PAGE 12 • SUMMER 2005 THE JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN SAILING ASSOCIATION
ASA MEMBER BOOK REVIEW • BY DOUG MCLEAN
Title: The Windvane Self-Steering Book
Author: Bill Morris
Publisher: International Marine/McGraw-Hill
published in 2004
T
he tyranny of the tiller is little more than
a romantic cliché for most day sailors
and crew on charter boats, and even for
serious coastal sailors with autopilots who rarely
run out of juice between shore power hookups. But
for those who head past the horizon, it’s a big deal.
For anyone serious about blue water sailing in craft
less than 50 feet LOA, overlooking windvane self-
steering is ill advised, even with a primary and
backup autopilot on board. Electric fed systems have
their place, but if relied on exclusively for passage
making, especially when short on crew, they can create
their own kind of tyranny, the tyranny of the generator.
Morris’s compendium meets two long overdue needs
in the cruising community: reemphasizing the
significant contribution windvane steering systems
make to offshore sailing and reconsidering sole
reliance on electric autopilots. R
It’s been 30 years since John S. Letcher’s seminal
treatise on self-steering, and it and a few less
comprehensive publications in the interim all are out
of print. Morris begins with the basics (e.g., how to
how to mount various systems to different hull
balance the rig to assist any means of steering, and
configurations and calibrate them prior to use, tips for
timeless sheet to tiller steering) then walks the
maintenance and repair and customizing systems to
reader through the evolution of windvane steering
unique demands.
systems, from the vertical-axis airvane trim-tab
systems of the 1950s (“the Homo erectus of vane
Much of what is covered in detail, important to the care
gears”) to the servo pendulums (and a few variants)
and operation of vane gears, is invaluable in other areas
common today.
as well - galvanic corrosion, strengthening hull and deck
for fittings, and sealant and lubricant properties and
An unabashed fan of wind-steering systems, Morris
applications.
doesn’t dismiss autopilots and even shows how
they can be interfaced easily with windvanes to
In conformity with his basic approach throughout the
realize advantages from each, such as the yaw-
book, Morris devotes a chapter to ten commercially
eliminating power of the servo pendulum and
available systems without endorsement, but presents the
autopilot tracking, but with far less energy
strengths, limitations and best applications of each in a
consumption and wear than caused by
way that makes comparative analysis easy and
torquing on the boat’s rudder.
straightforward.
This 224-page hardcover is both a treatise The book lists for $25.95, but may be purchased for less
and a how-to manual, well organized and at some high-volume booksellers. I highly recommend
fun to read with good photos and that it be included in the short-list library of anyone off
diagrams. It covers absolutely everything to sail the seas or in need of reliable and faithful crew
germane to wind-powered self-steering, for more than a day.
including materials and fabrication
methods, selecting the best type of Doug McLean has sailed small craft on inland lakes in the upper
system for any given boat, Midwest since he was a boy and now sails his 23-foot sloop on Lake
purchasing a used system, Michigan. After 20 years as a prosecutor, he is preparing for
building your own windvane,
extended offshore sailing in 2007.
R
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