Wander66 said..
Do any of you have any experiences with the hydrovane type of self steering with an an auxiliary rudder? It looks like a good idea for centre cockpit wheel steer boats and I like the idea of having emergency steering immediately available if required.

Hydrovanes are large and heavy [and expensive]. They have to be large because they have no power assist. The rudder is turned by a variation of the Z crank instead of gears with 3 different ratios that can be selected. I have never used one. Their selling point is the ability to have an emergency rudder. Not sure how many people experience rudder failure in a lifetime and don't carry at least one bucket. The early versions had a fixed rudder which was awkward trying to reverse in marinas etc. They have a following.
I would prefer a servo pendulum system and control lines to the wheel on a centre cockpit boat and a remote method of adjusting the course setting so there was no need to leave the cockpit.

I've used several makes of servo vanes; Monitor, Aires, Fleming, and Navik. The Navik although lightweight was the most sensitive in light air, the newer Fleming a close second. The servos all steer really well when the winds pick up. An interesting issue Ive noticed is in heavy winds, the water paddle swings up with such force they ocassionally hit the frame (Aires, Monitor). On the Flemings and other vanes that water paddles that swing up 180 degrees, the paddle can potentially swing out of the water and skip on the surface until they resubmerge. This can cause a few seconds lost steerage. . probably no big deal. .Probably the most significant reasons to be careful with this type of gear is that they are powerful, and can damage an old steering system that hasn't been inspected or maintained. Ive seen old tillerhead fittings fail and clevis pins shear on steering pulleys. .
I currently have an older Hydrovane on my 9m longkeel. It steers reasonably well but not as good as a servo. The tradeoff is that I have no lines in the cockpit and I have emergency steering. I can also attach my tiller pilot while motoring or in light air which takes much less amperage than my main wheel pilot. In close quarters I can use it to assist my steering in reverse. The semi balanced rudder makes it turn very easily. If I had the need and couldn't afford a store bought vane I would consider making a trimtab auxillary type similar to the Autohelm or the RVG. I can't imagine a long cruise without some sort of self steering device

Looks to be the same as mine. Fleming 401?

The Fleming gets my vote not only because it works well but also because they are right ere in Oz and the after sales service is awesome

Me too. Phil was great support even though I bought mine 2nd hand off another 34.