Stowe Instruments
When Honey Bee was launched in 1992, she was fitted with a set of Stowe instruments - wind, depth and speed. She did a circumnavigation and then made her way to Hobart. When we bought her in 2009, the Stowe instruments were still working fine.
Eventually, a trip to the masthead revealed that there had been a problem. The mounting bracket for the wind instrument was broken and the instrument spar was held in place by gaffer tape. Everything continued to work, so we left it to fix at a convenient time. Then, late last year, we no longer had wind direction. Another trip aloft eventually revealed broken wires - the gaffer tape hadn't been enough!
I started looking at new instruments, dreading the accompanying rewiring job that would be needed and not trusting Tacktick for extended use (I'm sure that is a whole other thread).
I also found Stowe on the net and dropped them an email. Imagine my surprise when they said they could supply spares to fix the existing setup. I thought I might need a new wind spar (though they could refurbish mine if necessary), but a new cable and mount turned out to be all that was needed.
Instead of being out of pocket $2 - 3,000 for new instruments, not to mention the hassle of installing them, I'm back in business for the expenditure of a bit over $200.
So, I'm definitely a fan of Stowe! Who else has compatible parts for 20 year old electronics?
__________________
: New Caledonia, Australia.
|