I want to thank all of you who responded. Despite the minor flame between
Lauri and Brian, I found the replies most interesting and informative. They
seem to show a clear preference for autopilots for short term, fair weather
applications and sail changes, and the wind vane for serious blue water
sailing.

Bob Swarts

"Robert or Karen Swarts" wrote in message
...
Anyone care to discuss the relative reliability of
autopilots(electric/electronic) vs wind vanes for sail boats? Are wind
vanes still widely used?

BS