"Little Hawk MK2" - Dinghy Wind Vane
Quick Fit
The Little Hawk Mk2 is a popular wind indicator that can be found on the front of the mast on Lasers and Toppers around the world. It is also ideal for any dinghy that wants accurate wind direction information with minimal weight and drag. It can be used both upwind (particularly in the light stuff when your telltales won't lift or are stuck to the sail) or downwind to get reverse flow.
One of the biggest problems faced by customers with the closeness of racing in the Laser and Topper fleets is that other boats mainsheets get caught over the Little Hawk Mk2 either on the start line or while rounding marks. This ultimately results in the Little Hawk being rudely ripped from the mast. There are a number of things that can be done to prevent this.
The first and most obvious is to turn the Little Hawk MK2 upside down, so as mainsheets come your way, they can not attach themselves to your Little Hawk MK2 and just fall away. The only problem with this is that the Little Hawk MK2 is not designed to work upside down and the bearing surface has more friction and will not be as accurate. If you are going to do this we would recommend that you only turn it upside down in winds above 8 knots.
The Vane Arm is made of super tough Nylon and is all but indestructible. The aluminium rod can be easily straightened if damaged or easily bent to any required angle. The whole unit is easily assembled straight from the box.