I am curious as to how the wind vanes work on sailboats. Isnt the vane going to point in the direction you are moving and not the direction of the wind? For instance if you are moving at 12MPH on a beam reach and the wind is only blowing at 9MPH wouldnt the vane show the wind coming from the direction of travel?
Yes, it shows the sum of the true wind plus the wind created by your velocity. This is called apparent wind. So even though you may be on a reach (wind to your back) if you are going the same speed as the wind the wind indicator will point at a 45 degree angle to the rear of the boat.
The direction of the apparent wind actually helps you determine how to position your traveler and trim the sails. It is a more important indicator than true wind in most cases. i.e. your sails actually react to the apparent wind direction, not the true wind. This is one reason why you can sail faster than the actual wind speed.
edited by: Wolfman, Aug 27, 2010 - 04:24 PM
Wolfman wrote: Yes, it shows the sum of the true wind plus the wind created by your velocity. This is called apparent wind.
Well put, Dave!
I've been interested in one of these but nvr bought one. Anyone have pics or one mounted on their boat. What are the little angled wires for? I now understand how it points but how do you use it or take advantage of it?
Wolfman wrote: Yes, it shows the sum of the true wind plus the wind created by your velocity. This is called apparent wind. So even though you may be on a reach (wind to your back) if you are going the same speed as the wind the wind indicator will point at a 45 degree angle to the rear of the boat.
The direction of the apparent wind actually helps you determine how to position your traveler and trim the sails. It is a more important indicator than true wind in most cases. i.e. your sails actually react to the apparent wind direction, not the true wind. This is one reason why you can sail faster than the actual wind speed.edited by: Wolfman, Aug 27, 2010 - 04:24 PM
Ok that makes a little more sense to me now. I guess I need to just buy one and use it to understand it more.
Thanks 😀
Jeremy,
I use one of these.
http://www.murrays.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=MS&Product_Code=04-7703&Category_Code=
I have it mounted to the end of my Hooter pole. It is half the cost of the Telo-Cat and I have been unable to break it.
I did break the Telo-Cat. I tried a mast head mounted vane but looking up that high is a pain. Being mounted on a rotating mast made it hard to tell exactly where the wind was coming from.
I only use it when the wind is so light it is hard to tell which direction it is coming from, and when reaching down wind, try to keep it at 90deg. to the boat.
What is the hooter pole?
The same as a spin pole, but with a Hooter attached.
The green sail is the Hooter.
Steve, really nice shot of your hooter rigged cat.
~~ Now lets see some "REAL HOOTERS" 😆
real "hooters" are on the pay site..."sexy beachcats.com"...
You can simply attach a few strands of yarn, or cassette tape to your bridal wires and see your apparent wind (and wind shifts) other people also put them on their side stays, i don't.
Rick White claims ABBA 8 track is the fastest tape out there...
skarr1 wrote: The same as a spin pole, but with a Hooter attached.
The green sail is the Hooter.
The difference here is that since a hooter rolls up its much easier to put a wind vane on the pole.. a spin would likely get fouled in the vane, and risk shredding the spin
Here you go popeyez - 
As Steve K says downwind is the most important use of the bridle vane where races are won and lost. If you are headed more than 45 degrees away from the downwind mark (and the vane is 90 degrees to your hulls), time to jibe & head down other way. Pete