Mast Wind Indicators for Sailing
A mast wind indicator gives you apparent wind angle at the one point on the boat where the air is cleanest. Down at deck level the flow is already disturbed by the sails, the crew and the hull. That’s why a masthead vane remains the reference that tell tales and electronic wind instruments get checked against.
The three things that separate a good sailing wind direction indicator from a poor one are bearing friction, balance and contrast. A vane with a stiff bearing sits still in five knots and tells you nothing. A poorly balanced one lags through a tack, and a vane you can’t pick out against a grey sky forces you to look away from the water for longer than you’d want to. The models stocked here are built by manufacturers who’ve been solving those three problems for decades.
Hawk Wind Indicators
Hawk Marine Products make the range most British dinghy sailors will recognise from the dinghy park. The Little Hawk wind indicator is the class standard on ILCA, Topper, RS and Feva fleets, and comes in two fittings. The Little Hawk Mk1 sits over the mast head, which suits any rig where the masthead is exposed. The Little Hawk MkII fits around the mast, which is what you need on an ILCA or Laser where the sail sleeves over the spar and leaves no masthead to mount to. Podium Edition versions of both the MkII and the Little Hawk Race are also in stock.
Move up in boat size and the Hawk Wind Indicator gives you a larger vane with more visible tails, sized for bigger dinghies and small keelboats where you are reading it from eight or ten metres away. The Great Hawk Wind Indicator is the largest in the range, built for yachts and keelboats where mast height puts the vane well beyond the reach of a smaller unit. For racing, the Hawk Race Wind Indicator and Little Hawk Race strip weight and drag out of the design.
Allen Wind Indicators and Racing Burgees
The Allen Aerovane comes in two mounting options that solve the same problem from different angles. The mast head mounted version goes on top of the spar for the cleanest possible airflow. The lower mast mounted version clamps to the spar with a bracket, useful on rigs where the top of the mast is occupied or where you want the indicator closer to your natural sightline.
The Allen Racing Burgee takes a different approach again. A fabric burgee on a wire staff responds faster to small shifts than a rigid vane does, and the four colour options (blue, red, yellow or pink) mean you can pick something that stands out against your local water and sky.
Tell Tales for Sail Trim
A masthead vane tells you where the wind is coming from. Tell tales tell you what the sail is doing with it, which is a separate question and just as important. Most racing sailors run both.
Woollen tell tales are the light-air choice. Wool moves at wind speeds where synthetic material still hangs limp, and it dries faster than nylon after a capsize. The Sea Sure Black FLO Tell Tales use a fluorescent material that stays visible against a dark sail and sheds water quickly, which makes them the better option in a breeze. Ronstan supply theirs in a red and green pair so you can run the standard port and starboard convention and read which side is stalling without thinking about it.
Fit them on the jib luff around 150 to 300mm aft of the luff tape, in sets up the height of the sail, and add a set to the mainsail leech if you are chasing upwind speed.
How to Choose a Sailing Wind Direction Indicator
Check whether your masthead is free or whether the sail sleeves over it because that can rule out half the range. Then size the vane to the distance you'll be reading it from. A Little Hawk on a 40ft mast is a waste of money, and a Great Hawk on a Topper is windage you don't need.
After that it comes down to how you sail. Club racers and anyone doing a lot of light-air work should prioritise a free-turning bearing and a small, light vane. Cruisers and anyone reading the indicator from a long way off should prioritise size and colour contrast. If you race seriously, budget for a spare. Mast top wind indicators live a hard life and they break at the worst possible moment.
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Reading Wind Shifts Without a Vane
A vane shows you apparent wind. A racing compass shows you heading, and the two together are how the front of the fleet works out whether a shift is real or whether the boat has simply been luffed by a wave.
The Raymarine Tacktick Micro Compass is the standard choice for this in dinghy fleets. It's solar-powered with no wiring to run, submersible to 10m, and its tactical scale gives you the same figures on both tacks so there are no numbers to memorise between the beats. Browse the full range of ILCA compasses if you're equipping for a season of racing.
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Masthead Wind Indicator FAQs
What is the wind indicator on a mast called?
It's called a masthead vane, a mast wind vane or a mast wind indicator, and all three terms describe the same thing. It's a lightweight arrow mounted at the top of the rig that rotates on a low-friction bearing to point into the apparent wind. Sailors also use burgee for the fabric flag version.
Which wind indicator fits an ILCA or Laser?
You need an around-mast fitting. On an ILCA the sail sleeves over the top section of the spar, so there is no exposed masthead to mount to. The Little Hawk MkII Wind Indicator (Around Mast) is designed for exactly this and is the most common choice in the fleet.
What is the difference between the Little Hawk Mk1 and MkII?
The fitting. The Mk1 mounts over the top of the mast head and suits rigs with an exposed masthead. The MkII fits around the mast, which is what sleeved-sail boats like the ILCA and Laser require. The vane itself works the same way in both.
Do I need tell tales as well as a masthead indicator?
Most racing sailors use both because the masthead vane gives you apparent wind angle and warns you of a shift before you feel it, but tell tales show whether the airflow is attached across each section of the sail - which is what you trim to. Together they give you a layered read on what the wind is doing.
Is there an electronic wind indicator for a dinghy?
Wireless wind systems that measure true wind angle and speed electronically exist, but they are built for yachts and keelboats where there is a mast to carry a transducer and a display to wire it to. Dinghy sailors get the same tactical information a different way: a mechanical masthead vane for wind angle, paired with a digital racing compass such as the Raymarine Tacktick Micro Compass to measure shifts in degrees off your heading. A compass measures your course and not the wind itself, so it's worth understanding what each device is actually telling you before you buy.
Which tell tales are best for light wind?
Woollen tell tales. Wool has enough weight to hang properly and enough sensitivity to lift in very light air, where heavier synthetic material tends to stay flat against the sail. In stronger wind or wet conditions, fluorescent FLO tell tales stay visible for longer and shed water faster.
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