Wind speed /direction

[kevMar]

I have just bought a 1988 34 catalina... i would like to install a wind speed/direction instrument on the boat and an wheel pilot .. Any suggestions on what to look for and how hard is it to install..  thanks

[Lance Jones]

Congrats on the purchase!!!! I've found the C-34 to be an awesome boat -- I've been sailing since 1967!!!
I have an 88 as well and my SN is 622.

As to instruments etc.... It depends on what type sailing you plan to do. Will you be racing or cruising.?

[Ken Juul]

Welcome.
We bought our boat in New Bern in 2000.  Moved it to the Chesapeake.  Nice area, Oriental and Beaufort are a couple of our favorite towns.

You will get a bunch of answers to your questions here. 

Being a newbie I will also point out that both questions have been asked before.  You can use the search function in the blue menu bar to find previous discussions to add to your knowledge.  Search terms of Autopilot and windex should bring up a bunch of threads.

Also not sure how much specific information is available, but don't forget to look at the Tech Wiki.  Electronics and cockpit are a couple areas that might have some information.   

The wiki is fairly new, when you do decide on how you are going to equip your new toy.  Please consider documenting your projects in the wiki.  It is fairly simple, instructions are about half way down the main wiki page.  Be happy to help if you have questions.

Again welcome, its a great boat.  If you haven't done so, I invite you to join the C34 International Association (C34IA).  Information and a link are on the home page www.c34.org

[Stu Jackson]

Welcome.

Wind speed:  This will require pulling the mast, unless you follow Ron Hill's suggestions that he mentioned recently about his writeup in Tech Notes some time ago about installing equipment at the mast while keeping the stick vertical.  The most important thing is to get the wiring down through the plastic conduit to avoid mast slap of wiring inside the mast which is absolutely worse than Chinese water torture.  An alternate solution is to run the new wire down the mast outside of the conduit, but make sure you avoid the slap with cable ties or other insulation.

Most of the wind speed instruments have pretty hefty connectors at the end of the wire, which makes doing it without pulling the mast a challenging proposition.  Cutting and reconnecting the factory connectors is not for the fainthearted.

There is the wireless approach, a company named Tack Tick makes them.

The alternative is to sail for awhile without that information to see if you absolutely need it.  We have one, but in the many years we sailed on our earlier boats before we bought Aquavite in 1998, we hadn't gotten into the habit of relying on that information/display, so I still find I hardly use the information.  I know where the wind is coming from based on the sail trim and our heading, and I can tell wind speed based on the water.  So, think about it as a need vs. a want.

Autopilots:  This is a very interesting subject.  There really aren't many choices left out there.  We don't know where you sail, so one of the issues is the robustness of the unit you may need.  Offshore ocean sailing would suggest a below decks unit connected directly to the steering quadrant.  Lighter sailing use could employ the wheel units. 

Raymarine now has the largest market share of autopilots on recreational boats.  However, there are a number of our C34 skippers and others who aren't as pleased as they may have been with the quality of the equipment in terms of both performance and heftiness of the construction of the wheel drum.  While you can search on this forum under autopilots as suggested, I recommend a Google search on autopilots, or boat autopilots, etc., to give you a better idea of what's out there and sources. 

As always, the West Marine Advisors have good information on the things to consider:  http://www.westmarine.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/westadvisor/10001/-1/10001/Autopilots.htm

Other considerations are interfacing your electronics to have, say, the GPS steer the boat from waypoint to waypoint.  Again, two sides to that coin:  some love it, others like to keep the instruments separate and keep their head out of the boat.

Another source I have personally investigated and will purchase when my old ST3000 belt autopilot expires, is CPT:  http://www.cptautopilot.com/  This is a non-integrated, course keeping unit; heavy duty, and simple.

"waterdog," Steve Dolling and family, sailed down from British Columbia to Mexico this past year and bought a new Raymarine autopilot.  He wasn't pleased with the quality of the wheel drum when he first purchased and installed the unit. 

These are from a search on "X5"

http://c34.org/bbs/index.php/topic,4981.0.html

http://c34.org/bbs/index.php/topic,5278.0.html

http://c34.org/bbs/index.php/topic,2364.0.html

His 1500 mile report can be found here:  http://c34.org/bbs/index.php/topic,5270.0.html

and

http://c34.org/bbs/index.php/topic,5345.0.html

[Bill Asbury]

Welcome Kev,
Since you just bought your C34 and it is 22 years old, it might be a good idea to use it a while and get thoroughly familiar with all systems before spending beaucoup boat unit$ on new equipment.  More critical priorities for maintenance/repairs/upgrades could become apparent as you become better acquainted.
As you may know, you can buy a handheld digital wind speed indicator for less than one boat unit ($100) as my wife did for our previous boat.  We do have a windspeed/direction indicator on our C34, but as Stu mentioned in another post, we can see and feel windspeed and direction pretty well after spending some time on the water without the help of an expensive guage. 
As for the autopilot, we have the typical 4000 model on our boat but being only casual cruisers on the Chesapeake we hardly ever use it except to check it once in a while to make sure it works, using the wheel brake occasionally instead.  If you are based in New Bern and will mostly be cruising the Neuse River and Pamlico Sound/ICW, then your use of the boat might be similar to ours.
Best wishes,
Bill     

[Ron Hill]

KEV : Welcome aboard!!  You purchased a good year C34 as it has some of the wiring and engine improvements that the earlier C34s did not have.  You need to check the Critical Updates section of this form to get you up to speed especially the "Wiring Harness Upgrade".

Wind Speed Indicator - There are a number of differant units out there (beside the hand held).  The older technology gives you "Relative Wind" and most of the newer ones will give you "True Wind".  I'll let you do the home work to figure out the difference.  You can also get "wireless" and "wired " units, more homework for you to decide.

Auto Pilot - There are basically two differant types : one is a belt driven unit and the other a gear driven unit.  The gear driven units can be off of a "tiller arm" on the steering quadrant or off the wheel itself.  Again more homework for you.  
I have and favor the belt driven, as you can forcibly override the the auto pilot (in an emergency) with out stripping the gears.

Again welcome to the C34 site and your reading is cut out ahead of you!!   A few thoughts.  

[Mike and Joanne Stimmler]

Kev,
I hired a rigger to fish my wiring down the inside of the mast for my new Raymarine wind transducer and he did it in less than hour with the mast up. He did warn me that it is sometimes a hit or miss situation and could take longer but it worked out well. Maybe we were just lucky.

Hope it works out for you.

The advice you're getting from the other members is "right on". I would spend a year just getting used to the boat and then see what your real needs and wants are.

Good luck and welcome aboard. YOU'RE GONNA LOVE IT!

Mike

[Jeff Kimbel]

Hey Kev -  Welcome to the community!  I don't have any additional advice on your immediate question, but we have our '87 C34 just down the river from you, across from Oriental.  If you would ever like to compare notes & boats, please give me a shout.  You'll find my e-mail address in the members section.

Jeff

[Rick Allen]

Welcome aboard Kev!  You'll find loads of good people and great information here.  I also have a 88 C34 and we had our mast pulled in 2007 for various projects including the addition of a new wind speed indicator. We have a bunch of pictures of the process and a few pics of the mast interior here:
http://public.fotki.com/randypictures/painkiller-1/out-comes-the-mast/

Feel free to browse through them if they help.  We also have other pictures of the boat here:
http://public.fotki.com/Sailorick/sv_painkiller/
and here:
http://public.fotki.com/randypictures/painkiller-1/

Good Luck!

Rick

[hump180]

Kev, look on ebay for tack tick wireless instruments. Many people on this board and others are pleased with them and they are a snap to install. Ebay has some good discount deals on instruments. As for myself I am doing simliar upgrades to our boat. We just purchased a Raymarine X5 from ebay and tack tick instruments. Will install in spring. If you are looking for wind only that will save you some money or you can but a package of instruments like I did.

[Ted Pounds]

I second Bill's suggestion about Tack Tic instruments.  When my Datamarine wind instrument died I installed the Tack Tic wireless and just ripped all those old wires out of my mast.  It was a breeze to install with the mast up.

[Joe and Carol]

We don't want to sound lazy or snug but due to our decision not to climb the mast or spend any extra money last season we enjoyed sailing all summer without the wind direction. We calculated wind speeds by watching white caps and contacting friends who have installed measuring capabilities.  In Missouri fresh water lake sailing, we worry most about gust spreads from passing thunderstorms.  We learned to watch and listen to the sails working our speed meter getting every tenth of knot possible ( If we wanted to go fast ).  Most of the time we are happy going slow.  Carol has purchased a hand held wind speed device which we use mostly to answer questions.  All in all, last summers sailing, was unencumbered by lack of wind direction and wind speed.  As Stu says give a try without until you decide what you want and need.   We have looked longingly at the Tic Tack Wireless.  That would be our choice when on the shrouds the yarn wears out.  I like comments the Tic Tack is a breeze to install!  Welcome with your 1988. . we have a 1987 Tall Rig.

[hump180]

Joe and Carol, pretty cool sailing a season without wind instruments - back to the basics. Sometimes I gaze at the instruments too often. When I used to fly with my Grandfather, every now and then he would cover up the airspeed indicator on a landing and make me break free of the instruments and work from feel - he was old school and very gifted at flying. That practice actually made you better and built confidence.

[Ken Juul]

I remember hearing bad stories about some of the early wireless wind devices.  Seems the batteries would last about a year.  Replacement batteries cost almost as much as a new device.  Hopefully they have found some cheaper batteries in the current devices. I mention this because lots of junk gets sold on ebay.  Do your homework, know what you are buying.