The SAC racing rules are very clear when it comes to automated steering gear:
“samoster tylko wiatrowy, wykonany samodzielnie” , meaning autopilot only wind-driven, self made”.
So, no fancy NKE Gyropilots and high powered hydraulic rams. Which makes a lot of sense if you want to keep the cost for the race low. A good autopilot system like those used on the Classe 6.50 Minis can easily set you back 8K and more.
When I bought “Quark”, she came with a simple “direct to rudder” wind vane steering, which I think was built by Arek. Definitely solid, but also quite chunky (and clunky) and it did not work for me at all. So, I went looking for a new wind vane steering. After some weeks of research, I decided to go with a design and created by Olek Hanusz, who is well known in the Setka community and who some of you may know for his Atlantic crossing in his open dinghy “King of Bongo” in 2015/16.
The vane is an evolution of the design that Edyta “Dee” used on “Heroine” in the 2016 Transat.
Dee’s vane in action during the 2016 Transat. I love the design. It has a gossamer lightness to it but is still very sturdy and reliable. Dee praised the design and told me that she was very pleased with the vane’s performance during the crossing.