Hello Dave, On the last generation of the Aries, the main shaft is aluminum. It will wear and eventually make the unit inoperable. The fix is to replace the shaft with stainless steel. It’s not difficult or expensive. I have done it. On the previous generation Aries, the biggest source of friction in the system is the lowest bearing surface on the pendulum shaft. It seemed to take forever to determine this as there are multiple sources of friction. The solution is to remove the pendulum shaft and “over bore” the bushing a little. Both Aries are difficult to raise and deploy the rudder. Aries did produce a better hinge although I have never used that hinge. It operates almost, just like the one on the Monitor windvane. The best hinge of all has been made popular by the latest GGR, ( an around the world race). I regret that I do not recall the maker of that hinge, but Gary Burton knows and is using one. I am a skinny little guy and simply mount and remove the rudder by hanging over the stern. So, why do I prefer the Aries? I like their 2 point mounting system better than the others 4 point systems. Also, I prefer and appreciate the “ratcheting” system for course changes. One ratchet is exactly 6 degrees. A known quantity. Just my preference. I personally have the previous generation Aries. It has approximately 90,000 nm on it and, at present, needs nothing. On one cruise to New Zealand, I swapped out that Aries just for the experience of testing a different Windvane. I hope this info is of some use. Good luck, Dave
