Mister Vee

Posted By: Adam Plourde - Seafarer 24 "Godot" - Chesepeake Bay
Date: 9/22/07 7:52p.m.

Report: outside forum guidelines

In Response To: Keel bolds revisited. (Skipper Adams)

The Mister Vee vane (formerly Mister Vane) is pretty much brand new to the market, so I don't know how much is written about it. It seems to me that the principles of vanes are pretty well established and they all seem to work well (I haven't heard any stories of servo pendulum vanes not working well). Durability and suitability to task seem to be the big questions. Mister Vee just came on the market this year, so I doubt there is much base out there to compare. The reason it appeals to me is that it is cheap and light. One of the prices for this cheapness is that the buyer needs to do a bunch of extra work to get it ready to go that wouldn't be necessary on the more expensive brands. One of the prices of it being light would be that it is only suitable for small boats. The SF24 qualifies. In any case, if I where to exercise my fantasy and actually set sail to Bermuda (or go to my super duper top secret fantasy and sail the Jester Challenge), it wouldn't be for a couple of years at least, so my thoughts on the matter may change. For regular coastal and inland sailing, an electronic tiller pilot is probably the way to go. Battery consumption needs to be monitored and they can fail (as can anything); but for most sailing it is more of a convenience than a necessity (although as a solo sailor I am lately beginning to think it falls closer to the necessity column). Plus, they can be had for about a third the price.