It wasn’t long after I got my 26M when I ran into the issue the most of us have been stumped by: Installation of a wind direction / wind speed sensor at the top of the mast will not
operate correctly do to the fact that the MacGregor 26M uses a rotating mast design.
There is a NEW instrument on the market designed specifically for the MacGregor 26M which compensates for the rotating mast and gives you an easy to read cockpit display of apparent wind direction and speed plus it has a standard NMEA 0183 output that can be sent to your GPS for true wind direction, speed, and velocity made good calculations.
The unit will be available later this year. Here is a link to the website: http://www.flyorsail.com/
Here is a little background information on the project:
I developed the Wind Sailor, Apparent Wind Instrument specifically for the MacGregor 26M after coming to the realization that no one built the product that I was looking for. I researched our vast mod section at MacGregorSailors and combed the internet multiple times for a viable solution but never could locate anything decent (accurate, trailer-able friendly) for less than about two grand.
So a few years ago I decided to build my own unit. I have a long background in product design (mostly aircraft avionics) so it was not long before I had something built up and sailing. I started out using an “off the shelf” Davis wind sensor designed for home use (the same sensor that the “Sailtimer Wind Vane” product uses) but that direction sensor was not very accurate and it has a large (approx 10 degree) dead band in it because it uses a modified potentiometer for position estimates. In most sailboats, the 10 degree dead band is not a factor as long as it is oriented at 12 O’clock (as we know, sailboat can’t sail directly into the wind). But with the rotating mast on the Macgregor the dead band ALWAYS moves into the wind making your crucial direction measurements (close hauled) impossible.
I soon learned if I wanted something accurate, with a weather tight seal for operation near salt water I had to fork out big bucks for a seaworthy design or invent my own. Since I already needed to make a compensator for the rotating mast I decided why not make the masthead sensor as well then I’d have a full system that was 100% my own design. This turned out to be a good thing, after my initial sailing tests I learned that I needed to get a little higher and a little farther forward of the mast then my first proto-type in order to get the sensors in the most ideal air (un-effected by the mast or sails).
I sailed my wind indicator for a full season and many folks that had seen it asked if I could build them one – as it turned out, it cost me much more than the original “two grand”, but heck I had something that was unique and worked great. With everything involved there was no way I could make one, two or even a dozen of these things for less than the 2K figure unless I went back to the drawing board and designed a bunch of tooling etc. to make the unit manufacturable.
Over the past year I’ve converted all the mechanical parts to PC-ABS injected modeled plastic – there was a massive tooling fee involved with that, but now the cases and other parts have an affordable piece price. I have machined tooling to build lenses, sensor housing, brackets, etc. reducing the labor involved so I can now produce a complete system at a competitive price point.
I believe I have the project on track to be able to start deliveries in June of this year. I was targeting January, but “life” commitments have taken a large amount of my spare time. I’ve debated over releasing the information about the project until it was ready to ship but I continually see strings on our forum talking about wind indicators and the rotating mast of the 26M and wanted to let people know what I’ve been working on for our boats.
I've been looking into something like this for my . It looks like you've got a great idea and a really cool product. Is this something that can be used on an X with a non-rotating mast? I really like the idea, it's clean, easy to read, etc. I'm a pilot and an aircraft builder so with your avionics background, I'm sure it will be dependable as well.
JT... The simple answer is "yes", you can install it on your . The display head was designed with a dual position sensor input so it can take in the angle of the wind and the angle of the mast. If you do not have a rotating mast, you do not use the second input. The system will use a 0 degree offset for the mast, as such it would then work much like most other indicators on the market.
Looks like a great new product! I haven't been on here in ages since I sold my 26x last summer, but it's nice to see that new things are being created. I would have really liked to have this when I was first learning to sail! I can't get the trim right if I don't know where the wind is coming from !
. It looks like you've got a great idea and a really cool product. Is this something that can be used on an X with a non-rotating mast? I really like the idea, it's clean, easy to read, etc. I'm a pilot and an aircraft builder so with your avionics background, I'm sure it will be dependable as well. 
