B & B Yacht Designs - Small boat horizontal pivoting Windvane Self Steering gear - plans development

B & B Yacht Designs, small boat horizontal pivoting Windvane Self Steering gear development, with a trim tab activated kick up auxiliary rudder for shallow draft.

Platform for the development and testing of this windvane self steering gear is the designer Graham Byrnes' ^{(pic source*)} own B & B Core Sound 17' Mk3.

* Side note: - The 2011 Hurricane Irene gave the 45' power cat hulls their first sea trials, see these pages 1 & 2 . - ​

The below videos are shot and presented by B & B's Alan Stewart ^{(pic source)}

The intention of this thread is to follow, and discuss, the development of this Windvane Self Steering gear for small shallow boats.

So, anybody who has info, or remarks, please post it here . . .

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Above a Tour of Carlita, a B & B Core Sound 17' Mark 3, the vertical pivoting version of the Windvane Self Steering gear is treated from ± 2.06 to 7.31 in the video.

↑ From ± 6.02 to 6.14, there's a promise to draw plans for the system once the development is finished.

↑ B & B Horizontal pivoting Windvane, First Test !​

 

The second above video (is first test video) shows the adaptation from a vertical pivoting windvane to a horizontal pivoting system, this was done to clear the windvane from hitting the mizzen sheets to the boomkin.

So for single stickers the vertical pivoting system in the first video might work OK, I'll guess.

But I'm afraid the simpler looking vertical pivoting windvane in the first video wasn't, and never will be, tested in practice because it doesn't fit on the particular boat they're building the system for.

 

OK, the vertical pivoting version of the windvane was tested in the WaterTribe Everglades Challenge 2016, on Graham's own boat, which was only painted with a gray primer back then. -

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Graham finished there, in Key Largo after 300 miles, as the first single male in class 4, which is for small monohull sailboats.

Below a video of the vertical pivoting version of the windvane, which seems to be working well in the shown fresh blow, while surfing down wind there . .

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Roo's (aka Graham Byrnes') Carlita ↑ a B & B Core Sound 17' Mk3, with a vertical pivoting windvane self steering system, at work in the EC 2016.

 

Below a screenshot of the above results link, set for the Everglades Challenge 2016, Class 4, where Graham finished as the first single male. He was also the only single sailor who was able to finish in time in this class. For all others it says ‘‘DNF ’’ (Did Not Finish), due to bad weather if I remember well.

So I'll guess both the windvane self steering gear, and the cabin for dry shelter, certainly helped Graham there to be the only single sailor in class 4 who was able to finish in time in those bad weather conditions, and so to become the winner in his class. -

Note: the following results all say ‘‘DNF ’’ in the end or even earlier, so therefore I've cut off the list at this very point.​

↑ Results of the WaterTribe Everglades Challenge 2016, Roo aka Graham Byrnes, First Single Sailor in Class 4. - ​

↑ And Graham was also the only Single Sailor who was able to finish within the given time limit in this Class !​