able to steer at worse.
This is especially true where the boom ends just short of the windvane's vane (paddle).
Now that my stern pulpit (pushpit?) is reinforced, I'm rarin' ta try my monitor.
I also have a simple Simrad tiller pilot that runs the vane with little power draw.
I'm not crazy about the lines in the cockpit, but they are arranged to pass in the aft starboard corner to a double block directly below the wheel.
Since I normally spend a large amount of time tripping, I don't see the addition of one more line set as a huge downside. Those less clumsy might not feel that way.
Bob
Pelican #8On Fri, Sep 12, 2008 at 2:39 PM, Silver Heels < ([email][/email])> wrote:
Quote:Pat,I won't know until later how much my new bimini/dodger actually effect a windvane when sailing hard on the wind. They may not. On my last boat it was not an issue. Anyway, I'm not worried about it because our Pearson 424's (and most other decently designed sailboats) will self-steer to windward in most conditions with nothing more than reasonably good sail trim. On all other tacks, the cockpit canvas won't interfere.
Maybe switching to a taller vane will be an answer, at least in light airs when the boat might not stay balanced to windward on her own. As you say, if the mizzen did come across it would only deflect the paddle for a few seconds. I tend to use windvane steering on long tacks anyway.
Tor
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Silver Heels, P-424 #17
http://www.SilverHeels.us
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That brings up a good question and not to steal the
thread but. I don’t find the mizzen very useful when
close hauled. I use it mostly for off wind sailing. Do
you think that would help the vane to not be
distracted?
alan— Robert Fine <> wrote:
Hi Tor,
To add fuel to the fire, I have both a short and
tall vane for the monitor.
In light wind, the tall one is used and of course
interferes with the mizzen
on a tack or gybe. I’m sure I’ll break at least one
of them. The short one
for winds over about 15 knots doesn’t interfere at
all.The bigger problem for all windvane steering systems
is that on very close
reaches and close hauled courses the spilling wind
from the main on sloops
and mizzen on ketches or yawls give the windvane
false directions. It
causes the whole system to hunt at best and not be
able to steer at worse.This is especially true where the boom ends just
short of the windvane’s
vane (paddle).Now that my stern pulpit (pushpit?) is reinforced,
I’m rarin’ ta try my
monitor.I also have a simple Simrad tiller pilot that runs
the vane with little
power draw.I’m not crazy about the lines in the cockpit, but
they are arranged to pass
in the aft starboard corner to a double block
directly below the wheel.Since I normally spend a large amount of time
tripping, I don’t see the
addition of one more line set as a huge downside.
Those less clumsy might
not feel that way.Bob
Pelican #8On Fri, Sep 12, 2008 at 2:39 PM, Silver Heels
<> wrote:Pat,
I won’t know until later how much my new
bimini/dodger actually effect a
windvane when sailing hard on the wind. They may
not. On my last boat it was
not an issue. Anyway, I’m not worried about it
because our Pearson
424’s (and most other decently designed sailboats)
will self-steer to
windward in most conditions with nothing more than
reasonably good sail
trim. On all other tacks, the cockpit canvas won’t
interfere.
Maybe switching to a taller vane will be an
answer, at least in light airs
when the boat might not stay balanced to windward
on her own. As you say, if
the mizzen did come across it would only deflect
the paddle for a few
seconds. I tend to use windvane steering on long
tacks anyway.
Quote:Tor
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Silver Heels, P-424 #17
http://www.SilverHeels.us
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Hey Bob,
Everything you say makes sense, as usual. (Far be it from me to argue, or even debate, with an engineer!) Anyway, there is no absolute right or wrong here.
By all accounts the Cape Horn seems to be the hands-down winner off the wind in light air. Even Hans is likely to give it that. It’s also a smart, esthetically pleasing machine with an excellent track record. It will allow me to use the davits that came with my boat, my mizzen boom won’t hit the vane, and I’ll spend a thousand bucks less buying it than I would for a new Monitor. Beyond that, I’ll have to get back to you in a year or two with some personal experiences to report. Meanwhile, there are a bunch of impressive testimonials at capehorn.com to encourage me.
This stuff is not real important. What is is that we might get to raft up in some really exotic place one of these days and raise a toast or two to… whatever comes to mind. When are you planning to set sail?
Tor
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Silver Heels, P-424 #17
http://www.SilverHeels.us
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Yes, I think you’re probably right about that, Alan.
Tor
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Silver Heels, P-424 #17
http://www.SilverHeels.us
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With the davits, where are you planning on mounting
the paddle?
alan
— Silver Heels <> wrote:Quote:Yes, I think you’re probably right about that, Alan.Tor
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Silver Heels, P-424 #17
http://www.SilverHeels.us
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Hi Tor,
God willin' an' the crick doan' rise, next summer, next fall at the latest. I've decided to putter and explore the ICW before hopping off to the Bahamas. Then, who knows? Other islands, other Caribbean places? Or to Bermuda and then England?
Long and short of it is that I have a Monitor and I'll have to live with it. It's a bit like whose God is better. Or, if you're offended by that, then whose dad is smarter.
Both vanes have survived a whole crapload of miles of sailing. One nice thing I've found with my Monitor without having to use it at all is that it's a handy way to get out of the water at the stern.
In any engineering problem, they're bound to be many usable solutions -these are two. I've also used Plastimo wind pilots – it works especially well with tillers (which I wish I had, by the way).
For Alan, who asked about upwind sailing with the mizzen, I've found it's optional but does help balance the boat and in really light wind is pretty effective. As the wind increases, however, the first sail I drop is the main. I don't know if it's because of the staysail or not, but jib and jigger is a really comfortable sail combination. (Add the staysail and it's also fast).
But I digress. I suspect that any good quality windvane steering system that's well made and meets your needs will be perfect. And I'll defend to the death your right to have one of those other ones… 🙂
Bob
On Fri, Sep 12, 2008 at 6:59 PM, Silver Heels < ([email][/email])> wrote:
Quote:Hey Bob,Everything you say makes sense, as usual. (Far be it from me to argue, or even debate, with an engineer!) Anyway, there is no absolute right or wrong here.
By all accounts the Cape Horn seems to be the hands-down winner off the wind in light air. Even Hans is likely to give it that. It's also a smart, esthetically pleasing machine with an excellent track record. It will allow me to use the davits that came with my boat, my mizzen boom won't hit the vane, and I'll spend a thousand bucks less buying it than I would for a new Monitor. Beyond that, I'll have to get back to you in a year or two with some personal experiences to report. Meanwhile, there are a bunch of impressive testimonials at capehorn.com to encourage me.
This stuff is not real important. What is is that we might get to raft up in some really exotic place one of these days and raise a toast or two to… whatever comes to mind. When are you planning to set sail?
Tor
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Silver Heels, P-424 #17
http://www.SilverHeels.us
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RE: Mizzen interference with the wind vane.
When we sailed from Bermuda to the Azores in 2005 we were on starboard tack for 2 weeks. Finally in the last few days we had to go on port tack. We had furled the mizzen a few days earlier and I just forgot about it when we tacked. Then I couldn't get the Monitor to hold a decent course. This was at night, and I couldn't figure what was wrong. I assumed something had come loose in the Monitor, but hanging off the transom with a flashlight I couldn't see anything out of order. I finally gave up and put the boat on autopilot. After an hour or so I noticed the furled mizzen boom hanging off to windward. I brought the mizzen, still furled, across to leeward and re-engaged the Monitor and all things were right again.
So its not just the mizzen sail that can interfere with the vane gear. The boom with the furled sail was causing enough disturbance in the air flow to make the Monitor useless. Interestingly, my Bimini never seemed to cause a problem.
John
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Bob,
Well, of course MY dad is smarter, but on the other points we’re in complete agreement. I’m aiming for an East Coast shakedown next summer, too, and then on to the Windward’s after storm season, also God willin’ and if the crick… What’d you say? Anyway, we’re bound to cross wakes at some point.
My point isn’t to pit Cape Horn against Monitor or Sailomat or Aires and prove one is better or worse, but rather to kick around what I’m thinking of doing, get some smart feedback (which, thanks to this group, I have), and if there’s enough interest, maybe cut a deal for a ‘group order’ as we did with the mast pulpits. You guys who already have Monitor windvanes are all set and I can tell you from experience you’ve got an excellent piece of gear there.
Tor
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Silver Heels, P-424 #17
http://www.SilverHeels.us
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One of the attractions of the Cape Horn windvane is that it’ll only protrude inches from the transom, so I can
still carry my tender in the davits when I want to. The wind paddle, if that’s the one you’re asking about,
will be directly above the vertical steering gear tube and beneath the outboard end of the mizzen boom.Tor
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http://www.SilverHeels.us
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I wonder if the offset installation would be better suited on a ketch. In fact I wonder if 2 offset installations would be best suited….. engage disengage on each tackgybe or remove/switch the paddles.
s/v Deep Playa | Pearson 424 #152 | http://www.DeepPlaya.com
Patrick’s Sailing Blog | http://www.shipsrecord.com/blogs/patrick<.. snip>
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Hard to say if an offset installation would help or hinder. Seems like it’d cope better with the mizzen sail effects on one tack only. As for twin vanes, I’m squirming at the cost of one! A custom Cape Horn with twin, offset upper sections geared to a single lower unit would probably be doable, but beyond my budget.
Tor
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Silver Heels, P-424 #17
http://www.SilverHeels.us
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See the full thread here: https://www.pearson424.org/bb2forum/viewtopic.php?t=344
Hey Tor, Did you ever order your windvane? I’d be interested in ordering one as well. Can we get three more boats and work up to a discount?
Maybe we can find some similar boats and up the numbers some more.
-patrick
Owners no more...
Thanks Dawn and Patrick! -
Patrick,
I did get a windvane, but not the Cape Horn. I just felt the installation was too intrusive, boring a hole in the transom & all, and also did not want to give up the great storage space I have in the lazarette. Above all, I was looking for a way to have a windvane AND be able to use the davits the boat came with. The only windvane I could find that does that, which also happens to be one of the best windvanes out there, is the Auto-Helm. (No relation to Autohelm electronics).
The Auto-Helm (http://www.selfsteer.com/products/autohelm/index.php) is manufacture red in California by the same company that makes the popular Monitor windvane, Scanmar Marine. It’s very well made and the American factory support is excellent. I’ve only used it for a few days so far, when I sailed offshore from Florida to North Carolina, but it impressed me by steering downwind in light airs, the most difficult situation for any windvane, as well as on easier points of sail. I’m now in the process of setting up an Autohelm tiller pilot to steer the trim tab that steers the Auto-Helm rudder that steers the boat, for motoring and for ghosting in very light airs. Just seems to make sense to let the force of the passing water do all the heavy work rather than the ship’s batteries, and this way I can afford to carry one or two spare autopilots.
I expect to be using the Auto-Helm windvane quite a bit on my upcoming sail to the Windward Islands, and will write more about it after that. But like I said, it already showed its stuff on the short hop north.
Tor
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Silver Heels, P-424 #17
http://www.SilverHeels.us
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Tho’ I’m coming late to this discussion, perhaps these comments might add to the mix when the next ‘vane researcher’ arrives…
We’ve sailed offshore with a Sailomat 3040 (a fixed rudder + fixed servo oar arrangement, unique and without a doubt the best vane I’ve seen in use) and, more recently, a Sailomat 601 (insofar as steering is concerned, a typical servo-oar vane, but with a unique mounting arrangement).
One thing I learned early on is how vulnerable a fixed rudder-type vane (e.g. Hydrovane, Auto-Helm, etc.) can be when berthed in marinas or maneuvering in tight quarters. And some rudders are biggish and even very heavy, naturally they are covered in bottom paint, and so storing them aboard can be a challenge on some boats. The 3040 vane we had provided for both rudder and servo oar to be removed via Fastpins; elegant & easy. When berthing in a marina, I began removing them after several close calls. As an example and just last week, friends aboard GEMINI, a Tayana 47, had their Hydrovane forced into a fresh new custom shape by a 3-prop Italian steel motor yacht – a $6K mistake by the motoryacht’s owner and a real hassle for GEMINI’s owner.
Servo-oar vanes suffer some of the same fates. I think my 601 vane is a mix of the good and not so good, but one feature I value greatly is the ability, by loosening a single bolt, to be able to remove the servo oar entirely. (All that’s left is the small mount and a short vertical pole). Coincidentally, it was the skipper off the same GEMINI who fought off two British motoryachts that, one after the other, were heading for WHOOSH’s wind vane on their arrival at our London marina in 2004. The servo oar got removed the next day and stayed off for the balance of the winter there.
I see lots of discussion about ‘boom clearing vane blade’ (or is that blade clearing boom?) and it sounds like that tends to be one of the central buying criteria by some. Like John (SARAH), I haven’t really found this to be a big deal in practice. The Sailomat inventor suggested a way to cut the wooden wind blade in two and, using clever cut lines and some bungee cord, be able to infinitely angle the top half of the blade if clearance became a concern. I used it this way for a year but, in the end, gave up on that specific blade because it had been shortened a bit in the process and I’d found I need a lot of wind blade on some points of sail because of the air turbulence caused by the bimini-dodger combo and (on one slice of the stbd tack) the outboard.
Another reason wind blade vs. boom issues doesn’t strike me as critical is that it’s pretty easy to build additional wind blades, assuming the boom takes its toll over time. When we arrived in the Azores (which is where I chucked that first wind blade), I felt one remaining wind blade wasn’t enough. The only 3 things I needed to make two new duplicates were: some 3mm ply (carried by the local hardware shop), the WEST epoxy I carried aboard (to seal up the ply and join the stiffener panel) and an electronic scale (ideally, the wind blades should all be the same weight or resetting the counterbalance weight might be needed). But as it happens, 6 years later all 3 blades show very little wear.
Finally, on our last Atlantic run I was really surprised to find how worn a vane’s steering lines can become…and I’m not referring to chafe, but just the running of the 8mm double braid thru the turning blocks. That was a relatively active (4m seas and 20+, start to finish) and long (3000 NM) passage and the vane had to work hard. I replaced (normally) mid-life steering lines early in the run, then a new set near the end of the passage. Part of this was due to having a fair degree of tension in the lines but part of it was just simple wear. So the lesson learned was: carry a fair bit of spare steering line.
Jack
WHOOSH
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