From: Pim Tiddens
Sent:  October 04, 2014
To: Will Curry; Valerie Williams
Subject: S/V Nelly Rose

Hi Will and Valerie,

…We have been using the Hydrovane on a number of trips now and we are delighted with its performance. I was all set to start a long learning curve, but it took me less than twenty minutes before we had it functioning to our satisfaction. We made a short video for our blog www.nellyrose.nl immediately afterwards.

I’m not quite happy yet with the installation as I underestimated the hydraulic pressure as the water passes between the slot of the stern and the rudder. The rudder now is half an inch clear of the stern when it is straight, but because of the shape of the boat that reduces to less than a quarter inch when it is on full starboard rudder (placement of centre on the port side). I will lower the shaft about an inch and that should be enough to reduce some of the force that builds up now. Thankfully we put enough backing on the bottom strut, otherwise it could have been ripped out. These are however minor items to be fine tuned. Basically the Hydrovane is everything I hoped it to be.

Best regards,
Pim Tiddens
S/V Nelly Rose

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From: Pim Tiddens
Sent: December 28, 2014
To: Will Curry
Subject: Re: S/V Nelly Rose

Hi Will,

Yes you can post email on your website and I will send you photo’s of the installation when it is all installed again. We’re now in Colombia and I’ve taken the rudder and vane off.

We just sailed from Curacao to Santa Marta in Colombia using the Hydrovane. It worked downwind in a range of windspeeds from 10 to 30 knots without a hitch. We’re still very happy with our investment!

Regards,

Pim Tiddens

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