True Stories

From: Roy Boughton
Sent: November-20-10 9:00 AM
To: Will Curry
Subject: Parts for ‘Guiding Light’

Hello Will,

Need a new cover for my standard vane, + 3 lock pins, Vane has started to split around top edge, think it’s too much sun, have broken one rudder lock pin. Everything else is AOK.

But apart from that, 9,000 Nm since installing the unit in 2009, been through some heavy winds on my downwind legs, over 50+ knts lasting 2,3 or 4 hours, Vane performs amazingly well, will never sail long distance without it engaged. Magic.

Best Regards
Roy Boughton
Guiding Light

From: francois.a.michel
Sent: Friday, November 12, 2010
To: John Curry
Subject: It just work !

Hi John!

Incredible! I heard about this.

Three hours needed to install the device: this is by ourselves of course.

We were two and the ship at drydock.

We put it on today, five minutes to leave the locks, 15 knots downwind and it works …

I’ll send you the pictures.

François MICHEL

From: Ted Devey
Sent: 10/27/10 12:07 AM
To: Subject: A voice from the past!

Hi John,

You may recall a decrepit ex RR engineer who contacted you about June last year babbling on about modifying his older VXA II with the newer worm/wheel course setting kit. This is the same old codger !

Well, life just got in the way but I’ve finally got to hell out of it this year and am now in Portugal grovelling merrily along on what measly proportion of my pension Gordon Brown deigned to leave me!

While I’m not as yet one of your band of faithful world girdlers, just a few Biscays, Irelands, Scillies and bits of Atlantic — (I got over the ‘manhood through suffering’ stuff years ago) — the ‘old’ Hydrovane, with the simple mod of removing the wire and pulley course setting whatsit and fitting a Tee bar locking screw, has been a cracking bit of kit – Just like a good wife — it just keeps quiet and works ! Bit male chauvinist that — Sorry!

However I really would like to do the upgrade so that I can adjust it from within the cockpit instead of risking me’ life leaning over the stern — and since I’m mostly single-handed going over would not be so funny. I don’t relish floating in the middle of Biscay waiting for someone to bring me a cup-a-tea!

I’d be most grateful if you’d send me the kit to convert this old model. I will fit it over the winter when I hole up somewhere either here in Portugal or Morocco and will send you pics of the mods if they will be of use to you others contemplating upgrading theirs.

Now, I look forward to this mod and to setting the old girl to do all the work again while I sit and contemplate my navel!

If it works well enough, I think I might marry it! I can’t afford a younger model!

All the best
Ted Devey
Yacht Edewsia

From: Rob Gaffney
Sent: Monday, September 20, 2010
To: John Curry
Subject: RE: Your Hydrovane story

Hi John,

“Having done my first three transatlantic delivery trips without a self steering mechanism my fourth trip on a yacht fitted with a Hydrovane was a real revelation! It never complains, doesn’t need feeding , uses no precious electricity and never goes off watch! In order to add a competitive edge to the trips we would regularly see how many miles each crew member could sail by hand steering on their watch. We then found that the Hydrovane would regularly achieve better results than the crew! All in all a great bit of kit that was good fun to use.”

Rob Gaffney
Hamble School of Yachting
023 8045 2668
hamble.co.uk

From: David Irving
Sent: Friday, September 03, 2010
To: John Curry
Subject: Ref Salutation

Hello John & the rest of the team

It’s been a while now since I received the Hydrovane and Kay, my better half and I fitted it to the stern of Salutation the week after. It’s been very busy for us recently hence the delay in sending you 2 video clips and a few pictures of Harvey (that’s his name–taken from a James Stewart film “Harvey” with the 6ft white rabbit).

We managed to escape for August and sailed south towards northern France where we spent an enjoyable 4 weeks of drinking wine and eating fresh prawns, oh and sailing!. During that time we used “Harvey” quite a lot and with a lot of success. The last time I used an Hydrovane was in 1991 when I helped to take a yacht from the UK to the Canary Islands. We are getting there in balancing the sails and are beginning to enjoy “Harvey’s” company.

It’s a great piece of kit and every yacht should have one.

So it’s another satisfied customer and therefore a big thank you to all the team in Vancouver and of course the guys who manufactured “Harvey” in the UK.

Many thanks

David & Kay

PS Salutation is a steel, 14 metre, cutter rig designed by Tony Tucker and has been our second home now for 5 years.

From: Jim Bennett
Sent: Thursday, September 02, 2010 7:39 AM
To: Hydrovane
Subject: Spares

Hello,
…

Finally I’d like to say what a fantastic piece of kit the Hydrovane is. There is no comparison with an electronic autopilot in terms of safety, reliability and strength.

Many thanks.

Jim Bennett

From: Kevin Patterson
Sent: Wednesday, September 08, 2010 11:07 PM
To: John Curry
Subject:

Hey John:

I wonder if you could tell me how I might order a new sail for my hydrovane? I’d also like to order the stern light case and the sunbrella cover as well. Since last we spoke, I sailed to the Marquesas, Raiatea, Kauaii, and home again—the hydrovane performed flawlessly. I might have hand steered fifty of those miles and she gybed perhaps three or four times. Last summer I went up to Haida Gwaii and the Hydrovane steered me across the strait to Rose Harbour.

I have a new book coming out with Random House and Doubleday next year about the ocean, intertwined with a travel narrative about that last trip around the Pacific. I mention how impressed I am with the device in there. I’ll let you know when there is a pub date.

Kevin Patterson
Saltspring Island, BC, Canada

Editor’s Note: Kevin is a doctor and a writer. He wrote a most hilarious tale “The Water In Between” about fleeing from his old life by finding a boat and going to sea – and he was a novice – before he got a Hydrovane. I read it twice …. just as good the second time.

From: peter sturdgess
Sent: Thursday, August 12, 2010
To: Valerie Hydrovane
Subject: Hydrovane

Hi Hydrovaners,

We are are pleased to report that we have now made a number of passages with the new fabric wind vane fitted to our old VXAI and are very pleased.

One thing has struck us though, we have now met two other Nicholson 38s fitted with Hydrovane steering. Both wax enthusiastic about it. We cannot however help but notice that they have the later VXAII models with fancy course adjusters that drive a worm via a bit of string which they can twiddle from the cockpit.

Quite frankly we are jealous, we have to venture out onto the aft deck to adjust the steering.

Is it possible to retro fit the worm drive to our old VXAI?

Editor’s note: Yes, we do offer the course adjustment assembly upgrade for VXA1 units. It makes life much easier!

Best Wishes
Peter and Helen

From: Michael Walsh
Sent: August-10-10 7:21 PM
To: Will Curry
Subject: Parts

Hi Will,

The Hydrovane is working well on Sequitur, and we’ve dubbed her “Hydra”. Quite often when the winds have diminished to less than five knots and we flash-up to motor sail, rather than engaging “Otto”, the Lewmar Mamba autopilot, we have allowed Hydra to continue steering. She manages well down to about two knots before she looses it. I am assuming that because we have used Hydra under power so much, the propwash past the rudder has caused the rudder pin to fail so soon. Also, the vane cover failed after only six months in the tropics, and we limped into Lima with more duct tape on the frame than nylon.

We have left Sequitur in Lima, Peru for the winter, and are back here in Vancouver until mid-September. We’ve brought the tattered remnants of the cover with us, and Edi is using it to sew-up a more robust replacement and some spares.

I would like to order three spare pins. Can you please let me know how to proceed.

Cheers,
Michael

From: Larry Read
Sent: August-07-10 7:10 AM
To: Will Curry
Subject: True Story

Hello Will

We looked at a second autopilot as our first back-up alternative but most people just carry the chart plotter/auto helm unit which doesn’t help if it is the drive unit that or other black boxes that fail. A complete electronic backup system would have cost twice the cost of the Hydrovane and taken up lots of space to store the extra parts.

Next we looked at the servo units, xxxxxx in particular. The need to be mounted on the center line killed our ladder and swim step. Lots of light weight tubing requiring 16 mounting holes instead of the hydrovane 6.

The Hydrovane is not only easier to mount, I did it single handed with two vice grips in two days, it looks good which was critical to my wife.

Finally when comparing apples to apples, access to the swim ladder, emergency rudder, ease of installation and the Hydrovane was over a thousand dollars less.

Not to mention no lines in the cockpit or no extra wear and tear on the boat steering day after day.

Thanks for a great product!

Best wishes
Larry

From: Tom Logisch
Sent: Tuesday, August 03, 2010
To: John Curry
Subject: First Experiences

Hi John,

Here some words about my hydrovane:

– we used the system after our start in kroeslin (germany, our home marina) to bornholm for 60 nautical miles from 2 to 5 bft wind from 120 to 180 degrees without any trouble or so – the system just works!!!
– now we are in sverige/sweden, karlskrona, and many sailors look interested to our big red flag
– it was one of the best investments into our ship
– sometimes its a little bit boring on board, there is nothing to do – hydrovane is steering…

Best regards – we start to stockholms islands tomorrow

Tom

And later…

I’m back from stockholm – during our 420 miles nonstop-trip with sometimes more than 35 knots wind and 4 to 6 m sea, the hydrovane steered in all conditions and courses. My crew members were glad and surprised!!

Orders in Germany: LOGISCH YACHTS

From: Dee & Pippa
Sent: Saturday, July 24, 2010 9:53 AM
To: Hydrovane
Subject: Sula’s Hydrovane

Hello John, Will & Valerie,

Greetings from Porto Santo.

We left Teriffa in the straits of Gibraltar after lunch last Saturday, in order to catch the tide. It was blowing force 6 from the East. I would have settled for less but it was in the right direction so it was time to go. Pippa and I hand steered out into the channel and by early evening we were clear of the shipping lanes and on course for Porto Santo. I had delayed setting the Hydrovane because I was too busy with navigation, watching out for shipping etc. More fool me.

The wind moderated to force 3 and was on our starboard quarter. It was time to set the Hydrovane. I adjusted the course setting line and pulled the two pins. The result was astonishing. You could have knocked me down with a feather. It just worked!!! We were immediately steering a better course than either of us had managed all afternoon. The Hydrovane continued to maintain it’s early promise for the next 600 miles.

During the passage we experienced everything from force six winds with a following Atlantic swell, to force two with an uncomfortable lop. The most we ever did to help was to occasionally tweak the course setting line when there was a wind shift.

I have experience of old servo pendulum steering systems, but could never get them to work properly. A good friend advised that it was because I didn’t have enough faith. He said it was necessary to really believe in them before they would work. Well I’m sorry, I don’t believe in fairies. However I do believe in good technology and fine engineering.

Thank you for a wonderful product.

Best Regards

Dee

From: M & M
Sent: July-09-10 12:01 PM
To: Will Curry
Subject: Watermaker package

Will,

First of all, Thanks for the Hydrovane! It is finally installed and functioning better than advertised.

…

Thanks,
Mike Knapp & Marie-France Cantin
SV Dejala

From: William
To: Will Curry
Subject: Order for parts
Date: Fri, 2 Jul 2010

Dear Will

Could you please advise me of how to order a new rudder locking pin for my Hydrovane.

I recently bought a Moody 419 from Antigua to Portugal via the Azores and was astonished at how reliable and versitile the Hydrovane proved to be. Most of the 3712nm we travelled was beating and some in very heavy weather.

The Hydrovane handled the lot, well done.

I look forward to your reply

Regards
Warren Falconer

From: jean claude fleuret
Sent: Monday, July 05, 2010 12:42 PM
To: John Curry
Subject: news about Drisar

Hello John,

Your regulator is very fantastic; just at term the round up of South America -Panama to Puerto Williams to Azores-, alone crossing the Atlantic, always hydrovane, only hydrovane. Fantastic! Back wind, nose winds, always fidelity, efficacy! Speaking to other skippers, we agree that the hydrovane construction has a lot of quality, no defaults.
Very happy, thanks for such machine!

Bests regards.
Your faithfully,
Jean-Claude