Stuffing-box help
 

Hi,

My new-to-me boat (Crown 28) has a stuffing-box, and the previous
owner replaced the flexable coupling just before I bought it (which, I
assume, requires taking the stuffing-box apart...). I didn't notice
any water in the bilge after it sat overnight, but there was about 2
gallons in after running the engine for about 2 1/2 hrs.

It could be the raw cooling water is leaking somewhere. I had a quick
look and didn't see anything suspicious (it's an old Volvo MD6A).

My suspicion is that when he checked the stuffing-box as soon as we
went in the water, it was fine. But after running the engine for a
while, the packing "settled" and it's now leaking. Does this sound
right? (I was too tired to remove all the crap required to get at the
stuffing-box last night) What is "normal procedure" for a stuffing-box
that's been re-stuffed?

Any other theories on where the water's coming from? I'll be heading
down tonight to have a look, and would appreciate any insight on what
to look for...

druid
"Coatue" Crown 28

Stuffing-box help
 

"druid" wrote in message
ups.com...
Hi,

My new-to-me boat (Crown 28) has a stuffing-box, and the previous
owner replaced the flexable coupling just before I bought it (which, I
assume, requires taking the stuffing-box apart...). I didn't notice
any water in the bilge after it sat overnight, but there was about 2
gallons in after running the engine for about 2 1/2 hrs.

It could be the raw cooling water is leaking somewhere. I had a quick
look and didn't see anything suspicious (it's an old Volvo MD6A).

My suspicion is that when he checked the stuffing-box as soon as we
went in the water, it was fine. But after running the engine for a
while, the packing "settled" and it's now leaking. Does this sound
right? (I was too tired to remove all the crap required to get at the
stuffing-box last night) What is "normal procedure" for a stuffing-box
that's been re-stuffed?

Any other theories on where the water's coming from? I'll be heading
down tonight to have a look, and would appreciate any insight on what
to look for...

druid
"Coatue" Crown 28



It's almost certainly the stuffing box, and what Roger/Dave said are
accurate. You should also check the raw water system. I was poking around my
engine compartment a few weeks ago, noticed some seeping under the raw water
strainer, and ended up replacing the unit. Glad I did, as it was about to
go.


--
"j" ganz @@
www.sailnow.com

Stuffing-box help
 

On Oct 15, 10:11 am, "Capt. JG" wrote:
"druid" wrote in message

ups.com...



Hi,

My new-to-me boat (Crown 28) has a stuffing-box, and the previous
owner replaced the flexable coupling just before I bought it (which, I
assume, requires taking the stuffing-box apart...). I didn't notice
any water in the bilge after it sat overnight, but there was about 2
gallons in after running the engine for about 2 1/2 hrs.

It could be the raw cooling water is leaking somewhere. I had a quick
look and didn't see anything suspicious (it's an old Volvo MD6A).

My suspicion is that when he checked the stuffing-box as soon as we
went in the water, it was fine. But after running the engine for a
while, the packing "settled" and it's now leaking. Does this sound
right? (I was too tired to remove all the crap required to get at the
stuffing-box last night) What is "normal procedure" for a stuffing-box
that's been re-stuffed?

Any other theories on where the water's coming from? I'll be heading
down tonight to have a look, and would appreciate any insight on what
to look for...

druid
"Coatue" Crown 28

It's almost certainly the stuffing box, and what Roger/Dave said are
accurate. You should also check the raw water system. I was poking around my
engine compartment a few weeks ago, noticed some seeping under the raw water
strainer, and ended up replacing the unit. Glad I did, as it was about to
go.

--
"j" ganz


Thanks guys, that really makes me feel better! Nothing more
frightening than finding water in the bilge of the boat you just
bought... ;)

I'll have a look tonight: I hesitate to put her in gear at the dock,
esp. while I'm pretzeled up under the cockpit looking at the stuffing-
box, but I'll at least have a look - I suspect she's dripping now even
with the shaft not turning.

I have to replace the impeller as well, so that's another reason to
stuff myself into that compartment...

druid
"Coatue" Crown 28

Stuffing-box help
 

On Oct 15, 5:49 am, druid wrote:
... I didn't notice
any water in the bilge after it sat overnight, but there was about 2
gallons in after running the engine for about 2 1/2 hrs. ...

I agree with the previous posters about the stuffing box adjustments.
However, your water problem could be any number of things. I've seen
that kind of water ingress from a raw water pump with bad bearings for
instance. Also, if you were underway when the water came in it might
have come in through a head or sink. At any rate, I think it would be
a good idea to look at all of the engine (use a bright flash light and
mirror) while it is running and see if there are leaks. You may do
this in neutral if you must, though you do want it to get warm and at
some point it will be nice to see the stuffing box when the engine is
running. You really ought to be able to run the engine in gear at low
rpms in the slip. If you can't then the set-up is unlikely to be
satisfactory in bad weather and you should think about moving to a
more secure spot.

-- Tom.

Stuffing-box help
 

"druid" wrote in message
oups.com...
On Oct 15, 10:11 am, "Capt. JG" wrote:
"druid" wrote in message

ups.com...



Hi,

My new-to-me boat (Crown 28) has a stuffing-box, and the previous
owner replaced the flexable coupling just before I bought it (which, I
assume, requires taking the stuffing-box apart...). I didn't notice
any water in the bilge after it sat overnight, but there was about 2
gallons in after running the engine for about 2 1/2 hrs.

It could be the raw cooling water is leaking somewhere. I had a quick
look and didn't see anything suspicious (it's an old Volvo MD6A).

My suspicion is that when he checked the stuffing-box as soon as we
went in the water, it was fine. But after running the engine for a
while, the packing "settled" and it's now leaking. Does this sound
right? (I was too tired to remove all the crap required to get at the
stuffing-box last night) What is "normal procedure" for a stuffing-box
that's been re-stuffed?

Any other theories on where the water's coming from? I'll be heading
down tonight to have a look, and would appreciate any insight on what
to look for...

druid
"Coatue" Crown 28

It's almost certainly the stuffing box, and what Roger/Dave said are
accurate. You should also check the raw water system. I was poking around
my
engine compartment a few weeks ago, noticed some seeping under the raw
water
strainer, and ended up replacing the unit. Glad I did, as it was about to
go.

--
"j" ganz


Thanks guys, that really makes me feel better! Nothing more
frightening than finding water in the bilge of the boat you just
bought... ;)

I'll have a look tonight: I hesitate to put her in gear at the dock,
esp. while I'm pretzeled up under the cockpit looking at the stuffing-
box, but I'll at least have a look - I suspect she's dripping now even
with the shaft not turning.

I have to replace the impeller as well, so that's another reason to
stuff myself into that compartment...

druid
"Coatue" Crown 28



When I did this, I doubled my dock/spring lines, and I kept the Rs low.


--
"j" ganz @@
www.sailnow.com

Stuffing-box help
 

"Roger Long" wrote in message
...
Don't get in there with the shaft turning! You don't have to see a drip
with the shaft turning.

Loosen the jam nut and tighten the gland. About as tight as you can get
it by hand with maximum effort is about right. If using a wrench, turn it
until the drip just stops. Tighten the jam nut with another wrench
holding the gland. The forces required are low enough that you can used
to large battery pliers.

It will now leak a bit when the shaft is turning but you don't need to
verify that if you turned just a tiny bit past when the drip stops.

--
Roger Long



I guess it depends upon access. For my boat, it's easy to get next to it
(about 2 feet away) without any danger of getting snagged. I don't get
closer than that while it's moving, at least not with anything that can
catch.

--
"j" ganz @@
www.sailnow.com

Stuffing-box help
 

On Oct 15, 12:14 pm, "Capt. JG" wrote:
"Roger Long" wrote in message

...

Don't get in there with the shaft turning! You don't have to see a drip
with the shaft turning.

Loosen the jam nut and tighten the gland. About as tight as you can get
it by hand with maximum effort is about right. If using a wrench, turn it
until the drip just stops. Tighten the jam nut with another wrench
holding the gland. The forces required are low enough that you can used
to large battery pliers.

It will now leak a bit when the shaft is turning but you don't need to
verify that if you turned just a tiny bit past when the drip stops.

--
Roger Long

I guess it depends upon access. For my boat, it's easy to get next to it
(about 2 feet away) without any danger of getting snagged. I don't get
closer than that while it's moving, at least not with anything that can
catch.

--
"j" ganz


I can see the stuffingbox without getting too close by hanging upside-
down in the cockpit locker ( I SWEAR boats are built upside down and
turned over, based on the amount of time I spend standing on my head
to get at stuff...)

I msg'ed the previous owner and sure enough he'd replaced the packing
with teflon stuff, so I'm pretty sure it's just the Joys of the
StuffingBox and the packing settling in. ("She'll be fine b'y as soon
as she takes up a little")

druid
http://www.bcboatnet.org

Stuffing-box help
 

"druid" wrote in message
ups.com...
On Oct 15, 12:14 pm, "Capt. JG" wrote:
"Roger Long" wrote in message

...

Don't get in there with the shaft turning! You don't have to see a
drip
with the shaft turning.

Loosen the jam nut and tighten the gland. About as tight as you can
get
it by hand with maximum effort is about right. If using a wrench, turn
it
until the drip just stops. Tighten the jam nut with another wrench
holding the gland. The forces required are low enough that you can
used
to large battery pliers.

It will now leak a bit when the shaft is turning but you don't need to
verify that if you turned just a tiny bit past when the drip stops.

--
Roger Long

I guess it depends upon access. For my boat, it's easy to get next to it
(about 2 feet away) without any danger of getting snagged. I don't get
closer than that while it's moving, at least not with anything that can
catch.

--
"j" ganz


I can see the stuffingbox without getting too close by hanging upside-
down in the cockpit locker ( I SWEAR boats are built upside down and
turned over, based on the amount of time I spend standing on my head
to get at stuff...)

I msg'ed the previous owner and sure enough he'd replaced the packing
with teflon stuff, so I'm pretty sure it's just the Joys of the
StuffingBox and the packing settling in. ("She'll be fine b'y as soon
as she takes up a little")

druid
http://www.bcboatnet.org



Yeah, I hear that. I can actually get into the locker and crough.


--
"j" ganz @@
www.sailnow.com

Stuffing-box help
 

On 2007-10-15 12:05:45 -0400, "Roger Long" said:

There probably is nothing wrong and it just needs to be tightened up.
I have to take mine up a bit about every third tankful of fuel (20
gallon tank burning about 1 GPH).

Agree with the "nothing wrong" and the recommendation of the gfo
packing, BUT feel something is wrong if you have to tighten up even
seasonally.

We have 1500 hours on our pre-gfo wonder-packing (don't know what it
was, but it was something new and improved, perhaps Teflon.) I adjust
for a slight drip while turning (our shaft is easy to reach from the
cabin) and only have to re-adjust every couple or three seasons or when
I take the shaft out. 15 or 16 seasons on that packing and it hardly
seems used.

BTW, I made the mistake of not closing a tiny petcock on our heat
exchanger when I winterized. Though it was aquarium-sized hose, it
dumped a bunch of water into the bilge before I figured out what was
happening. (and of course, a brand new bilge pump burned out at the
same time.....)

--
Jere Lull
Tanzer 28 #4 out of Tolchester, MD
Xan's pages: http://web.mac.com/jerelull/iWeb/Xan/
Our BVI trips & tips: http://homepage.mac.com/jerelull/BVI/

Stuffing-box help
 

On 2007-10-15 21:29:21 -0400, "Roger Long" said:

"Jere Lull" wrote

Agree with the "nothing wrong" and the recommendation of the gfo
packing, BUT feel something is wrong if you have to tighten up even
seasonally.

Could well be. This is the first boat I've owned and chartering and
borrowing doesn't give you a chance to track things like this.

My engine mounts are quite soft so there's a lot of motion which is
hard on the packing although it makes for a very smooth running boat.
I've had to adjust the box more often since I replaced the flexible
hose with the very thick Buck Algonquin hose made for the purpose.
It's quite stiff which also puts more stress on the packing when the
engine moves.

Yup, that sounds like you need new engine mounts. May well become
smoother with proper alignment and without the engine bouncing around.
It's a job I have to get around to.

--
Jere Lull
Tanzer 28 #4 out of Tolchester, MD
Xan's pages: http://web.mac.com/jerelull/iWeb/Xan/
Our BVI trips & tips: http://homepage.mac.com/jerelull/BVI/

Stuffing-box help
 

Jere Lull wrote:
On 2007-10-15 21:29:21 -0400, "Roger Long"
said:

"Jere Lull" wrote

Agree with the "nothing wrong" and the recommendation of the gfo
packing, BUT feel something is wrong if you have to tighten up even
seasonally.

Could well be. This is the first boat I've owned and chartering and
borrowing doesn't give you a chance to track things like this.

My engine mounts are quite soft so there's a lot of motion which is
hard on the packing although it makes for a very smooth running boat.
I've had to adjust the box more often since I replaced the flexible
hose with the very thick Buck Algonquin hose made for the purpose.
It's quite stiff which also puts more stress on the packing when the
engine moves.

Yup, that sounds like you need new engine mounts. May well become
smoother with proper alignment and without the engine bouncing around.
It's a job I have to get around to.

Fit an AquaDrive and all your engine vibration will vanish. We had one on a
36-footer and I've yet to see a smoother drive unit. We did not replace the
stuffing box packing in the 6 years we owned the boat. No shaft leaks, and
the engine was smooth as silk.
http://www.aquadrive.net/ad_features.html

Dennis.

Stuffing-box help
 

On Tue, 16 Oct 2007 06:51:48 -0400, "Roger Long"
wrote:

I did the alignment myself and there isn't that much that can go wrong with
a single bearing set up as long as the engine is square to the shaft. If it
isn't, you'll really feel it; especially with soft mounts.

Square to the shaft? Never had any issues that way. Our family
runabout has an automotive type tubular driveshaft, and has operated
for fifty years with the same U-joints. No packing, either. A shaft
enters the jet pump housing, and that seems to be that. Ever seen a
car with a packing nut where the driveshaft enters the differential?
Maybe the very close metal to metal fit is only possible since there
are u-joints. It does have two oil cups that you fill daily, that lube
that bearing. Lift the rear seat, and there everything is. There is a
doghouse covering the Buick V-6 that lifts right off. Almost as easy
to get at stuff as with a motorcycle.

Casady

Stuffing-box help
 

Roger Long wrote:
"Dennis Pogson" wrote

Fit an AquaDrive and all your engine vibration will vanish.

True, nothing smoother. Evolution has a similar set up.

However, few sailboats will have the necessary space between the
stuffing box and the engine. The CV joint need some offset to keep
them from wearing on one spot so the engine will need to be raised or
lowered in a retrofit. Many boats will need extensive modifications
to the beds so that the thrust from the thrust bearing can be
accomodated.

These are more practical when the boat is designed for them.
Retrofits can be very problematic.

True. Ours was fitted when a complete engine re-fit was performed.

To Roger L
 

Now that you have had time to use your Cape Horn and associated
tiller pilot, what are your comments both in regards to the Cape Horn
and to the course keeping of the autopilot set up? What tiller pilot did
you go with and why?
Thanks
Gordon

To Roger L
 

Gordon brought forth on stone tablets:
Now that you have had time to use your Cape Horn and associated tiller
pilot, what are your comments both in regards to the Cape Horn and to
the course keeping of the autopilot set up? What tiller pilot did you go
with and why?
Thanks
Gordon

.... and a follow-on question:

Does the turbulence of the water passing over the prop cause any
difficulties
with the autopilot?

bob
s/v Eolian
Seattle

Stuffing-box help
 

Somebody wrote:

Fit an AquaDrive and all your engine vibration will vanish.

Having done a retrofit on a YSM12 with an AquaDrive, the boat I'm
building has one incorporated in the design.

You can't believe the problems it solved.

Don't leave home without one.

Lew

To Roger L
 

On Tue, 16 Oct 2007 14:44:13 -0400, "Roger Long"
wrote:

I love the Cape Horn vane gear. It's the best thing I've put on the boat.

Installation of this unit is more complex than the others on the market and
will raise the cost a bit if you do it yourself and significantly increase
it if you have a yard do it. However, the result is a very clean
installation that is an integral part of the boat.

If you are not to comfortable with boat projects or think you might change
boats and want to take the vane gear with you, the Cape Horn probably isn't
for you. If you want a very attractive, clean, and rugged installation, it's
the only way to go. I open the hatch to my stern locker and there are two
cam cleats right inside the edge. Cleat the ropes and the gear is connected.
Flip them off, and it is disconnected. There are no lines and absolutely no
part of the gear inside the cockpit coaming; no steering lines running to
the wheel.

I have not had good luck with steering on very broad reaches and zero
running. I'm quite sure this is a function of the characteristics of my boat
however and not the unit itself. I had to compromise the "tiller" length and
leverage a bit to get the line blocks in a feasible location and the unit
sometimes seems under powered. This can be rectified by fitting a longer
servo oar which is a project for this winter.

I have nothing good to say about Raymarine. I chose their ST1000 Tiller
Pilot on the recommendation of Cape Horn, the name was familiar, and there
was one right on the shelf at Hamilton Marine. I bought the unit in January
because there was a short time "special offer" that included a remote key
pad (which I have found very useful, almost a must have) at no additional
cost.

The unit worked for a couple weeks of daysails and then failed on the second
day of a long cruise. I really needed the autopilot so I had to buy another
one. Hamilton offered to stand behind it after a lot of emailing and phone
calls to get high enough up the chain not to get the run around. I elected
to keep it however for a spare. Raymarine behaved such that I will only buy
their products in the future if there is no alternative.

The replacement unit worked well all season but started tripping out of
autopilot mode with increasing frequency about two weeks ago. It is now
unusable. Email inquiry to them so far unanswered. I'm glad I kept the
repaired first one. I think it's going to be one of those things you need
two of, one to be in the shop and one to use.

When Raymarine repaired the first unit, they said that the problem must be
that my boat is too large for it, which is true on the face of it. Since it
is only tweaking the vane gear linkage, however, it is doing less work than
it might steering an 8 foof dinghy in light wind.

Web site on installation he

http://home.maine.rr.com/rlma/Windvane.htm

Consider using both.. put the motor actuator part of one on the
windvane and the control electronics inside, control with the remote.
The shaft drags water into the case and you can get condensation on to
the pcb.

Stuffing-box help
 

On 2007-10-16 07:26:21 -0400, "Roger Long" said:

"Dennis Pogson" wrote

Fit an AquaDrive and all your engine vibration will vanish.

True, nothing smoother. Evolution has a similar set up.

However, few sailboats will have the necessary space between the stuffing
box and the engine. The CV joint need some offset to keep them from wearing
on one spot so the engine will need to be raised or lowered in a retrofit.
Many boats will need extensive modifications to the beds so that the thrust
from the thrust bearing can be accomodated.

These are more practical when the boat is designed for them. Retrofits can
be very problematic.

Xan-à-Deux has an old DriveSaver, essentially a half-inch rubber disk
between the transmission and shaft designed to self-destruct if we wrap
a line while motoring. Believe they changed the design since, but the
newer version seems to be similarly compact and able to take up minor
variations.

The engine still has to be fairly properly aligned because the
DriveSaver isn't intended for that purpose, but it smoothed the slight
problem I hadn't known we had. (Thought it was normal.) I later
re-aligned.

--
Jere Lull
Tanzer 28 #4 out of Tolchester, MD
Xan's pages: http://web.mac.com/jerelull/iWeb/Xan/
Our BVI trips & tips: http://homepage.mac.com/jerelull/BVI/

To Roger L
 

On 2007-10-16 14:44:13 -0400, "Roger Long" said:

I have nothing good to say about Raymarine. I chose their ST1000 Tiller
Pilot on the recommendation of Cape Horn, the name was familiar, and
there was one right on the shelf at Hamilton Marine. I bought the unit
in January because there was a short time "special offer" that included
a remote key pad (which I have found very useful, almost a must have)
at no additional cost.

The unit worked for a couple weeks of daysails and then failed on the
second day of a long cruise. I really needed the autopilot so I had to
buy another one. Hamilton offered to stand behind it after a lot of
emailing and phone calls to get high enough up the chain not to get the
run around. I elected to keep it however for a spare. Raymarine behaved
such that I will only buy their products in the future if there is no
alternative.

Just for curiosity: open the unit and inspect the piece of plastic
keeping the thrust bearing in place.

Our 2000 broke after a season or so. I fixed it by drilling and tapping
into some plate in there. The system's worked pretty well for 5 or so
seasons since.

The symptom was that turns to port (pulling) were fine, but starboard
(push) hung up increasingly.

From the reviews I heard and read when I decided on the 2000 (mostly
for the remote and GPS connection) I'm not sure the other company's
tiller pilots are much better, BTW.

The old 800 was sufficient for Xan, BTW, so the 1000 definitely should
suffice for Strider.

I've never had the AP trip out of autopilot mode *except* when the
bearing was sloppy. That was preceded by many beeps of warning, though.

--
Jere Lull
Tanzer 28 #4 out of Tolchester, MD
Xan's pages: http://web.mac.com/jerelull/iWeb/Xan/
Our BVI trips & tips: http://homepage.mac.com/jerelull/BVI/

To Roger L
 

"Roger Long" wrote in news:47150658$0$15369
:

I have nothing good to say about Raymarine.

Oh, oh......This will add Roger to the Raymarine $hitlist I'm on.
Their radar is crap, too. It rains inside the dome into the pot
metal...not good.

Welcome to the Raymarine $hitlist, Roger. Hope you got your rbc
Sospenders already inflated....(c;

Larry
--
There's never anything wrong with a Raymarine product.....

To Roger L
 

Roger Long wrote:
I have nothing good to say about Raymarine. I chose their ST1000 Tiller
Pilot on the recommendation of Cape Horn, the name was familiar, and
there was one right on the shelf at Hamilton Marine. I bought the unit
in January because there was a short time "special offer" that included
a remote key pad (which I have found very useful, almost a must have) at
no additional cost.

There are a three common problems with Raymarine (ex Autohelm) pilots:

They were designed in Britain originally, probably by an apprentice
engineer who was fired by Lucas Electrics (aka Prince of Darkness).
Their waterproofing is really bad. Water gets into all of them except
the 4000 tiller pilot which is robust. I know of people who created
their own little vinyl or sunbrella covers for them. The rod seals
are the weak point.

They are sensitive to low voltages due to corrosion at the plug
connection and will trip off or just beep and refuse to work. Check
the back of the plug if they do that.

The plastic gears inside aren't that sturdy and sometimes fail. The
4000 has an upgrade (basically the GT model) that uses bronze gears
and it is much better.

Evan Gatehouse

To Roger L
 

On 2007-10-18 07:04:26 -0400, "Roger Long" said:

Mine is inside a locker so it stays pretty dry and out of the sun. I
swapped the units yesterday and can hear something rattling around
inside which sounds a lot like a gear tooth or a ball bearing.

Raymarine has a website where you can sign up for an "Account" to get
technical support but they haven't responded to my inquiry about this
yet.

Roger,

Please include some of what you're responding to so we can figure out
the context.

I believe you were talking about autopilots, but there are some
"interesting" alternative topics you could have been discussing.

Without assuming anything, re-read what I included above -- your entire post.

This is from my inner editor that I can't turn off, only sometimes shut up.

-----

And I WELCOME others telling me that what they think I intended to say
wasn't what they read. When my posts diverge from my usual persona, I
probably did **** up.

Even editors need editors, perhaps more so.

--
Jere Lull
Tanzer 28 #4 out of Tolchester, MD
Xan's pages: http://web.mac.com/jerelull/iWeb/Xan/
Our BVI trips & tips: http://homepage.mac.com/jerelull/BVI

To Roger L
 

"Roger Long" wrote in message
...
Mine is inside a locker so it stays pretty dry and out of the sun. I
swapped the units yesterday and can hear something rattling around inside
which sounds a lot like a gear tooth or a ball bearing.

Raymarine has a website where you can sign up for an "Account" to get
technical support but they haven't responded to my inquiry about this yet.

--
Roger Long


Raymarine has a website where you can sign up for an "Account" to get
technical support but they haven't responded to my inquiry about this yet.

I have dealt with the website technical support quite a few times. They can
be slow to respond but do get back to you. Quality of response varies
depending on who replies. With patience you can get good information.

To Roger L
 

I have not had good luck with steering on very broad reaches and zero
running. I'm quite sure this is a function of the characteristics of my
boat however and not the unit itself. I had to compromise the "tiller"
length and leverage a bit to get the line blocks in a feasible location
and the unit sometimes seems under powered. This can be rectified by
fitting a longer servo oar which is a project for this winter.


Are you sure this isn't a function of having less wind to move the
vane, especially when running?
Or are you saying you mounted the unit higher than normal so you have
less oar in the water?
Might this not be part of the problem with your autopilot hitting the
stops? More oar, less autopilot?
I'm picking your brain because I'm considering a Cape Horn.
Gordon

To Roger L
 

Roger Long wrote:
"Gordon" wrote

Are you sure this isn't a function of having less wind to move the
vane, especially when running?

Partly but that's an issue with all windvanes. The Cape Horn video
shows boats running quite well but they had spinnakers set. My boat is
rather quick on the helm and takes a lot of attention downwind so I'm
not surprised at poor wind vane performance. The wind vane pays better
attention than most human helmsmen but can't anticipate.

My suggestion: put 1 reef in the main when sailing downwind much
sooner than you would with a human helmsman. Drop the main entirely
when it's windy. This was the suggestion of 2 British long term
offshore sailors (12 years of offshore cruising experience when I
spoke to them about this; now going on 22).

I followed their advice and our windvane's performance improved a lot.
Boat speed didn't suffer as much as I would have thought. Give it a
shot.

Evan Gatehouse