My first officer the Hydrovane
A wind steering system is a purely mechanical autopilot. For me it became my best friend during the Golden Globe Race 2022.
Sitting in the cockpit of my yacht Nuri in the South Pacific, my gaze repeatedly returns to the red wind vane of my wind steering system. The Hydrovane is simultaneously my best friend, my helmsman, and my first officer during the Golden Globe Race. We make a great team.
My wind steering system helms my ship under all conditions, without rest. Without it, activities like eating, sleeping, handling sails, or navigating would not be possible. I couldn’t undertake this circumnavigation without it. In fact, from France to Tasmania, I manually steered for a maximum of ten hours.
The wind vane swings from one side to the other to keep Nuri on course. The ship runs perfectly balanced. It would sail straight ahead in mirror-calm waters on its own. While the waves occasionally push Nuri off course, the wind vane makes the necessary corrections. Nuri wags her tail, the red wind vane, joyfully as she sails mile after mile eastward.
How it works:
All wind vane steering systems have a wind vane at the top, aligned with the wind direction while steering the desired course. This vane is balanced by its own weight and counterweights to stand upright but can be easily tipped by the wind with very little energy.
If the ship is thrown off course by a wave, the apparent wind on board also changes. The altered wind direction blows sideways onto the wind vane, causing it to tip. This, in turn, rotates the rudder in the water via a mechanism, steering the boat back onto the desired course.
The different systems:
There are two types of systems: the servo pendulum steering system and the auxiliary rudder system. In a servo pendulum setup, there is no rudder in the water, only a servo pendulum. When this is turned by the vane, it swings due to the pressure of the passing water. The energy generated moves the main rudder of the ship via ropes, returning it to its previous course.
An auxiliary rudder system operates in the water with a pre-balanced rudder. If the ship deviates from its course, the apparent wind coming from a different direction tips the vane over. This turns the rudder in the water, bringing the ship back on course. Once back on course, the wind comes from the direction the vane is set to, causing it to straighten up and the rudder to return to its straight position.
My choice:
I opted for the second system, an auxiliary rudder system, during the Golden Globe Race. My wind vane is from the English-Canadian manufacturer Hydrovane. It’s a well-thought-out, simple, and very robust system that has been on the market since the 1960s. It has been tested by many long-distance sailors, is very popular, and was used by some skippers in the Golden Globe Race, including winner Kirsten Neuschäfer.
According to some of my fellow competitors in the Golden Globe Race, the servo pendulum system worked more efficiently in light winds. However, after sailing approximately 40,000 nautical miles with my Hydrovane, I know that the auxiliary rudder system works very well in all wind strengths due to its many fine-tuning options.
I primarily chose this system because it doesn’t require lines at the stern or in the cockpit, nor does it need blocks. The mechanics are less complicated and therefore less susceptible to failure. A Hydrovane system operates independently. It doesn’t need the main rudder to keep the ship on course.
Another decisive factor for me was that because the blade in the water is actually a rudder, it can also be used as an emergency rudder. You can attach a bilge pump lever to the very short tiller of the Hydrovane to steer Nuri by hand in an emergency without activating the wind vane. A good safety aspect at sea.
Maintaining course with the power of the wind:
At first, I didn’t understand that I needed to perfectly balance my ship. By selecting the right sail sizes and distributing the sail areas according to the course, I ensure that Nuri wants to sail straight ahead and thus my wind vane can do a good job.
For example, if the ship has a strong weather helm, the wind vane control tries to keep the boat on course, just as a helmsman would. On a unbalanced yacht, the helmsman feels increased pressure on the tiller and constantly has to steer the ship leeward. The steering wheel is constantly turned to leeward.
Now imagine that the Hydrovane constantly has to steer to leeward. If Nuri deviates windward from the course due to a wave but had already been steered leeward before, meaning the rudder was already turned, then it now has considerably less leeway available to this side. Under certain circumstances, the remaining steering may not be enough to reliably and quickly get the ship back on course. In these circumstances, the ship can do a broach. Properly balancing the ship through the right choice of sail wardrobe and proper trimming is essential to prevent this.
This handling of a sailing ship and its sails is also crucial for electric autopilots. They too can be overloaded. On a heavily weatherly boat, the autopilot has to work continuously to keep the ship on course. This requires a lot of energy and can, in the worst case, cause the autopilot motor to be overwhelmed, overheat, and even burn out.
Installation:
A little knowledge of materials and manual skill is required for the installation of a mechanical self-steering system. The Hydrovane consists of aluminum cast parts and stainless steel tubes. Cast metals are very hard but also very brittle. If they are put under tension during assembly, a small impact is often enough to cause hairline cracks in the parts, which can later break. In the worst case, they break during assembly.
However, cast metal is the right material because it is so hard that the parts can be mounted very tightly and without deformation.
It is essential to ensure that precisely fitted spacer pieces made of wood or plastic are made to fit between the hull and the cast metal fittings. Since ships usually have rounded transoms, fitting them is a tricky job that takes time.
Over dimensioned backing plates sitting in a bed of thickened epoxy resin are a must. A torque wrench and the know-how to use it correctly are also necessary.
On the way I have observed several times how much the system is challenged. It often happened that the ship slid sideways in high waves. The rudder of the wind steering system is then pulled sideways through the water. This puts a lot of strain on all parts of the system. A well-thought-out and cleanly executed installation are in my opinion the key to success.
Hydrovane
Hydrovane manufactures and ships from England, with its headquarters located in Canada. The Curry family acquired the company in 2002 and, like the previous owners, they have continually improved the product. The entire family embodies the company slogan, „Hydrovane – Steering your dream!“ The Currys are passionate long-distance sailors and product developers when it comes to their self-steering system.
A wind steering system from Hydrovane costs approximately €5,000 depending on the configuration. However, it’s best to get a customized quote from Will based on your specific vessel and accessories, as prices vary depending on the type of boat and additional features.
I have sailed my self-steering system for about 45,000 nautical miles, averaging around €0.11 per mile steered. The entire system looks undamaged, and in my opinion, it could sail another similar distance.
https://hydrovane.com/contact-us/
Eco-Steering System:
A wind vane steering system that reliably steers a ship with the power of the wind, quietly does its job at the stern, and doesn’t even burden the batteries – that still fascinates me. In the future, I will certainly operate such an „eco-steering system“ on every yacht of my own.
