The cost statement was made in response to the statement about having/needing both an AP and windvane for long distance cruising. It never implied that two AP's cost the same as one windvane.

The other statement stands as fact. Your one personal experience may not be like that, just like my personal experience with AP's show that they are not complicated and rarely break. That doesn't make either of us correct (and for the record, I have not stated that AP's never break) - both of us can find examples disproving each experience in minutes. I found exact supporting evidence for my statement in Hawk's website, where they describe problems with dissimilar metals, underwater stainless corrosion, and problem joints and couplings in two separate and popular windvanes. I also have cruising friends who have had problems with theirs.

Mark