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This is the most popular wind sensor for sailboats
January 10, 2026 • 4 min read
Learn how to pick a wind sensor that fits you, and which sensor is the most popular among Orca boaters.
Understanding how wind changes affect your boat is the foundation of good sailing. For smaller sailboats and dinghies, you can feel minor shifts in the wind and sail well on experience and instinct – but for larger sailboats, instinct and intuition will only get you so far.
Today, most sailboats are equipped with electronic wind sensors that provide wind information to onboard instruments and other equipment such as autopilots. Electronic wind sensors, in combination with a speed through water sensor, also allow you to derive true wind, laylines, and polar targets. These are important metrics that help you make better decisions and understand how well you are sailing.
The top of a sailboat mast with an electronic wind sensor and a traditional wind vane.
Wind sensors are fundamental for sailing with autopilots. They feed wind data to the autopilot, allowing it to hold consistent wind angles and compensate for changes in wind speed.
An unreliable wind sensor can be a headache or potentially even dangerous when used with an autopilot – so picking one that fits your way of sailing is important. Read on to learn which type of wind sensor fits your needs and which models are popular among Orca boaters.
The big differences between different wind sensors
When picking a wind sensor for your sailboat, you have three primary options to consider:
Wireless or wired
Mechanical or ultrasonic
Big brand or a specialist brand
Wireless or wired
Any sailor who has replaced a snapped halyard understands the benefit of going wireless. Installing a wireless sensor can be a lot easier than a wired option, which makes a potentially daunting upgrade manageable for the do-it-yourself boater.
Raymarine, Garmin, B&G, and a handful of smaller brands offer wireless wind sensors – giving you plenty of options to pick from.
A wireless B&G WS320 wind sensor and its base station.
The primary downside of getting a wireless wind sensor is reliability. The wireless sensor depends on a stable wireless connection and a functional battery inside the wind sensor, and some boaters report anecdotes about pairing challenges and signal drops.
If reliability is important, say you do long-distance sailing with an autopilot, you should pick a wired sensor for the extra reliability.
Mechanical or ultrasonic
Mechanical wind vane sensors are well-proven with excellent wind angle accuracy, particularly in light winds where precision matters most. The Vendée Globe fleet uses mechanical wind vanes because of their superior performance. That said, mechanical wind sensors have moving parts and require regular maintenance and replacement or service eventually – and for some boaters, that moment always seems to happen at the worst possible time.
An ultrasonic wind sensor by LCJ Capteurs.
Ultrasonic wind sensors measure wind using sound waves. They have no moving parts, which means no mechanical wear and less maintenance needed. However, accuracy and responsiveness in light winds are typically worse than their mechanical counterparts. Ultrasonic sensors, in particular low-end models, can also experience performance degradations from temperature changes and fog.
If you want to minimize maintenance requirements and are willing to potentially sacrifice accuracy, a high-quality ultrasonic sensor can be the right choice. If accuracy matters more and you are comfortable with proactive maintenance, consider a mechanical sensor.
Big brand or specialist
There are three big brands that offer wind sensors as part of their wide range of products: Raymarine, B&G, and Garmin. Anecdotally, the quality of the big three’s wind sensors is about the same, and if you wonder which big brand to pick a sensor from, Orca recommends the one that can service you the best in your region.
To compete with the big three, specialist manufacturers need to differentiate. When it comes to wind sensor manufacturers, the smaller firms typically compete on reliability and accuracy.
A+T Instruments are designed and manufactured in Lymington, UK.
Over the past years, two smaller manufacturers stand out with significant growth: A+T, which specializes in mechanical wind wanes with excellent mechanical reliability, and LCJ Capteurs, which specializes in high-accuracy ultrasonic sensors. While the specialists’ sensors are more expensive than the big three’s entry models, they can offer better value over the long term.
The Orca fleet
The Orca fleet consists of thousands of sailboats, and the fleet’s equipment is sampled regularly for remote diagnostics and support. As of January 2026, the Orca fleet has the following distribution of wind sensor manufacturers:
The distribution of wind sensor manufacturers for the Orca fleet.
Raymarine is the largest brand with 42% of connected Wind Sensors. B&G combined with Simrad comes second with 31%, and Garmin is third with 11%, followed by a long tail of smaller brands. Looking at device models reveals a more detailed view:
Distribution of wind sensor models used by the Orca Fleet.
The most popular type of wind sensor among Orca boaters is the i50, i60, and i70 series of Raymarine sensors. These connect to Orca via the ITC5 gateway and the Seatalk to SeatalkNG gateway.
Among B&G and Simrad sensors, the wired WS310 is twice as popular as the wireless WS320 models. The older generation B&G508 and 608 still sees a lot of use and is installed on 9% of Orca boats. Among the smaller brands, LCJ Capteurs and A+T show their presence with a shared presence of almost 2%.
If you are looking for a tried and true sensor, picking Raymarine or B&G is the right choice.
How to get the most out of your wind sensor
Accurate wind measurements are only the first step towards better sailing. To sail well, you need to understand true wind, which in turn lets you keep track of wind shifts, derive laylines, and measure your sailing performance against your polar diagram.
True wind is the holy grail of sailing, and to calculate it accurately and reliably, you need a Sailing Processor. The Orca Core comes with a built-in Sailing Processor that turns your noisy apparent wind data into consistent true wind. Orca also makes it effortless to pick your polar and, in turn, enjoy accurate laylines and performance targets. Curious how Orca’s sailing processor works? Read about it here.
Mast mounting enables the entire crew to keep track of the wind and your sailing performance.
If you are looking to get an edge in racing or just want more accurate wind information to sail better, you should consider an Orca Core. The Core comes with a built-in Sailing Processor and delivers many other great experiences, such as wireless autopilot control on your phone.
Add an Orca Display 2 for a great primary navigation display, and you get a fantastic instrument panel that helps you keep track of your sailing performance. Orca lets you quickly switch between a casual cruising layout and a performance-oriented instrument experience so you can take your sailing to the next level.
Order now via the Orca Store, with free express shipping and a 30-day satisfaction guarantee.
