The mini mast sounds like a decent compromise in order to get lights off the deck level.

  As much as I'd like to have a masthead tricolor light, I've given up on the idea.  Tricolors work as poorly on a rotating wing mast on a catamaran as they would on a proa.  It would be nice to have a masthead white light, but it would not be impossible to set up wiring for that with a brush system below deck.

  As for the wind sensor, TackTick makes a nice wireless wind setup which I've been using for a couple of years. 

  You need a masthead wind sensor, a mast-mounted mast rotation sensor, and any number of displays (analog with an arrow, or digital), and a hull transmitter with a speed/depth transducer and a magnetic fluxgate compass.  With the exception of the hull transmitter (receives speed, depth, temperature, and compass), and the NMEA interface (hooks up to a GPS, autopilot, etc.), everything is wireless and solar powered, so you can put it anywhere you want.  Even on top of rotating masts.  It's great for a boat that gets demounted from time to time.

  The system takes the true wind, subtracts out the boat's speed and angle (speed and compass), and then adjusts for the mast rotation (mast rotation sensor).  The results are then displayed on LCD displays that are roughly 4" wide x 3" high.  There's a choice of a larger maxi display with huge numbers, a standard display with a single large number, a standard display with two numbers (top and bottom) and a standard display with an analog directional arrow with one number.  Any display can show any number in the system, from water temperature to true wind angle.  As with the other equipment, the displays are solar powered, and can work for days in total darkness.

  And if you have the NMEA interface hooked up to a GPS, the system can even tell you were true north is.
 
  I'm clearly a TackTick convert, but that doesn't mean it's not a good system.

       - Mike
 

Arto Hakkarainen wrote:

A couple of thoughts from my armchair:   - There are different solutions for wind instruments for rotating masts. Making it suitable for proa should only take one more correction to processor. Solution that has compass in the masthead unit and compares the reading to the boat compass should do it already in the off the self unit. Can't remember which makers had that solution but I think it was tacktick and/or selva. Those who know please correct me. - Regarding compass and lights one idea is to mount them on a small mast dedicated for lights, flags etc. (like ones used on powerboats). Then make that rotating mast and have it locked to point the current bow. Need to turn that mast manually though but less duplicating needed.   Comments?   Arto

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