Journal Entries

April 2008

13 April - I can't believe it's almost the middle of the month. It's not a bad thing that time is flying by since I have some specific objectives to achieve and the next couple of years are not going to be the most enjoyable.

These past few months have been incredibly busy. Apart from a full time workload I've been trying to sort things out on the boat. I'm taking advantage of this time in Brisbane to get the boat completely ready for voyaging.

Last month I placed my order for a new Fleming self steering wind vane. I have done a lot of research on the various vanes and came to the conclusion that the Fleming is the best. The old monitor vane that was originally on the boat was like an oil rig and was going to cost about a thousand dollars to fix so I opted for the new Fleming. Unlike many of their competitors, Fleming has constantly been updating and upgrading their vanes. The newest model (and the 4th generation) of the Fleming vane is the "Global Equipe". Fleming take advantage of modern technological advancements in stainless steel and their new vane has improved strength to weight ratios of around 35 percent by using "super duplex stainless steel alloys". This means that I get a lighter, stronger and more compact wind vane, unlike some of the other manufacturers who are still making "oil rig" type contraptions to hang off the back of the boat.

I will provide more details when the vane arrives next week and when I mount it, but I'm pretty excited about its arrival and very thankful for the fantastic assistance provided by Fleming so far.

18 April - I was at work today and a big box arrived at reception. It was the windvane! I took it back to the boat after work and opened it. The photos aren't great since it was night time so I'll take more when I start to put it together. I was just so excited about the wind vane and wanted to get some photos up straight away.

Here is the box. Fleming certainly packed it well and inside I found loads of foam and everything bubble wrapped. I was surprised how light the package was.

After I took it out there wasn't really much in the box. Here is the wind vane gear, minus the water vane. I was really surprised how small the unit is. I can easily lift the entire vane in one hand and it folds in half for very easy storage below deck. What is even more convenient is that to remove the vane from the mounting bracket it's simply 2 bolts and a matter of minutes.

This is a very sexy piece of equipment and incredible to think it is capable of steering a yacht around the world. The first thing which really stands out is the quality of the construction and the light weight. The entire unit (other than a couple of washers and a bronze or brass gear) is stainless steel and rock solid. It's particularly nice that most of it is actually cast stainless steel instead of welded stainless steel tubes like some manufacturers.

All the gears are beautifully made and fit with precision.

You can see from the quality of the construction in the photo below.

So that is just a brief overview, I'll be writing a full article on the installation and operation of the Fleming Wind Vane in the coming months.