True Stories

“This week we sailed from Lemvig Denmark to Vlieland Netherlands. 270nm and a tough journey and without the Hydrovane it really wouldn’t have been possible for us. It gives us peace of mind while sailing and we can no longer do without it.”⁠
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⛵️ Barbican 33⁠

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From: Till Poepperling
To: Will Curry
Date: 24 November 2023

130°, 10 knots apparent and the Hydrovane works just fine

[Video below attached]

From: Till Pöpperling
Sent:  November 22, 2023
To: Richard Minielly
Subject: Re: Congratulations on your new Hydrovane!

Hi Richard,

We tested the Hydrovane today and we’re very excited! It’s such a joy to be able to sail without the noise of an autopilot!

In particular, we were impressed with the intuitiveness of the operation and the sensitivity to fine tuning the course.

Also, we engaged the Hydrovane on a 140° apparent and it was able to steer even in very light winds. Very impressive too!

In the next days, we’ll have some longer downwind sails, we’re looking forward to it!

Cheers,

Till

From: Ben Steele
To: Will Curry
Date: 21 November 2023

I am very impressed with my Hydrovane – it’s an excellent piece of kit, solid and robust. It took some work to install but I received great support from Will and the team throughout. It’s first outing was a six day passage, mostly downwind. So good to be able to sail wind-on-wing knowing the Hydrovane would help prevent an accidental gybe. And to be able to leave it “on” for days with zero power drain.

From: Jørn Haga
Date: November 20, 2023
To: Richard Minielly
Subject: Primer for black rudder

Hi Richard,

I got a replacement rudder last February, delivered to Las Palmas, to my boat “Toyster”. I’m now in Trinidad, after the solo crossing and traveling the Brazilian coast from Rio.

My Hydrovane has been absolutely magic, without it I wouldn’t have made it, since my autopilot broke somewhere in the Atlantic.

My question is, what kind of anti fouling-primer do you recommend for the rudder?

Best regards

Jorn H

From: Richard Minielly
Date: November 20, 2023
To: Jørn Haga
Subject: Primer for black rudder

Hi Jorn,

Great to hear from you and congratulations on the crossing! Glad to hear your Hydrovane steered the way.

Do you mind if we post your email to our ‘True Stories’ page? (https://hydrovane.com/true-stories/) We really appreciate any feedback from customers. No worries if you prefer to stay private.

For painting the rudder, we recommend a hard (non-ablative) bottom paint. To prepare the rudder surface, you will need to roughly sand the nylon to create a rough surface on which the paint can bond. Technically, a plastic-specific primer should also be used to help the paint adhere. In practice, most of our customers skip this step as the surface area is so small that they can repaint if needed. Generally, a good surface preparation is sufficient.

Happy to answer any questions.

Richard Minielly

From: Brian Hathaway
Sent: 15 November 2023
To: Sarah Curry

[EDITOR’S NOTE: Transcribed from voice memo – may contain inaccuracies]

“Hey there, I hope you don’t mind me using the voice thing.

I’m actually fixing my autopilot as I’m just leaving Jakarta to head to Batam.

The nice thing about [a tiller pilot directly on the Hydrovane] as opposed to having spare autopilot parts is it’s a built autopilot. So, if your autopilot breaks, you’re not taking up a day of trying to reinstall things. You just drop this thing in and to make it run would probably take me about 45 seconds. And I will be back to having the autopilot run the boat so it’s a really nifty fix.

I used it from Yap to Palau after my autopilot broke, for 250 nautical miles. It was low wind the whole way (like no wind) so I motor sailed. I used the windvane as my main rudder, and the tiller pilot on that and it worked great.

The only caveat is since it’s a little bit smaller than the main rudder and the Ram of the ST2000, or 1000 only pushes out about ~six inches. It does take a little bit longer if there’s any swell to get back to where it’s supposed to be. It works fine; it gets there. You just have to be patient with it. But like I said: in 250 miles, I didn’t touch it one time. I set it one time heading straight down there and it was perfect for 2 days. It was great.”

From: Mike
Sent: October 24, 2023
To: Richard Minielly | Hydrovane
Subject: Re: Hydrovane Operation Manual

[EDITOR’S NOTE: Mike sailed his Leopard 48 on a West-East Transatlantic crossing in 2023. He suffered a steering cable failure which rendered his electric autopilot useless, although he could still manually steer one rudder using the wheel. The Hydrovane steered the remainder of the journey into Portugal, upwind in heavy conditions.]

Hey Richard – the Hydrovane worked great! But I couldn’t get the Watt and Sea to stay locked down with the line provided…it would slip in the brake and then not provide output. I’m currently in Sevilla Spain, can you ship here? Or if not here, Gibraltar? I’d like to get the block and tackle system for the watt and sea, and i’m assuming that will come with a line for securing the generator in the down position that will hopefully work better? My current mailing address is [redacted].

Thanks,

Mike

From: Clay Dingledine
Sent: October 29, 2023
To: Richard Minielly
Subject: Re: Clay Dingledine – Columbia 36 – Hydrovane model VXA2D L(shaft length)/H/E

Richard,

Just wanted to provide an update since I recently returned from a trip.

I’m learning my Hydrovane better and better. It certainly does take some getting familiar with. I do use the vane declination adjustment, however as you mentioned just a little adjustment seems to desensitize the vane perfectly so far.

I used the portable power planer on the rudder (a great tool for that project fyi). My vibration was reduced by about 70%. I plan to continue planing and shaping the trailing edge to hopefully eliminate the vibration.

I never realized how much my stern “squats” or throws a wake when underway until evaluating the hydrovane. I could raise the shaft but my lower bracket is already only 2” from the bearing ring. So I’ll leave it be for now.

Thanks for your help along the way. I’ve been enjoying the Hydrovane so far. 

Kindly

Clay

From: Bob Fitzgerald
Sent: 11 July 2023
To: Richard Minielly
Subject: Re: Alignment

Thanks again Richard for the quick response.  I depend on ‘Magellan’ when offshore as hand steering for days is quite tiring! Best investment ever!

Bob Fitzgerald
SV Freyja
Dighton MA

From: Bob Fitzgerald
Sent: 11 July 2023
To: Richard Minielly
Subject: Re: Alignment

Hi Richard,
As a follow up I am happy to report that I sailed from the Azores to Bermuda ( > 2,200 NM based on chasing the wind for a good part of the journey ) and from Bermuda to New England ( 700 NM ) and the Hydrovane worked perfectly.
Thanks again for the support!
Bob
SV Freyja
Dighton MA

More information on Bob’s sailing with his Hydrovane, ‘Magellan’, is available on his tracker: https://forecast.predictwind.com/tracking/display/SV_Freyja_1/

From: Fiona Harwich <fharwich@gmail.com>
Sent: Tuesday, September 19, 2023 6:37 AM
To: sarah@hydrovane.com
Subject: Testimonials

Hi Sarah

We are sailing with the World ARC 2023 and our Hydrovane has been invaluable. We lost our autopilot heading into Australia in gale-force winds. It was a treacherous approach navigating through the reef in a shipping lane and hand-steering was extremely challenging. With only a tiny bit of sail out the Hydrovane did a mighty job keeping us on course. 

From: Jim MacDougall
Sent: September 13, 2023
To: Brooklyn Foster
Subject: Bob

[photo showing] Tiburon Ca. looking towards San Francisco.

After a month of non-stop work, I was (finally) underway. Jumping off the NW tip of Vancouver Island, my first planned landfall was San Francisco on the way to Mexico.

The new hydrovane was put into service (for the first time) in very light winds on a westerly Pacific swell.

My hydrovane, now affectionately now known as Bob, is remarkable.

Bob steers better than any person I know and he seems truly happy – never complains.

Heavy wind and seas, or otherwise, Bob has exceeded my expectations. 

The best part – Bob doesn’t drink my beer.

Thank you Hydrovane! An excellent product.

Jim MacDougall

From: Jeannette Dean
Sent: September 11, 2023
To: Richard Minielly
Subject: vane

We LOVE Hydrovane!!  ‘Jeeves’ took us around the world and many miles before and since.  Keep up the good work!!!

What are the measurements on the new short fat vane?

Thanks!

Jeannette Dean

From: Siggi Kemmler
Sent: August 18, 2023
To: Will Curry
Subject: My Hydrovane

Hi Will.

The Hydrovane is by far the best purchase I have ever made for our Spencer 44, having invested well over $200k in her rebuild/refurbishment over the past 9 years!

On our trip up to Bella Bella this summer we unfortunately struck a log at night.  Having a full keel the log rolled under the boat and then popped up just enough fast enough to strike our Hydrovane rudder.

On careful inspection it became obvious that the 2” or so of the inner shaft below the lower bearing has been bent.  The rudder is in damaged.

The shock carried thru to the upper shaft and I had the rudder fore-aft locking pin in place which strangely sustained a very minor bend, making it difficult to insert/extract the pin.  I tested the spare pin which works fine.

I am writing this sitting on my foredeck as ‘Otto’ the Hydrovane is guiding us down the east side of Texada.  Still working!

My question is do you have a machine shop in Vancouver or on the island that you have used previously and would recommend for the straightening of the shaft.  I have in the past straightened large hydraulic cylinders for our logging equipment so suspect this would not be complex.

Please advise.

Thank you.

Siggi Kemmler
SV Swadeshi

Bonjour à tous,

Voici quelques photos du montage de notre HYDROVANE sur notre NORDSHIP 40 DS que nous avons installé nous même en octobre 2022. Je rentre de notre croisière de Port La Forêt aux Açores et je peux maintenant vous faire part de mes commentaires sur son utilisation en grande croisière.

Son utilisation demande une certaine compréhension et pratique que nous avons pu acquérir durant nos sorties à la journée un peu par toutes les conditions de vents, en hiver et au printemps de cette année, et globalement j’étais déçu car par vents irréguliers, les réglages de l’angle de barre sont trop nombreux, et le cap souvent en lacets.

Ma première grande satisfaction a été à Pâques quand nous avons PERDU NOTRE SAFRAN en allant à La Rochelle. Les conditions étaient pourtant bonnes avec un vent de NE de + ou – 20 à 25 noeuds et une mer peu formée. Notre Hydrovane  barrait correctement avec la barre du bateau immobilisée, et donc peu sollicitée. Notre Hydrovane nous a permis sans problème de faire les 25 Mille restants pour atteindre le port de La Rochelle, sans demander de remorquage. La cause de la perte du safran était un problème d’électrolyse de la mèche de safran en aluminium plein de 6 cm de diamètre ( système Jeffa ).

Ensuite, pour notre voyage aller et retour vers les Açores, notre Hydrovane a fait très correctement tout le boulot et tout le temps (nous ne sommes que 2 à bord).

Il a donc besoin d’un vent régulier en force et maintient parfaitement le bateau que ce soit par vent de travers, quelque soit la force et aussi par vent arrière. GV amarrée et yankee tangonné en ciseaux. Les vagues de l’Atlantique ne limitent en rien son fonctionnement. Surtout ne pas oublier d’incliner son aérien sur son axe vers l’arrière quand il a tendance à faire faire des lacets au bateau.

C’est une aide et une sécurité indispensable en grande croisière que je recommande à tous.

Les performances du bateau ne semblent pas du tout affectées par ce deuxième safran , mais il est préférable de l’enlever pour les manœuvres d’arrivée dans un port.

Cordialement,

Jean-Marc Desantoine

TRANSLATION:
Hello All,

Here are some photos of the assembly of our HYDROVANE on our NORDSHIP 40 DS that we installed ourselves in October 2022. I have just returned from our cruise from Port La Forêt to the Azores and can now give you my comments on its use in large cruises.

Its use requires a certain understanding and practice that we were able to acquire during our day trips in all conditions of winds, in winter and spring of this year, and overall I was disappointed because in irregular winds, the helm angle settings are too numerous, and the course often erratic.

My first great satisfaction was at Easter when we LOST OUR RUDDER while going to La Rochelle. However, the conditions were good with a NE wind of + or – 20 to 25 knots and a light sea. Our Hydrovane was steering correctly with the helm of the boat immobilized, and therefore little used. Our Hydrovane allowed us without any problem to do the remaining 25 miles to reach the port of La Rochelle, without asking for a tow. The cause of the loss of the rudder was a problem with the electrolysis of the 6 cm diameter solid aluminum rudder stock (Jeffa system).

Then, for our outward and return trip to the Azores, our Hydrovane did all the work very well and all the time (we are only 2 on board).

It therefore needs a regular strong wind and holds the boat perfectly whether in crosswinds, whatever the strength and also in tailwinds. GV moored and yankee rigged in scissors, the waves of the Atlantic do not limit its functioning in any way.

Above all, don’t forget to tilt his aerial on his axis backwards when he tends to yank the boat.

It is an essential aid and safety device for ocean cruising that I recommend to everyone.

The performance of the boat does not seem to be affected at all by this second rudder, but it is preferable to remove it for maneuvers

Cordially,
Jean-Marc Desantoine

From: Piyush Arora
Sent: August 17, 2023
To: Will Curry
Subject: Re: RE: hydrovane issue under way

Hi Hydrovane Team,

I had a successful 16.5 day solo passage to Hawaii. I am now 1000 nm from San Francisco after spending 16 days clawing my way upwind on my return. I expect to see some gale conditions in the next few days unless it softens. My Hydrovane Roxanne, Roxy, has been killing it every day, day after day. I intend to ‘pin her down’ and keep her from getting damaged in case I heave to in 30 ish kts. And just use the ships rudder. Curious to know if I can utilize her in some way to aid while heaving to. Any ideas? I don’t want to leave her free trailing.

Piyush

Somewhere near 39deg06’ N/145deg30’W

From: Will Curry
Sent: 17 Aug 2023
Subject: RE: RE: hydrovane issue under way

Hi Piyush,

I’ll jump in here as I’m on Euro time. If you plan to heave to you do NOT want to lock the HV rudder. This can put a lot of stress on the shaft and rudder and potentially cause a failure. You should either let the rudder free trail (won’t affect being hove to) or you can engage the vane for being on a close haul on whatever tack you are on. This puts the rudder hard over and should help to bring the bow around. The only time you should lock the rudder is when you are motoring and not using the vane.

Great to hear that Roxy has been performing well. Can we add your email to our website? Hopefully the predicted conditions mellow out a bit. Let us know if you have further questions.

Kind Regards,

Will Curry, BBA

From: Emma & Stefan
Sent: August 4, 2023
To: Brooklyn Foster
Subject: Hydrovane question

Hi Brooklyn

I recently fitted my Hydrovane and completed our first significant trip.  4 days in a decent swell.  I didnt really know what to expect from the Hydrovane and was slightly sceptical of it functioning as well as the main rudder.  Well, it exceeded all of our expectations.  What a great thing.  500 miles with the helm locked and the autopilot off!!

I wanted to ask about the line that controls the angle of the wind vane.  We need it to be a little longer.  Can you tell me if its a standard line that I can buy or is it something special?  The way it welded together was witch craft!!   If I can buy it myself, would you be kind enough to let me know what to ask for or if its something that i have to get from you, please let me know and I will work out where to get it sent.

Best wishes

Stefan 

From: Sarah Curry
Sent: August 2023
To: ‘Emma & Stefan’
Subject: RE: Hydrovane question

Hi Stefan,

Thanks for reaching out!   Congratulations on your recent passages and we’re thrilled to know that the Hydrovane has exceeded your expectations!  It always works best when the boat is well balanced and trimmed properly, so the credit goes to you and Emma for that part 😊

The course setting line should be 4mm outer diameter. We use an 8-plait line that is low stretch.  Hopefully you can find something suitable. If not,  just let us know.

Your feedback is hugely important to us. Would you mind if we use your email as a testimonial on our website and repost some of your photos on Instagram?

Thank again, and safe travels!

Sarah

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