Cindy wrote:
Anyone have any eperience using a ketch rig with a Monitor or some
other windvane?

I have an old Sail-O-Mat on my 32 foot Seawind ketch which has steered
the boat for about 25,000 offshore miles so far. It steers better than
the autopilot. There are two issues to think about:

1) Tacking and gybing: the mizzen boom will hit the vane. I either
remove the vane (the wind sensor part) before the tack, or raise the
boom high with the topping lift before tacking. At sea I keep a
fore-guy on the mizzen boom in case of an accidental gybe or tack. I
also keep a fore-guy rigged on the main boom, at sea, as well, for
safety reasons.

2) Close hauled the down-draft from the mizzen sail can effect
steering. Sometimes I just leave the sheet a little loose.

Jack