If your idea of sailing romance involves hand steering for hours, you probably sail short passages. I enjoy steering too, briefly. Out of the harbour, for example. Once clear of land, Roy takes over.
Roy is our Aries windvane. He is named after my dad, who helped Noel strip decades of salt from the unit, free seized bearings, lubricate everything that moved and bring a neglected Aries back to life. We paid US$300 for the gear. With patience and spare parts, Roy earned his place on the stern.
When we fitted Roy to our 51-foot boat, Pyewacket II, we attracted more than a few doubtful looks from other cruisers.
You really think that will steer a 51-footer?
Quietly, I wondered the same thing. The challenge was not only boat size. Pyewacket II has hydraulic steering and a centre cockpit. There was no obvious way to connect a windvane to the rudder stock. It was going to require design work, welding and a willingness to experiment.
Designing the system
The Aries support frame was measured and built from stainless tubing. Finding a fabricator willing to tackle small one-off marine work proved difficult and expensive. In the end we bought a compact arc welder and added it to the crew list.
Noel spent many hours standing at the stern, staring thoughtfully at the boat, connecting invisible dots. Online research offered no ready-made solution. The breakthrough came from studying the emergency steering system.
Emergency Steering System
On Pyewacket II the emergency steering position is in the aft cabin. The helmsman stands behind the stairway to the aft cockpit with limited outside visibility. The rudder stock sits directly below the stairs. Above it is a hatch.
To connect the Aries we extended the rudder stock upward, through the stairs and hatch, and fabricated what we now call the windvane tiller. This required drilling the hatch to allow the extension to pass through while still being able to close the sliding door.
The emergency tiller arm was welded onto the windvane tiller. It sits at an angle so we can stand on the aft cockpit seat and see over the stern. Unlike conventional tillers, this one runs aft rather than forward. Steering feels reversed at first. Push to starboard to turn to starboard. After some practice the muscle memory adapts.
Hydraulic bypass control
Hydraulic steering systems include two important valves. A relief valve protects the rudder from shock loads. A bypass valve allows the hydraulic circuit to be disengaged for emergency steering.
On our boat the bypass valve lives under the aft cabin stairs, buried behind hoses. Once the emergency tiller was installed, access became impossible without dismantling half the setup.
Noel solved this by building a remote spindle system. Using a series of shafts and joints, he routed control of the bypass valve up through the stairs and hatch. We can now engage or disengage hydraulic steering from either cockpit.
This small mechanical solution transformed the system. It allows seamless switching between hydraulic steering, emergency tiller steering and Aries self-steering.
Above Images: The hydraulic bypass valve is conveniently buried beneath hoses. Noel engineered a crankshaft type handle, which extends up through the aft cabin hatch forming the remote spindle. This enables the turning of the bypass valve 90 degrees on/off/on from the aft cockpit and additional lines added have given us dual control to the centre cockpit too.
Connecting the Aries
The Aries lines attach to chains that slip over welded tabs on the windvane tiller arms. Aries recommends attaching steering lines between 600 and 900 millimetres from the rudder stock. Our available distance was only 450 millimetres due to liferaft clearance.
To compensate, we added blocks roved to advantage on each side. This effectively doubled the leverage and halved the effort required by the vane.
The Aries course adjustment lines are led forward to the centre cockpit, making heading changes easy without leaving the helm.
Living with the system
Like most onboard solutions, this one involved compromise. Landing fish in the aft cockpit now requires flexibility and creative footwork. Cruising often involves choosing which inconvenience you prefer.
In exchange, we gained reliable hands-free steering. Tea making and bathroom breaks no longer require timing negotiations with the autopilot.
Performance and testing
Roy has been tested in apparent wind strengths from 8 to 40 knots. Aries windvanes typically perform better as wind increases, and we have full confidence in the system’s ability to handle stronger conditions.
The Aries manufacturer rates the gear for boats up to 50 feet. Our boat is 51 feet and displaces around 20 tonnes. The vane has handled the load without complaint.
Refurbishment and maintenance
When we first brought the Aries home, it lived on deck for weeks. Every fastener, bearing and bush received penetrating oil. We rotated the unit regularly to ensure full saturation.
Replacement parts came from Helen Bell Franklin in England, daughter of Aries inventor Nick Franklin. She recommended replacing the original aluminium bevel gears with stainless steel versions. Her description of the old gears was memorable. Renowned for dissolving mid-ocean.
We replaced both bevel gears and installed a full rebuild kit. The cost was modest compared with the reliability gained.
Our previous Aries steered over 40,000 nautical miles on Mariah II. Click here to read that article.
Mounting considerations
Installing the Aries on Pyewacket II meant sacrificing the transom door while underway. In port we can partially unbolt the unit and pivot it aside if needed. In practice, climbing over the swim platform is easier.
We considered mounting the vane above the transom door on a bridge structure. After reviewing the load paths and forces involved, we rejected that idea.
The Aries is now easily accessed from the swim platform and from behind the transom. The radar frame allowed us to suspend the unit during installation, which simplified alignment and bolting.
We chose to mount the windvane tiller athwartships on top of the rudder stock rather than running long pulley systems forward. This kept the aft cockpit clear and reduced mechanical complexity.
Alternative self steering systems
We investigated wheel clutch drum systems designed to accept windvane input. These units were expensive and required additional pulleys and line runs into the centre cockpit. Hydraulic steering creep and reliance on ageing components also influenced our decision.
Direct connection to the rudder stock proved simpler, stronger and more reliable.
Future self steering upgrades
On Mariah II we connected an electric ram directly to the Aries. This produced extremely accurate steering with minimal power consumption. We plan to replicate this system on Pyewacket II.
Emergency preparedness
Every crew member should understand how emergency steering works and how to activate it. Practice belongs in calm water, not during gear failure near a lee shore or coastal bar.
Windvane operation overview
When a yacht deviates from course, the windvane deflects on its pivot. This movement rotates the servo rudder. Water flow across the servo rudder generates force, pulling the steering lines and correcting the helm.
The servo rudder does not steer the yacht directly. It provides mechanical power to move the main rudder via the steering system.
Correct feathering of the windvane into the apparent wind is essential. When aligned properly, the vane stands vertical. Any course change causes wind pressure on the vane, triggering automatic correction.
So yes, we steer by a star – our Windvane – ours just happens to be called Roy.
Over to You
Do you have any ingenious creations on boat to make boating life better?