Garmin wind vane gets bird spiked, another try - 2018

A darn Frigate bird got our Garmin wind vane again.

As explained before this has been an ongoing problem.

The way we got it to work is by putting a bird spike on the Garmin wind vane. Last time we think the glue was not good as it was a brand of super glue (we think) that we purchased here in Mexico that did not hold.

March 2018 - Currently in Marina Vallarta, Banderas Bay Mexico (Puerto Vallarta Jalisco)

Garmin wind vane.

First off, I used the dremel to cut off and then trim the bird spikes we are going to use. One for the middle of the wind vane where it snaps on (Frigate bird favorite spot) and a double a bit back and higher for extra measure. (We purchased these spikes in the USA some years ago.)

Trimming with the Dremel.

The bird spikes come out straight and I want to put them

on the side of the wind vane so I bent the SS spikes up.

Spikes bent up, still need to do some trimming.

Spike bent up.

Looking for position.

Next I drilled two holes for each bird spike. I also drilled through 

the wind vane at the same time so the spikes would line up.

Drilling the double spikes and the wind vane. 

 The plan was to rivet the bird spikes to the wind vane. We purchased the rivet gun from Harbor Freight and it was the least expensive and that is saying something at Harbor Freight. We did a test revit and it stuck in the gun. I could not get it out.

Finally I took the rivet gun apart and started over.
The rivet got stuck again. I threw the rivet gun away!

 s\v Due West (Kirk and Heidi) let us use his rivet gun We did a test rivet and it worked great. We put 3M Marine Adhesive Sealant 5200 on the spikes and in the holes we drilled for the first bird spike. We put the spike on the wind vane and riveted it together. The rivet pulled out of the wind vane. The wind vane is too rubbery to secure the rivet. We tried to use SS washers on the outside of the wind vane but the rivets were not long enough to go through the bird spike, wind vane and SS washer.

That meant we had to remove the bird spike and clean everything up with acetone. 

Next we had to start over with making a bird spike by cutting one off

and re-drilling the holes in it to line up with the holes in the wind vane. 

Then Debbie applied 3M Marine Adhesive Sealant 5200 to the bird spike again and the holes in the wind vane. This time Debbie found some very small Allen-head bolts and lock nuts from our bolt stash to hold the spikes on.

Here Debbie is putting the little SS allen-head bolts
into the bird spike and wind vane.

Here you see the double bird spike to keep this wind vane up on top of the mast!

And here is the single bird spike, you see them both, one on each side.

Now to get it up on the mast and hope the bird spikes do not make it fall off😮

 Eddie (our new rigger) and I talking it up. He speaks English very well.

Eddie had to remove the Garmin wind vane from the mast because he was having trouble snapping in the vane... probably the bird spikes😏

The Garmin wind vane is a bit slower to react to wind direction changes than the manual one. Most likely because of the bird spikes as it did not differ before. This is not a problem and at higher winds say over 5 knots there is no difference. Most of the time the boat is moving at least 5 knots of apparent wind anyway. We are hoping this latest Garmin wind vane iteration will last the rest of the cruising season and then this summer I will design and get fabricated a permeant solution for the top of the mast.

Lastly, Eddie turned his attention to tuning the standing rigging.  It really needed it!  He also provided some good knowledge about cleaning!  He will come back after the cruising season is over to make sure the spreaders are in good shape along with the condition of the stays.  He had to come back the next day to make a final plug-in correction - this time his wife came along to tail the halyard!  His sons came too and enjoyed the fish action at the end of the pier.  Time will tell if we come back with our wind vane - stay tune!!