Need windshield wipers?

[markpierce]

Is there a need for windshield wipers on one's boat?* If you have none, do you wish you did?


-- Edited by markpierce on Saturday 26th of March 2011 11:31:17 PM

 

[FF]

Yes Definiatly , and wipers are only half the package.

A water spray to remove salt spray is required as salt will scratch glass easily.

Multiple speed and single wipe are great , as well as the ability to operate the unit sitting at the helm without reaching or stretching.

A controll on the helm chair arm rest would be ideal.

 

[Steve]

They are very good to have! And yes get the spray . I don't have the spray so only use mine when the glass is very wet.
Steve W

 

[Keith]

I have them on mine, and use them, but a good coating of Rain-X will almost do as well. No FW rinse, but if I was installing from scratch, I'd include that option.

 

[hollywood8118]

Volunteer had a single wiper motor on the center window, in nine years I never reattached the arm and used the wiper. I did recoat the glass twice a year with rain x. The vertical glass shed water great... even in fog I never wanted the wiper.

HOLLYWOOD

 

[Codger2]

markpierce wrote:
Is there a need for windshield wipers on one's boat?* If you have none, do you wish you did?

******* I have them (3) and fresh water washers as well & am glad I do. On windy days when

******* spray hits the windshield, I really need them.

*

*

 

[Nomad Willy]

I have plastic windows and no wipers. I don't like them and I'd like to have wipers But.......* getting along without them is much easier than one would imagine. I see windows in plastic bolted to the outer surface of the cabin on many boats. And on some they are 3/4" thick and obviously very strong. I think the most seaworthy windows are thus but wipers are not that important, especially with the regular use of Rain-X or similar product. My biggest visibility problem was very heavy snow and I know wipers would have been useless. I had another boat w Lexan windows and one wiper. I built the boat and installed the wiper and knew the wiper blade would scratch the window surface so I used it sparingly and it worked very well. After several years the window hardly showed any scratches and I could see where I was going. One dos'nt need glass and one dos'nt need wipers but glass is very heavy and has much less insinuative value that Lexan. I think we assume we need wipers for the same reason we assume we need lots of extra power. If there is one thing that dominates our minds and our life it's cars. Four and five year olds even know lots about cars. In college my VW windshield wiper motor failed and I could'nt afford a new one. By somebody's recommendation I dipped a pouch of Bull Durham in a puddle and wiped the window w it and visibility was so good it was quite awhile before I got a new windshield wiper motor. So**** ....the answer is no**** ..one dos'nt need a wiper but they are nice and I would have at least one if I had glass windows.

 

[Steppen]

We use ours all the time.* In the PNW there is just too much stuff in the water (crab pots, logs, kayaks, marine mammels) not to have good visibility.* A good AFI 2 speed, self-park motor is only going to set you back somewhere around $200 so don't be cheap, get them.* I also like Rain-X which cuts down the frequency of wiper use.

 

[Baker]

Use mine all the time. I go on plane all the time so any time there is a crosswind, there will be spray coming across the bow....

 

[Carey]

Gotta have em!!!

 

[markpierce]

The reason the question came to mind last night is that I noticed from*Eric's recently-posted photo*that he*had none and looking at the*most recent*pictures of*my Coot from the builder*they hadn't been installed yet.* The posts mentioning wiper water raised a concern, but*I was*comforted after looking at the Coot's control-panel layout which included three wiper switches and a wiper-water switch.

 

[Arctic Traveller]

nomadwilly wrote:
. In college my VW windshield wiper motor failed and I could'nt afford a new one.

*Funny, I had the same problem in college, but a different solution.* I fixed two pieces of string to the wiper arm, and brought one in the passenger window, the other in the drivers window.* It worked much better when there was a passenger to pull it back and forth as needed.

As for wipers on a boat, I view them as a safety item.* You might get away with Rainx for an entire season, but one day you will loose visibility and need the wipers.* We replace our blades pretty often on our boat and on our cars, as clear visibility is mandatory for me.* We don't buy the expensive marine refills though, but simply go to the auto parts store and get automotive ones.* Sometimes a little modification is needed, but it's worth it as they are so much less expensive.

Better than wipers though is a Clear View screen.* Never needs new blades, and snow, ice or sleet will never stick to it. When all your other windows are iced up, or covered in salt spray, you still have a great view out the screen.* They can get a little noisy though.* If you don't know, it's the round spinning disc seen on many sea going vessels..........Arctic Traveller

*

 

[Codger2]

Arctic Traveller wrote:* We don't buy the expensive marine refills though, but simply go to the auto parts store and get automotive ones.* Sometimes a little modification is needed, but it's worth it as they are so much less expensive.

******* That's exactly what my friends and I do.

*

 

[Bendit]

We have just one on the port front window - ahead of the helm. This is*a*frequent source of*irritation to the First Mate as she believes that*we need one on the stbd side also. I would find it very difficult without a wiper as we have a very smooth ride in a seaway - but also very wet. The two seem to go together.

The funny thing is that I actually bought another 24V wiper motor some years ago - *just never got around to fitting it. Maybe this winter.....

Oddly, the boat is equiped with washers for all windows although they only work effectively when travelling into the wind.


-- Edited by Bendit on Sunday 27th of March 2011 01:19:07 PM

 

[O C Diver]

markpierce wrote:
Is there a need for windshield wipers on one's boat? If you have none, do you wish you did?



-- Edited by markpierce on Saturday 26th of March 2011 11:31:17 PM

If diesel engines were as unreliable and short lived as wiper motors, we would all own sailboats. This is based on not being a dock queen and spending 90+ days a year on the ocean. Had wipers on this boat when I purchased it. Removed them in favor of Rain-X. Haven't had a wiper failure since.

IMO, a defroster / defogger (like what you have in your car) is more important than wipers.

*

Ted

*

*

 

[xfedex]

I watched a video of the "Dashew FPB 64" enroute to Seattle from New Zealand. First thing I noticed as green water came over the bow... NO wipers, just rain-x.
I use rain-x and don't really need wipers even here in the Great (& wet) Pacific Northwest. Funny, my wife wants them on as a matter of principle. I think it unnecessary. Wears out the blades.

Do you all remember the Passagemaker Mag article on wipers in which it was stated you must NEVER lift the wiper away from the glass. It will wreak the wipers. Never really understood that.

 

[FF]

"Better than wipers though is a Clear View screen. Never needs new blades, and snow, ice or sleet will never stick to it. When all your other windows are iced up, or covered in salt spray,"

IF the CVS has the heater elements it will free it self of freezing rain or sea spray.

No heater and its only useful for rain and sea spray.


These too need a FW spray at times to get rid of the salt spray that dries on them.At least ours does.

 

[Arctic Traveller]

FF wrote:
IF the CVS has the heater elements it will free it self of freezing rain or sea spray.

No heater and its only useful for rain and sea spray.


These too need a FW spray at times to get rid of the salt spray that dries on them.At least ours does.

*Agreed, but all the ones I have used have had a heating element that looked somewhat like an electric oven element, and were 220v at that!* No ice will stick to it when the heats on.* As for salt spray, as long as it's spinning when it gets wet, no salt will acumulate on the disc, and if it has, the first time it gets wet, it will clear it self.*

Still, for most boats, despite looking very nautical and working quite well,they are not really practical due to cost.* .....................Arctic Traveller

*

 

[FF]

As for salt spray, as long as it's spinning when it gets wet, no salt will acumulate on the disc, and if it has, the first time it gets wet, it will clear it self.

Not in our experience , the water drops do leave but "WET" stays behind and is the source of the salt haze.

On a light spray day , it gets foggier and foggier as the occasional water dries.

 

[Arctic Traveller]

FF wrote:

On a light spray day , it gets foggier and foggier as the occasional water dries.

*Probably so, perhaps the boats I've used them on were not as wet as yours, or they were wetter...................Arctic Traveller

*