Windshield Wipers?

One the issues with which we wrestled at length was the need for windshield wipers on the forward windows. The initial reaction was "why not?". However, wipers are a potential leak point - they have a record of weeping on their shaft seals - and when not in use, mess up the view through the otherwise unobstructed window opening.

We used to fit wipers to our big motorsailors, but stopped doing this almost 20 years ago as they were rarely, if ever used.

On Beowulf, with heavily angled windows, there were times when visibility was less than perfect. However, we could always pop out on deck for a quick look, so we felt this was a good compromise.

On Wind Horse we have a couple of things going for us. First, the windows are vertical. This means they shed water much more quickly, and tend to build up less salt. The windows are also shaded by a 2-foot (60cm) overhang. Keeping the sun off a wet or salty window helps visibility.

Finally, as the new boat's windows are glass (all the sailboats have polycarbonate plastic windows) we have the option of using a product called "RainEx" to help the windows shed water (this cannot be used with plastic windows).

As a result, we went without wipers, assuming that we could always add them if required.

So how does it work in the real world?

The photo above shows late afternoon sun shining onto the window, after five days of beating, with lots of water coming on board. The windows have not been rinsed or cleaned in any way. While it is hard to evaluate the visibility from this photo, we can tell you that even at night we have excellent viewing. And we always have the option of giving the windows a quick rinse with a nearby fresh water hose.

Here is a photo with almost a solid sheet of water on the forward three windows. During the three to five seconds in which the windows are covered, visibility is impaired. But then, very quickly, the water sheets off and we can see again.

The other condition is strong rain. We had a couple of doses of this during sea trials in New Zealand. In one case we were in a 40-knot squall, at night, with it pouring down as we came into the Bay of Islands. It would have been nice to have wipers in this one case - but even then we would have relied on radar, and standing on the flying bridge under the awning for unobstructed visibility.

The summer of 2006 was spent in Alaska, and the weather was unusually wet. Rain on most days, usually light to moderate, bit occasionally heavy, did not create more than a momentary impairment. We found by keeping the Rain X coating up to date we were in pretty good shape.

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Windshield Wipers?