Welcome to the Panbo Marine Technology Forums.
Notifications
Clear all
Topic starter
August 28, 2020 6:59 am
Sail Boat is Tartan 34 MK ii. Previous Wind System is a Raymarine i 60 that never worked well. Resetting to factory defaults helped for a short time, but now it's back to intermittent displays that are inaccurate in any case. Now Raymarine wants me to send the unit back to them for repair/assessment. Not totally unreasonable but I'm not sure it's worth the time / effort. I'm disillusioned with Raymarine. Looking for recommendation on wireless wind transducer/display option. It seems like a simple enough problem, to have an instrument that accurately and reliably shows apparent wind direction and speed. Is it the Calypso with a Sailracer inkDisplay, or is it SailTimer wind instrument with a smart phone or tablet, or an InkDisplay? Or something else? I've just begun to start to understand battery maintenance and the integration of solar power. It's been a marvelous improvement this year. But the whole electronics networking thing on boats leaves me feeling stupid. I can't seem to get it on my own. Maybe it's a generational thing? Is there a straightforward answer / solution to wind instrumentation for sailboats? Thanks in advance for your attention.
Mark
August 28, 2020 11:47 am
Hi Mark,
I tried a number of the wireless wind sensors and wasn't happy with the tradeoffs. Some had issues connecting to whatever was down below in certain situations, which was irritating. Others still required maintenance to ensure they charged. I also didn't like the mechanical older ones because of the maintenance and failures involved as well.
I ended up going with an LCJ Capteurs CV7 ultrasonic wind instrument on Grace (previous sailboat) and I have one on my current (not a sailboat) boat Rendezvous. They do require a wire, but it is super tiny, easy to run, and very long. It's sort of the best of both worlds in my opinion - still wired, not requiring solar or other power sources which could mean maintenance, and not mechanical - no moving parts - so it should last a long time without a lot of maintenance.
The one I put on Grace 3+ years ago is still working strong from what I have heard. You can see details of that install at https://seabits.com/major-mast-work/
Ben Ellison also installed one on Gizmo and covered the details here https://panbo.com/smorgasboat-2-more-tasty-test-electronics-southbound-on-gizmo/
Editor, SeaBits.com
Topic starter
August 28, 2020 7:55 pm
Thanks, Steve. I appreciate the wisdom of experience. Too bad they (Capteurs) don't have a North American distributor. I sent them a message on their web site. I'm curious to see how they will respond. Mark
August 30, 2020 11:15 am
@markgadue - when I bought my most recent one, they did not have a US distributor either, and opted to sell direct to me from the factory. The only issues with that arrangement were making sure they got the customs paperwork correct (they did) and the time it took to ship which was a bit short of a week if I remember correctly.
Editor, SeaBits.com
October 1, 2020 9:17 am
The Tartan 34 C is a small recreational keelboat, built predominantly of fiberglass, with wood trim.
It has a masthead sloop rig, a skeg-mounted rudder and a fixed stub keel, with a retractable centerboard.
It displaces 11,200 lb (5,080 kg) and carries 5,000 lb (2,268 kg) of lead ballast.You can use The new Wind
Instrument RB™ with replaceable battery and longer transmission distance.It has always been wireless and
solar-powered, which means there are no wires to install down the mast and through the boat.
