In late July, we were called down to Watchet, Somerset to investigate a Garmin gWind system that had apparently stopped working.
Initially, we spoke at length with the customer to try and resolve the issue over the phone. However it became apparent that we would need to visit the vessel to investigate the issue more closely. Before setting off, we obtained from Garmin a complete gWind instrument kit in order to facilitate effective troubleshooting and to have any replacement components at hand should we need them.
On arrival we first double-checked nature of the issue and after testing main control unit we were able to determine that the problem lay with either the transducer atop the mast, or it’s connection to the signal cable. Either way it meant a trip up the mast in a bosun’s chair, or in this case, a harness.
We worked in a team of two to safely hoist our electrical engineer to a suitable working position where he could inspect the electrical connection to the transducer which was found to be in good working order. Ultimately, a replacement transducer was fitted after removal of the old unit and we were able to confirm the system was fully working before bringing the engineer back down to sign off the completed work.
