auto tiller

[leapfrog]

Anyone got advise on the best auto tiller pilot for a 23 foot sail boat.

I'd prefer to by one 2nd hand if there is any out there

Cheers

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[castaway]

Keep an eye on EBay... I sold mine a few weeks back, and there had been others around in the preceeding weeks. BTW my oldish but good general condition unit fetched about £55.

Good luck... Nick

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[Graham_Wright]

Beaulieu's not far off.

<hr width=100% size=1>GBW

 

[aluijten]

I have got a Raymarine ST1000+. I'm not too pleased with it though, I think the mechanism is underdimensioned. I have noticed that when the pilot reaches an extreme point and the rod cannot be extended anymore the motor will cause the gear to do a lot of teeth grinding. To me that is a proof of underdimensioning. Reaction speed is also limited, even if you change the setup. It gives you the choice between too slow and far too itchy. So if you buy Raymarine go for the 2000+ version, I think the mechanism is much better.

Arno

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[FullCircle]

I have an old Autohelm AH800 with 1 and 10 degree buttons for my 23 footer. It is pretty good, but like others not clever at going downwind in a quartering sea as it has no real learn function. It tacks at the press of a button, and seems man enough.
I have had it apart and relubricated it, and gound little overall wear to the gears, even though it obviously quite old. Also replaced the power lead - very easy.
I went to the Simrad website and they had a .PDF available to download for operation and maintenance - for nothing. Good service then.
I changed the deck plug to a modern waterproof combination for about a tenner - no problems.

Mine was laying in about 3 inches of water when I bought the boat, and didn't have a plug on it, so I was surprised when it all worked properly.

If you buy one 2nd hand try and function it by connecting to 12v source and playing with the buttons through the full range - it should sound the same all through the movement range until the very limit of travel, and also be smooth. Load it slightly by pushing the tiller end into a firmish surface and pushing down on the body when operating it.

Jim

<hr width=100% size=1>Jeanneau 35 - only 13,272 lbs displacement, not even 6 tons,what a lightweight!!!

 

[pvb]

Used tiller pilots...

You need to be very careful if you're looking at buying used. And you need to test it carefully, as Jim suggested. This effectively rules out buying on eBay (although you sometimes see brand new units going cheap on eBay - look for seller sooty25 who is actually Kev at <A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.yachtbits.com>Yachtbits</A> and totally trustworthy). But a brand-new Simrad TP10 for £200 with a 2-year warranty might be a better long-term buy.

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[masterofnone]

I've got a simrad tp10, works fine until you need it, then it gets confused by bad conditions and goes round in circles.
Also you cannot connect it to gps( no nmea) interface.
Marvellous for taking the donkey work out of cruising, but a little thirsty on power.

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[maha]

Got a autohelm 1000 for about 100 quid if your intrested works well tel.no

malc

 

[Anonymous]

[ QUOTE ]
...works fine until you need it, then it gets confused by bad conditions and goes round in circles.
Also you cannot connect it to gps( no nmea) interface.
Marvellous for taking the donkey work out of cruising, but a little thirsty....

[/ QUOTE ] Reminds me of SWMBO /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif