SELF-STEERING UNDER SAIL: Autopilots and Wind-steering Systems
Oct 2020 · tredition
Ebook
144
Pages
family_home
Eligible
info
About this ebook
If you are thinking of fitting an autopilot or windvane steering system to your boat but are baffled as to which is the most suitable, then this is the book for you. Peter Forthmann, a long-term expert on this subject, explains the difference between tiller, wheel and inboard autopilots, as well as the 12 windvane steering options available, and considers their suitability for various types of boat and sea conditions. Which self-steering systems are more suitable for cruising and which for racing? What are their limitations in terms of sea conditions and power consumption? What is yaw damping? Why are windvane steering systems unsuitable for ULDBs? How do you steer a catamaran without running into power consumption problems? Why is good sail trim so important for good self-steering? What self-steering provisions should you make when building a boat? Is DIY windvane gear construction still a feasible option? All these questions and many more are answered in this very comprehensive book, which concludes with a comparison of all the alternatives available and a list of manufacturers of practically every self-steering system made anywhere in the world. Peter Christian Forthmann has a unique knowledge of self-steering. Born in 1947, he learned to sail as soon as he learned to walk, growing up by the water in Hamburg. An engineer and a highly practical man, Peter Forthmann's creative contribution to the evolution of windvane steering systems is virtually unparalleled. lt is thanks in no small part to him that these systems are still thriving in the age of bits and bytes.
About the author
Born in 1947, Peter Förthmann is believed to have learned to sail about the same time as he learned to walk. Weary of school by the age of 16, he found a job with the Laeisz shipping company and completed the Pacific run on a banana boat seven times before concluding life in the merchant marine was never going to live up to his romantic childhood dreams. Returning to education, he finished school, trained as an exporter specialising in trade with Africa and then studied economics, moving into his twenties with a lust for life out of all proportion with his financial resources. Watercraft came and went at a rapid tempo; cars too in fact - mobility was the key - and by the time he reached 21, he had already acquired and disposed of more than a dozen boats. A pattern was soon established: restore, re-plank, strip down, repaint, fix the engine and then sail the boat as much and as far as possible until it catches someone's eye and sells itself, sometimes with astonishing rapidity. This was the gold rush era for a man who understood very quickly being his own boss was the only way to go. Now beginning to move up the food chain, Peter was sailing his own newly built yacht by the age of 25 and reached for the stars at 28 with a substantial steel yawl, which he ended up swapping for the Windpilot company in 1976. The rest is history - albeit a history focused almost exclusively on transom ornaments. Seemingly never short of ideas, Peter soon set about (the ongoing task of) completely rewriting the rules for windvane self-steering systems, also finding the time to exhibit at 220 international boat shows and put his acquired expertise down on paper in books that are now available in six languages. Peter Förthmann operates what may very well be Germany's smallest industrial manufacturing company together with this wife and sells directly to the sailing community worldwide. Building Windpilot into the global market leader has only stoked his passion for writing and his acerbic yet humorous, not to mention frequently self-deprecating, columns portray a man comfortable in his own skin who is still only just getting started ...
Rate this ebook
Tell us what you think.
Reading information
Smartphones and tablets
Install the Google Play Books app for Android and iPad/iPhone. It syncs automatically with your account and allows you to read online or offline wherever you are.
Laptops and computers
You can listen to audiobooks purchased on Google Play using your computer's web browser.
eReaders and other devices
To read on e-ink devices like Kobo eReaders, you'll need to download a file and transfer it to your device. Follow the detailed Help Center instructions to transfer the files to supported eReaders.
