do you use a wind indicator?

[piedpiperIII]

What do you use for a wind indicator ? or maybe not? what do you use if anything. My first sailboat didn't have one and I never bothered, my second a cat 22 wing had a widex at top, this boat has non and I've been wondering if I want one or maybe just a ribbon on the upper shrouds ?

 

[Kermit]

Cassette tape on the shrouds low enough that I can see them. I quit using a windex when a hail storm knocked off the last one. A pine tree got the one before that. Others will tell you that you need to see what the wind is doing up high. I would never argue with that but it's not worth the neck strain for me. Oh, another sailor told me Saturday that cigarette smoke works very well in incredibly light air. Again, not worth it to me.

 

[CaptDon01]

I need all the help I can get.....yes to a windex

Don

 

[piedpiperIII]

Thanks Kermit, hope all is well with you

 

[JohnCTV21]

Windex on top and ribbons on the shrouds

 

[centerline]

yes, a Davis Windex or something like it, the Nautos Wintec which is a much more robust unit is very handy when sailing in areas that has shifty winds.... I wouldnt be without one.

 

[CharlzO]

I have a windex up top, but I find it's more for casual glances or when the wind is starting to fluctuate, to try to get a bead on it. Otherwise, I can pretty much tell when I'm getting too far into the wind when the headsail starts puffing it's chest at me.

 

[Barnacle_Bob]

Count me as +1 on the windex - love 'em - AND the cassette tape or yarn on the shrouds.

 

[Jackdaw]

Guys:

SAIL TO YOUR HEADSAIL TELLTAILS.

windexes and other indicators tell you about nearby apparent wind, but the real action is on the luff of your headsail. Always.

 

[Doug4bass]

Yup!!

 

[Kermit]

Guys: SAIL TO YOUR HEADSAIL TELLTAILS.

Oh, I use those, too. A lot. I don't have to strain my neck to see the lower ones.

 

[Gene Neill]

I have a Windex "sport". Mixed emotions. I have broken it a couple times, it has broken ITSELF a time or two, and I'm definitely tired of fixing/replacing it. I feel like it's a great learning tool, but it eventually becomes this annoying set of training wheels, and I wanna sail like Jackdaw! But the Admiral loves it, so it's probably here to stay.

I consciously try to avoid looking at it too often. I'll observe the sails and the water, tell myself 'okay, the wind is from THAT way', and then glance once at the Windex to confirm.

 

[Jamason]

Kermit.
Thought it was neat you said to use cassette tape. I've yet to get my H22 away from the dock. Still getting everything ready. This weekend while fiddling with it. I was wondering. What was I going to do about the windex since mine is broke off. Cassette tape was what I finally came up with in the rigging. Good to see that I'm on the right track. After my first race that I crewed on the fourth. My neck got sore looking straight up all the time. So if I did have one,I didn't want to be thinking I needed to be looking at it all the time. I imagine the windex would come in handy for an amateur like myself if I was trying to race and needed a very close reach. Anyway. Just had to put that out there. I've learn a lot on this app. So it's cool when I'm walking around the marina trying to learn new things from seasoned sailors I over hear someone talking about a problem and I can say "I've read that if you do this----" and they tell me that's a good idea. Let's me know I'm on the right course here. Just had to put this out there this morning. Hope everyone has a fine day...

 

[Drinkmilk]

I just bent my windex while pruning trees at an inland launch and kept a branch as a fond memory. I usually (used to?) tell my crew (wife, kids, guests) what the "arrow thingy" is for and they use it while driving the boat. It becomes a good lesson for real v. apparent wind. I've seen cassette tape and colored yarn on the shrouds, but I haven't been smart enough to put those on my boat yet. Rather strain our necks looking up I guess. Lol.

I usually prefer looking at the waves or adjust heading based on what my sails are doing. If we're inside the Milwaukee breakwater, I have my kids watch the seagulls on the wall. Those darn smart birds always stand facing into the wind.

Btw, here's a pic of my bent windex showing us roughly where sideways is, courtesy of my pruning efforts.

 

[Kermit]

Jamason,

The hardest part of using cassette tape is finding a cheap tape that you would NEVER listen to. Goodwill sells them cheap but most have decent music on them. The last one I bought is an Arabic singer. Even the cover is written in Arabic. I paid $1.00 for it. Oh wait. Goodwill gives me a discount since I'm over 50. So I guess I paid $.90.

 

[Kermit]

If we're inside the Milwaukee breakwater, I have my kids watch the seagulls on the wall. Those darn smart birds always stand facing into the wind.

Great tip! As an aside, can we assume the seagulls are not peeing?

 

[Jamason]

Drinkmilk
Looks like you have yourself a real crow's nest. LOL...

 

[Drinkmilk]

Great tip! As an aside, can we assume the seagulls are not peeing?

Lol. I guess I never looked close enough to tell.

Heard the seagull thing while in a sail class at Milwaukee Community Sail Center. Be darned if they aren't always facing the same direction, into the wind, kind of like little aircraft carriers readying to launch planes.

Yes, a real crow's nest! Lol. Could put my kids up there when they whine too much.

 

[Stu Jackson]

Telltales on your jib

Jack's right. We had a C22 for a handful of years and a C25 for 13 before we bought this boat in '98. Neither the C22 or C25 had anything, although the C25 might have had a windex. I never looked up, I looked at the telltales on the jib. The C34 has a wind instrument with direction and speed. I never use the direction, and only check the speed to confirm what I "feel" and am usually close, but more often I'm right on.

Wind direction is something you have to learn. It takes some time, but there are handy guides, like seagulls and waves and the back of your neck.

Cassette tapes of foreign music are a good start, but once you learn telltales and wind direction, you can take 'em off.

Better yet, buy Don Guillette's excellent Sail Trim Book, available right here on this website.

It is the BEST sail trim book ever written.

 

[piedpiperIII]

Thank you all for the input. I will sail with out and see how I do. I sail small lakes so sometimes its hard to tell the direction but I will learn again. Thinking back I remember the windex broke off my first cat 22 and I never replaced it.