Kategorie: Windpilot

PACIFIC PLUS 20 YEARS ON DUTY

Hello Peter, thank you for support on Easter Monday! We have cleared for Banjul. ( The Gambia ). We’ve taken our vessel there 3 times.
Reading in your blog .. I have to say, that we’ve been in some of  the same waters my friend !

I recall meeting you on about 2000 at London Boat show. I was enquiring about your unit for my Colin Archer. I was concerned about the windpilot coping with that boats weather helm  You said.  “ Ben, your boat is a toy compared to my equipment “ it was funny then (and true). We still laugh about that comment .
         
Best wishes from Ben

LONGTERM ARTIC SAILOR COMMENTS THE WINDVANE REPORT

Again a very clear explanation with excellent diagrams by Peter, to tell us high latitude long-distance sailors on how things work. It tells you all the detail that goes into the design of modern WSS systems.

Windvane report

Having developed from huge appendages hanging of the back of transom by way of medium sized systems to an efficient, compact, light, strong and powerful pendulum concept.

As high latitude sailors it is even more important that one does not have to hang down over the transom to sheer in new lines or replace shear pins or worse. Without gloves your fingers would be stiff in minutes. We sailed the Arctic, the NW passage and crossed the Drake Passage to Antarctica 22 times.

We never worried if the Windpilot would get through the ordeal when hit by bad weather. The pictures of Abhilash Tomy’s boat after the knock down say it all. And if the Windpilot needed any tweaking or new steering lines things could be done easily from the aft deck without any Houdini acts.

If the innovative Dutch designer of boats like the Maltese Falcon, Gerard Dijkstra, chooses a Windpilot for his own 53 footer then one can be sure there is no better WSS around.

Mark van de Weg
SY Jonathan

HOME OFFICE – OLGALOU – WINDPILOT

Corona Zeiten

FROM ST. HELENA TO BRAZIL DUE TO CORONA

Hi Peter, the repair of our Windpilot worked fine during our trip to Brazil where we are now due to the Cornona situation.
We have been sailing around the world and one of the most reliable things we have is a windpilot Pacific plus that is helping us over all oceans, we also have raymarine autopilot that we use only for help if we do a day sailing. Pacific plus is quiet and take no power and fell more reliable. We have lots of time sailing together with friends that only have an electronic autopilot that have failed and they have to hand steer. And if we need support, Peter is always there for a quick response.
Best Regards Tommy and Helene Larsson from Bonnie af Stockholm

INDIA TO EGYPT – PASSAGE OF HIGH RISK AREA
…The unmanned boat was actually a remote controlled bomb boat. Either the detonator failed or they wanted a juicier target. Either way lucky stars were counted that day.
THE FULL REPORT

GARTEN EDEN DOMENICA – TROTZ CORONA

WEITERLESEN

58 JAHRE – 300.000 SM OHNE WINDFAHNE UM DIE WELT UNTERWEGS

Thies and Kicki, winners of the OCC Award of Merit, are the current owners of Wanderer III designed by Laurent Giles, British built, and launched in 1952. She has been sailing the world’s oceans almost constantly ever since.

REINKE EURO – PACIFIC SEIT CA 30 JAHREN IM EINSATZ

Hallo Herr Förthmann, habe eine noch handgefertigte Pazifik von Ihnen. Zuerst einmal 1000 Dank für dieses Gerät, das uns 5 mal Karibik und zurück gesteuert hat, und schon davor auf einer LM 30 gute Dienste geleistet hat.

Jetzt ist sie auf unserer Reinke Euro montiert, eines der wenigen Ausrüstungsteile, die immer (!) ihren Dienst getan hat und noch tut. Bei Flaute und Motorfahrt sind wir allerdings auf unseren schwachen Raymarine Pinnenpiloten (ST 4000) angewiesen. Vier von dessen Antrieben haben wir schon verschlissen, und nur von Hand zu steuern geht es, wenn wir mal gegen Wind und See steuern müssen.
Unsere Reinke Euro wiegt 7,5 to, ist pinnengesteuert, hat diese Twinkiele und einen nach steuerbord aus der Mittellinie versetzten Saildrive. Der Propeller strömt also das große Spatenruder schräg an, was kein Problem ist; aber was wäre, wenn ich den kleinen Tillerpiloten an die Windfahne setzen würde und ihn steuern ließe? Wie würde sich das Hilfsruder – schräg vom kräftigen Motor angeströmt – verhalten? Halten Flansch und Hilfsruder das aus und ist die Reaktion schnell genug?
Für ihre fachkundige Meinung wäre ich dankbar, vielleicht kann ich mir dann die Umrüstung auf einen Pelagic Pinnenpiloten o.ä. sparen.
Liebe Grüße aus Santa Cruz de Tenerife
Albert Lankhorst

MEIN ANTWORT
Moin in die Sonne,
Danke für den netten Schnack. Ca 60% aller Windpilot Segler fahren einen kleinen Tillerpiloten auf die Windfahne, eine prima Sache … funzt auch bei Ihnen – garantiert.

Allerbest
Peter Foerthmann

Pacific

CHARLES DOANE – WAVETRAIN – UPDATE ST MAARTEN NED. ANT.

St. Maarten – Colvic

OSTEREIER PARADOX

Ostern 2020

LAURIN KRYSSARE 38 – THIRTY YEARS WITH WINDPILOT

Hi again Peter, Now in 14 days quarantine on the boat in Le Marin, Martinique. Then do last provisioning and head towards The Azores.

Hopefully more open when we arrive, but possibly just some provisioning without leaving the boat and in worst case, if all ports still closed, directly without stopping to Gothenburg. 
My Windpilot serves me well during now 30 years, around Scandinavia, Iceland and the North Atlantic, no complaints whatsoever.
Best wishes 
Jan from Le Marin

70.000 RTW – 6 ATLANTIC CROSSING – NORTH WEST PASSAGE