From: Scott Waddington
To: Will Curry
Subject: Amble – Course setting wheel / Worm Stiffness

Hi Will

Hope you are well. I tried the Hydrovane for the first time the other day and got on very well all things considered. I used it for 3 hours from home port to Yarmouth in the Isle of Wight and by the time I got there I already had confidence in the Hydrovane. I clearly needed to do some tweaking but to all intents and purposes, it was working well. On the way back I had set up the course setting line up properly and was even tacking with the Hydrovane, leaving the tiller locked until on the new tack and then slightly adjusting back to the sweet spot.

However, this was a couple of weeks ago and I went out to Amble yesterday and was making a few adjustments, like fitting bunny cord to the rudder and I tried the course setting line (not sure why). To my surprise it was very stiff, the line just slipped on the pulley. When I tried to turn the pulley by hand, it was definitely stiff and I can’t work out what has happened.

I am sure this is something very simple indeed, so perhaps you could shed some light on it. I tried WD40 everything but that didn’t make any difference.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Regards,
Scott

Scott Waddington
Managing Director
WicorMarine Yacht Haven
Cranleigh Road, Portchester, Fareham, Hampshire PO16 9DR
t 01329 237112 f 01329 825660

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From: Scott Waddington
Sent: May-01-14 12:43 PM
To: Will Curry
Subject: Amble – Course setting wheel / Worm Stiffness

Will

I should have read your Tips first!! I’ve just seen the note about the worm swelling and that it might need reaming. I will try this today so please don’t waste your time replying as I suspect this is the problem.

Many thanks
Scott

[Editor’s note: The Worm bearings/bushings can get a little too tight from heat and humidity. We thought we had this one licked but it does re-appear. Units that were perfectly fine in the shop and stayed OK for some time and miles finally started to seize up. A simple fix – ream out the two bearings/bushings with an electric drill. See Troubleshooting]

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From: Scott Waddington
Sent:  July 03, 2014
To: Will Curry
Subject: One for the catalog?

Will,

Hope you and yours are well.

She’s been a dream, more obedient than any crew member and such a calm nature!

Regards,

Scott (of WicorMarine – as listed on our ‘INSTALLERS’ webpage)

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