WIND INDICATO
I got to thinking, how hard could it be to make a simple wind indicator? Well after about 10 minutes in the garage, it looks like a came up with something that's simple and effective. (What's a guy to do while he waits for his daggerboard repair to harden - right?)
Here is what you will need:
1: a 4-10 inch piece of dowel that's laying around the garage.
2. A pushpin
3. Kitchen garbage bag
4. A small zip tie
5. Glue or a regular paper stapler. (I used superglue - but I'm sure anything will work)
Here they are below:
How to do it:
1. First take the zip-tie and zip it around the pushpin - securely, but LOOSELY. (The zip-tie should move smoothly and freely around the pushpin - seen below.
2. Now cut the excess zip-tie away. (This will reduce extra friction on the pushpin.) leave about an inch of the zip-tie remaining, as seen below.
3. Now fix the pushpin into the top of the dowel. It should look like this:
4. Get a trash bag ( I used a white kitchen trash bag) and cut about an eight inch strip of it. I made the width a bit smaller than the width of my finger. Now grab your superglue or stapler (or whatever light glue is laying around).
5. Glue the trash bag strip to the excess zip-tie and let it dry. (Mine was dry in 5 minutes). (A simple staple might work perfectly as well).
6. Now tape your wind indicator to the top of the mast. Be sure to place it opposite the main halyard opening, so your wind indicator does not get in the way. (I used duct tape, but clear packing tape might work wonderfully as well - and may look better.)
Here was the result: a wind indicator that is very easy to make (took me ten minutes total - including drying time). A wind indicator that is able to pick up very light breezes (this was how it looked at three knots in my back yard, as verified by KNFW's metar report). You also get a lightweight, rotating, tangle-free set up that is CHEAP to make (from junk thats already laying around your garage).
Here it is in action:
I turned the mast and the indicator swiveled effortlessly with the wind.
Ill be testing this thing out in the next few weeks (after my daggerboard repair is complete and the water warms up a bit more). Let's see how it holds up in some heavy wind!
I hope this helps someone, and saves someone 40 bucks!
Warm regards,
Whitecap
Hey Whitecap, I'm excited to follow your journey. I've just inherited a 1967 Sunfish. Looks like it was in better shape than yours was, and I don't have quite the same stomach for painstaking repairs, but your guide is already giving a lot of the pointers I need to get moving!Ok... I get back from my work trip late tomorrow night. My plan is to go sailing the next day. I'll see if we cant get a few pics taken for ya'.
Remember, she ain't pretty...But she's safe, dry, and all mine!
Thanks to you all, I brought her back to life.
This is a great boat to learn on and teach my little children how to sail on.
-Whitecap
Zoe,Hey Whitecap, I'm excited to follow your journey. I've just inherited a 1967 Sunfish. Looks like it was in better shape than yours was, and I don't have quite the same stomach for painstaking repairs, but your guide is already giving a lot of the pointers I need to get moving!
What was the was the microlight used for and what is it? Was it West brand? I am working on my sunfish and your experience has been very beneficial to my cause. ThanksAt the airport now about to start my next three day trip. On the way work, I stopped off at West Marine. Like Beldar said, they had a large selection of West Systems products. It is true that West Marine prices are a bit high (acetone quart size was four bucks more than at Lowes), but it was nice to talk with a live person about the products. After reviewing products in detail on line, and setting up my shopping list on the West Marine web site, the store manager worked with me and my list, offering a lot of good info, techniques, and alternate thought processes. It was an overall enjoyable, valuable, and an expensive experience.
I can make a lot more money - but I cant make more time. It was good to have everything I neded in one place, a personal advisor there to help me, and reputable products to choose from. It was relatively expensive trip, as you guys told me it would be, but I cant help but feel excited to get in back the garage when this trip is over, and work on my boat with my new toys! 105 resin, 206 slow hardener, microlight, cooloidal silica, glass, acetone, brushes, gloves, 3m 5200, 3m 4000UV, syringes (for that deck/hull joint), mini pump, mixing sticks, and spreaders. One quick, efficient, helpful, and pricey stop - worth it! (to me).
Thanks for the help guys.
Looking forward to getting home,
Whitecap
West Marine is now offering "Triple Points".With that fresh wood material, use West epoxy, slow-set hardener, and add West's high-density adhesive to thicken it. Clamping it together is an important step, so you may want to rent or borrow some serious clamps. (Or buy Pony clamps from Harbor Freight).
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