Lying Raymarine Wind Speed Indicator

[Tsehum Pete]

I was out in the middle of Haro Strait between Southern Vancouver Island and the San Juans in a big blow on Sunday and my wind speed gauge is reading 14 knots and the porposes are leaping in the waves all around the boat. It was clearly at least double that. After I limped back to the dock with my pale-faced puking crew, it was still blowing like snot so I visually compared the speed at which my little propeller (?) at my mast-head was turning compared with boats in adjacent slips. Mine was barely turning and the others were spinning at high speed. Maybe it's just a little lubrication? Any ideas guys?

 

[JC on Bainbridge]

Easy fix, but I think you gotta go up the stick

Mine did the same thing last year. It would be blowing like stink, and my wind guage would show 8 or 10 knots, or sometimes 0. I would look up and often the little paddle wheel wouldn't be moving at all.This spring, I went up the stick with a can of SailKote lube spray. I had to clean and spray the sail track anyway. The paddle wheel portion is on the bottom of the main housing. Between the two, there is a thin seam. I think there is also a small drain hole on the bottom too. I sprayed SailKote (using the straw) into the seam and into the drain hole. Well, that loosen it and it started spinning right a way, and it has been hunky dory ever since.So, the stick is waiting for you, and I think you gotta go climbing.

 

[Tsehum Pete]

Severe Stick-itis

JC,Damn. I thought a trip to the heavens was probably needed. If I still had a wife, I probably would have her go up there. It looks like I might have to. JC, do you know of any counsellors who help those with stick-itis?Thank you for your help.Peter

 

[JC on Bainbridge]

Sorry about that climb.

Where abouts are you in Tsehum Harbour? Near by there are some of our favorite cruising grounds.Happy climbing, and sailing.

 

[John Nantz]

Could be Drag

Last month I was wondering if the "Haro" part of Haro Strait had anything to do with "harrowing"? (seems in the old days there were a lot of problems with spelling).Anyway, back to the speed readings. Since the meter is reading slow here are a couple possibilities that I can think of. 1. One of the cups (cup and arm) has slipped down a bit. This is assuming the arms for the three cups "slip into" the plastic middle part on the shaft. I don't have a Raymarine/Autohelm instrument so I don't know how they are made so this is just a guess. Once it slips down it can "drag" on what ever is under it.2. If not one of the cup/arms then maybe the center part has come loose assuming it is held on with a set screw.You can most likely download a *.pdf Owners Manual from the Raymarine/Autohelm (or what ever they call themselves today) web site and maybe it would have some assembly details.Also, maybe a bird sat on it and broke or bent one of the arms. When you go up plan to take some stuff to make it more difficult for birds to roost up there or move your boat closer to one with a taller mast Last spring I saw a bald eagle sitting on the masthead of a neighbors boat! Now that could cause a few problems.Based on your post it doesn't appear to be electrical or electronic.

 

[Rick I]

could be spiders

Those webs are a lot stronger than you'd think.

 

[Monty Miller]

My experience

Mine was doing the same thing and I called Raymarine and they said the sensor needed to be replaced because they are turning 24/7 and won't last forever. I ordered a new one from WM and hired an expert to go up the mast. The new sensor requires soldering so be prepared. Raymarine said it was a simple plug and play replacement. While the guy stayed on the top of the mast I soldered the wires below. When I was getting ready to pass the unit back up I noticed that one of the cups had a small chip about the size of a baby finger nail. Sure enough that was the problem so I had to order new cups and pay the guy for a second trip up. So my guess is a broken cup, bird s**t or an insect nest is causing your cups to be unbalanced. Hope this helps.

 

[Tsehum Pete]

Thank you for all your help. After substantial psychological counselling I'm going up Friday. Hopefully it's a lube job and not sensors, busted cups, eagles, dog shit, arachnids etc. .............

 

[Gary Wyngarden]

Before you climb...

Peter,I was getting abnormally low wind speed readings on my boat earlier this year. After much investigation, I found the instrument was set to a unit of measure of meters per second instead of knots per hour. Ten meters per second equates to about twenty knots per hour. On my Raymarine wind gauge there is no display of units of measure on the primary screen but there's a U1 and U2 setting that determines the unit of measure.If you have the manual it should explain how to change it.It may not be the problem, but I'd sure look before climbing the mast.Gary WyngardenS/V Wanderlust h37.5

 

[Bill C320 Papillon]

meters/second

I had the same situation on my Standard Horizon wind speed indicator. It was set for meters /second rather than knots.However, if you can visually determine that your "go-roundie" is spinning slower than your neighbors, it is not the units that are the problem.