What are clickers and where does the name come from?
Clickers are wind indicators on sailing ships in the sense that they give the sailor the wind direction of the apparent wind - the mixture of true wind and headwind indicators. This will allow you to adjust your sail setting perfectly to the wind direction and thus create a maximum flow of air and thus maximum propulsion of the ship. The name Verklicker probably comes from the sailor language of the 19th century and actually refers only to the pennants attached to the top of the mast, and flags which "clicked" the wind direction to the sailors.
Various forms of wind indicators
Especially in sailing training, sailing is taught with clickers and is considered very important. This is why clickers - usually with slightly larger flags - are widespread on school ships and dinghies. Many young sailors then adopt the technique of click-through sailing in their other boat classes, including regattas. Therefore, in the course of time different forms of clickers have been developed, which are adapted to the needs of the respective boat class. In Optimist, for example, the kicker is an important component of the trim system for the sail and is therefore indispensable. With the laser, on the other hand, the clicker in the top is difficult to see, which is why it is clamped to the front of the mast with a specially developed device. Other clickers are clamped into side brackets with counter springs. As a general rule, the larger the ship, the rarer the number of clickers, which is also due to the fact that technology continues to advance and that digital systems now display wind force and wind direction on larger ships.
You can find clickers and windbands from manufacturers like WinDesign, Hawk, newTack or blacksmith. Especially the technique of the windbands can be explained to you at www.newtack.eu .