It uses a feature common to many devices
Issue 116: Sept/Oct 2017
It started with a search for an anemometer, as I was curious about wind speeds while sailing my Seaward 24. Sure, I had an idea of what they might be, but I wanted to see actual numbers that would confirm my guesses.
I quickly learned that a righteous wireless masthead anemometer costs north of $1,000, while a wired system costs a little over $800 — before it’s wired.
I turned my search to a handheld omnidirectional anemometer and found the Swiss-made Skywatch Eole. It’s waterproof, has a backlight for night use, and displays all the information I need: current wind speed, average wind speed, and highest gust. But sailing a Seaward 24 with one arm up in the air holding an anemometer was an imperfect solution.
I noticed the Eole has an aluminum baseplate with a threaded socket, the same found on cameras and on other small electronic devices. Seeing this universal socket sparked an idea for a perfect solution.
I removed the hand grip from a winch handle and, in its place, drilled a 1⁄4-inch hole through the winch handle’s arm. I passed a 1 1⁄2-inch-long 1⁄4 x 20 bolt through the hole, threaded a nut onto the bolt, tightened it, and was left with a winch-handle arm with a short threaded stub poking up where the grip used to be. Screwing the anemometer to the winch handle and inserting the handle into the cabintop winch gave me an effective mount that allowed me to read the wind speed from anywhere in the cockpit.
It wasn’t long before I realized that many electronic devices have the same 1⁄4-inch threaded socket. I began to get creative, and that winch has become the base for a navigation center and my onboard entertainment.
Jerry Thompson is an information systems professional who works and lives in eastern North Carolina. He learned to sail more than 25 years ago at the Armed Forces Recreation Center, Lake Chiemsee, Germany. North Carolina’s milder winters keep Jerry on the water year-round.
Thank you to Sailrite Enterprises, Inc., for providing free access to back issues of Good Old Boat through intellectual property rights. Sailrite.com
