Yet another wind instrument question

[Bad Obsession]

When I bought my boat it had a transducer on the mast for a wind instrument. There is also a cable down in the hull that doesn't go to an instrument. I assume that it is the cable for the wind instrument.

If I was able to figure out what brand and model instrument I have then I could probably get the parts to fix the transducer and then get a display unit.

There isn't a brand stamped to the cable. How do I figure out what brand of wind instrument I have?

My boat is a 1990 Catalina 30 and I would assume that the instrument was added to the boat when it was first commissioned. What type of instrument would be placed on a Catalina of that era?

Would I be better off, down the road, just going with a wireless ticktack wind instrument and not trying to save money by using what is already there?

 

[garylinger]

I am by NO means knowledgable about this but, after having done a little reading, could the cable around your hull be for connecting a knotmeter? I know that some electronics are capable of both true wind and apparent wind speeds but to do that they need to know the boat speed to do the math.

 

[Chuckbear]

You say there is a cable down your hull, the wind instruments will run down the mast then perhaps down the hull to the placement of the display. The cable will not tell you anything and you don't know if the masthead sensor works or not. Forget trying to fix the old stuff and just install a new wind system.

 

[Bad Obsession]

I am sure that the cable is from the old wind instrument. I think that the cable does run up the mast.

The mast transducer is missing the wind speed part to it, the direction indicator is still there. I think that I could just replace the thing that spins around for the wind speed and get a new display unit but I am not sure.

 

[Chuckbear]

I am sure that the cable is from the old wind instrument. I think that the cable does run up the mast.

The mast transducer is missing the wind speed part to it, the direction indicator is still there. I think that I could just replace the thing that spins around for the wind speed and get a new display unit but I am not sure.

You are asking for more trouble and expense than you realize. and after you go through all of this trouble and expense the odds are it will still not work and you will be out of pocket and back to square one. I don't understand you wanting to piece together this old obviously broken equipment. The parts etc. to find out it still won't work will be as much or more than new equipment. Then you will have to remove it all and start from the beginning.

 

[Bad Obsession]

Good suggestion.

I might get the new ticktack when money starts coming in again. It looks reasonable and it will be nice to not have to run the wires down the mast.

 

[Chuckbear]

Good point, I am just not a big fan of the Tacktic. You already have the wires in the mast so it would be easy to just attach new wires and use the old to pull them through if you wanted to go with a wired system. It would take only a few minutes using the old wires, but of course that is a decision you can make later since your not ready quite yet.

 

[Rob19574]

Can you climb the mast and remove the masthead unit? It will most liekly need to be rebuilt (the wind speed cup motor) and from there you can find out the manufactures. For the display unit - once you know what you need perhaps ebay would be a source for that.

- Rob

 

[Joe]

wind transducer

Don't waste your time trying to match up the old transducer if you haven't taken it off to examine it. I wasted so much time trying to track down parts for my Standard WS1.. and I had the original manual. Even though the WS1 looks exactly like the newer WS 50 the circuits and fittings had been changed. I learned that there are no remaining parts for the old units, but I purchased a WS 50 rotor for $15 anyway, hoping I could modify it.... No way will it fit. I also found out that the newer units use a 6 wire cable, wher the older units uses 4 wires.... See where this is leading? And I had part numbers, diagrams, phone numbers, serial numbers, etc !!!

You might post a picture of the transducer to see if anyone recognizes it...

Get a new one but you don't have to spend $1500 on a wind instrument. If you're on a budget try to find lesser known or discontinued brands like Navman or Star... they work perfectly and will interact with any NMEA coded instrument so you can get true wind speed and direction. Use the old cable to pull the new one through when you replace the transducer.