Just went out for a final install sail on a boat with a cape horn
This is funny that it is a hot topic today. We just went out for a sail today in the bay 25+ knots of wind down to less than 10, on a boat with a cape horn. The owner was at a seminar by Hans and the monitor guys and asked about getting one. Once he sent them photos of the boat Hans, and Michael told him "That boat can not be steered with a windvane". They felt he should buy an extra autopilot. We covered all points of sail today with the capehorn it steered wonderfully.
That boat is nothing like our Ericsons being a Corsair 37 Multihull doing over 13 knots at points today.
I have owned both monitors and cape horns on multiple boats. Cals and Ericsons mostly. The monitor will steer well enough, the cape horn does steer better in my experience. I like the simplicity of the Cape Horn and the fact that it attaches to the rudder post when I install them instead of to the existing steering system.The lack of lines all over the cockpit is great with the Cape Horn. (This is also the biggest factor in why the cape horn steers better, the ratio of the water oar movement to the rudder movement is controlled and accounted for, as is the size and power of the oar, as each oar is made to fit the size of the rudder on the boat it is to be installed on. Monitors are one size fits none affair.) The fact that some of the lines on the cape horn are below decks really bothers some owners. (I am not sure how they feel about their wheel steering with all those parts below deck though?). So I find the cape horn less complex, and the monitor more complex, opinions vary.
Also I have a couple of tricks to make sure monitors steer better. I have tried to tell the folks as Scanmar about them, but they don't take input on anything about their products. (One of the reasons I hesitate to recommend them). For instance the Ericson 39 that is the photo for the installation of a monitor on an e-39 is my old Ericson 39 (not a boat just like mine, MY old boat). In the configuration shown on the website and in their big book of boats, it will not steer the boat well at all. I did work with Hans to redo the configuration we changed out the "safety" tube for a much longer one to give the vane the power that it needed to actually steer the boat, and then had an entire new set of mounting tubes made up for it to allow it to sit high enough to use the new safety tube, and get the wind paddle above the stern pulpit. So far 3 other 39's have started with the setup in the photos, and have gotten a hold of me to get the right setup. Now in all fairness to the folks at Scanmar, all three of them received their new safety tubes, and mounting tubes free of charge. Yet their advice still has not changed, strange.
Either a monitor (with some forethought, and some important setup changes) or a cape horn would steer any of the Ericsons just fine. Other brands haven't held up as well in my experience, been as well engineered, or anywhere near as easy to use.
Seriously I was not being glib when I said I would love to sail a boat that the Hydrovane actually can steer, I would love to see it working.
I have sailed on boats with gen 1 Ares, later generations of Ares, Flemmings, and Sailomats also. All of them did fine for the most part. Each had more challenges (some only in maintenance), than either the monitor or the cape horn.
Guy
This is funny that it is a hot topic today. We just went out for a sail today in the bay 25+ knots of wind down to less than 10, on a boat with a cape horn. The owner was at a seminar by Hans and the monitor guys and asked about getting one. Once he sent them photos of the boat Hans, and Michael told him "That boat can not be steered with a windvane". They felt he should buy an extra autopilot. We covered all points of sail today with the capehorn it steered wonderfully.
That boat is nothing like our Ericsons being a Corsair 37 Multihull doing over 13 knots at points today.
I have owned both monitors and cape horns on multiple boats. Cals and Ericsons mostly. The monitor will steer well enough, the cape horn does steer better in my experience. I like the simplicity of the Cape Horn and the fact that it attaches to the rudder post when I install them instead of to the existing steering system.The lack of lines all over the cockpit is great with the Cape Horn. (This is also the biggest factor in why the cape horn steers better, the ratio of the water oar movement to the rudder movement is controlled and accounted for, as is the size and power of the oar, as each oar is made to fit the size of the rudder on the boat it is to be installed on. Monitors are one size fits none affair.) The fact that some of the lines on the cape horn are below decks really bothers some owners. (I am not sure how they feel about their wheel steering with all those parts below deck though?). So I find the cape horn less complex, and the monitor more complex, opinions vary.
Also I have a couple of tricks to make sure monitors steer better. I have tried to tell the folks as Scanmar about them, but they don't take input on anything about their products. (One of the reasons I hesitate to recommend them). For instance the Ericson 39 that is the photo for the installation of a monitor on an e-39 is my old Ericson 39 (not a boat just like mine, MY old boat). In the configuration shown on the website and in their big book of boats, it will not steer the boat well at all. I did work with Hans to redo the configuration we changed out the "safety" tube for a much longer one to give the vane the power that it needed to actually steer the boat, and then had an entire new set of mounting tubes made up for it to allow it to sit high enough to use the new safety tube, and get the wind paddle above the stern pulpit. So far 3 other 39's have started with the setup in the photos, and have gotten a hold of me to get the right setup. Now in all fairness to the folks at Scanmar, all three of them received their new safety tubes, and mounting tubes free of charge. Yet their advice still has not changed, strange.
Either a monitor (with some forethought, and some important setup changes) or a cape horn would steer any of the Ericsons just fine. Other brands haven't held up as well in my experience, been as well engineered, or anywhere near as easy to use.
Seriously I was not being glib when I said I would love to sail a boat that the Hydrovane actually can steer, I would love to see it working.
I have sailed on boats with gen 1 Ares, later generations of Ares, Flemmings, and Sailomats also. All of them did fine for the most part. Each had more challenges (some only in maintenance), than either the monitor or the cape horn.
Guy
