Letting the Wind Steer
We finally installed our windvane – after the missing parts of it were collected on our trip to the Baltic last year.
The Windpilot Pacific is an ingenious system: when the ship runs away from the set apparent wind angle, the wind hits the side of the wind vane and tips it over. The windvane is connected to a blade that hangs in the water. When the windvane tips, it twists that underwater blade a few degrees, and the rushing water hits the angled pendulum blade pushing it to the side. The force of the weater at pendulum arm – which is connected to the steering – is big enough to correct the boat’s rudder, bringing the ship back on course. The wind sets the heading and the water provides the power to turn the wheel.
A windvane steers the ship without any electrical power – saving precious energy. Still, we have our trusty autopilot (Raymarine autopilot ACU-400 with EV-1 sensor and a Whitlock/Lewmar DU130 12V direct-drive unit). These systems provide redundancy and flexibility.
Also, we renewed the complete running rigging. We spent hours splicing snap shackles into ropes. And De Scheepstuiger Klaas Pieter kindly repaired the bearing of our jib furler that had fallen out recently when beating into force 8 wind in February…
We replaced the halyards for the stay sail (10 mm) and yankee (12 mm) and installed a new Spinlock clutch XTS0814/2 at the mast. Also, the spinnaker halyard for the ordered gennaker was replaced, as well as the spi boom topping lift. The gennaker will help keep Coelacanth moving on days with light wind – which we didn’t experience too often so far on the North Sea…