Customer Reviews

The Windvane Self-Steering Handbook

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

This is a well-written, easy to understand book on everything you would ever want to know about the very technical topic of wind and water steering vanes for sail boats. I especially like the fact that the author does a good job of comparing various products on the market in terms of both performance and price. There is even information on buying used equipment and/building your own. I found this book invaluable in helping me determine which way to go for my 43' ketch.

-- Phil Fehrle
Los Angeles, CA

I am looking to equip my sailboat with a self steering system and had hoped that this book would give me more background information than what is available on the internet. This book did not teach me anything new about self steering than what I had already researched on the various product web pages on the internet. In fact some of the commercial product web pages have more informative competitive comparisons on them.

It seems that the author is filling space with way too many general, common sense statements, diagrams and repetitive chapter descriptions.
I had also hoped to get more information about building your own system but the chapter dedicated to this is only 6 out of 200+ book pages which gives you an idea of how little in depth it is.

I will say that the chapter about materials is informative; again, you don't get rid of the impression that the author is filling space when you see tables about melting points of base metals...

Overall a very big disappointment

The writing is good and the humor is fun and the author sounds like a witty a guy. However, the book is more of an unabridged sales brochure for the sale of commercial self-steering systems. This book is basically a relative comparison of commercial/turn-key products to guide purchase. For those sailors who can solve all problems with the check book, this is fine. For those of us who are builders, this book is of little if any use.

>Ray
sv. Milenka II

Ps. For a much more indepth view of self-steering, theory and practice, I recommend Letcher's book on the subject.

Bill Morris has created a new nautical classic with his book, The Windvane Self-Steering Handbook. For owners and future owners of windvane steering systems, this is definitely a "boating bible" on the same scale as Nigel Calder's works on diesel mechanics and general boat maintenance. For the first time I actually understand what a windvane is, how it really works, how to select one for my boat (a Tayana 37), how to install it, and how to sail with it. I'm still not sure which make or model I want to buy, as I'm still trying to decide, based on the manufacturer specs and prices given in Chapter 5. The book covers the subject of galvanic corrosion with incredible detail, and, unlike any other book on the market that I'm aware of, it gives loads of information on windvane maintenance and customization. To top it off, Morris made the whole thing readable with his zany stories and highly opinionated wise cracks about everything from hull design to ordering parts in seedy, far-flung tropical isles. Who would think that a book about windvanes, of all things, would actually be fun to read? This is definitely the best how-to boating book to come out in many years. For the price, it's one of the smartest book purchases I've ever made.

Bill Morris has created a new nautical classic with his book, The Windvane Self-Steering Handbook. For owners and future owners of windvane steering systems, this is definitely a "boating bible" on the same scale as Nigel Calder's works on diesel mechanics and general boat maintenance. For the first time I actually understand what a windvane is, how it really works, how to select one for my boat (a Tayana 37), how to install it, and how to sail with it. I'm still not sure which make or model I want to buy, as I'm still trying to decide, based on the manufacturer specs and prices given in Chapter 5. The book covers the subject of galvanic corrosion with incredible detail, and, unlike any other book on the market that I'm aware of, it gives loads of information on windvane maintenance and customization. To top it off, Morris made the whole thing readable with his zany stories and highly opinionated wise cracks about everything from hull design to ordering parts in seedy, far-flung tropical isles. Who would think that a book about windvanes, of all things, would actually be fun to read? This is definitely the best how-to boating book to come out in many years. For the price, it's one of the smartest book purchases I've ever made.

If you're looking for a comparison of available windvane systems then you may find this book useful. It also has some maintenance tips for servo-pendulum systems.

I enjoyed reading this primer on self-steering devices. I now have a thorough knowledge of what's on the market and even some history. My only gripe is that the pricing for these units are not current but that's to be expected. Very informative