"Thomas Wentworth"

I have seen these on many boats over the years. I have never
operated one though.

A boat or a windvane?


What is the cost of a self steering windvane system?

If you look at the cost of far, far, simpler devices that are common
enough for the development and marketing costs to be spread over many
more units, you should be able to guess that they won't be cheap. Low
end, minimal units will be very expensive and ones you would want to
rely on for a long voyage will be in the neighborhood of an engine by
the time you are done with the installation.

Where does one go to purchase one?

To a windvane seller.

How much work is it to install?

If you have ever done any work on a boat, you should be able to answer
this question after looking at one.

Will it work for coastal cruising?

No. The little electronic brain that interfaces the wind vane to the
steering mechanism accepts NEMA input from the GPS and prevents
operation in waters where lack of attention by the operator could
result in hitting shore, obstructions, or other vessesl. All windvane
systems sold are now required by international treaty to have this
device along with circuitry that disables the system inless the proper
position signal is detected and software charts containing the entire
world are loaded.

--

Roger Long