Autopilot on inverted tiller?

[Pete7]

There's no way you can use that with an autopilot, other than a wheelpilot.

The original Westerly system was a tiller.

Then someone comes along saying it can and shows a photo of their set up which has taken them across the channel for a decade. Although we have now upgraded from a Raymarine ST2000 to an Evo 100 wheel pilot. The steering system fitted 20 years after the original build is a Whitlock Cobra 5 drag link system. With the boat out of the water you can push the rudder from side to side with medium force. On the water the RM ST2000 had no problem steering the 31ft yacht in conditions up to F5.

So, the solution suggested might work. However, whilst it is easy to spend someone else's money, I think the Evo100 is just heads and shoulders above a tiller pilot set up which I wrote up here: Raymarine Evolution EV-100 Wheel Autopilot review - Cruisers & Sailing Forums

Pete

 

[Iliade]

Seconded, my current boat came to me with a legacy Raymarine electric ram based autopilot*. It is leagues better than the Tillerpilot series at speed of motion, hence course holding in rough water, and at predicting where the boat is about to point and positioning the rudder accordingly. (For what they cost, so it should be!)

* SPX10 IIRC, has an ST70 head unit driving it.

She had an earlier style wheel mounted drum type previously. These are fairly common on eBay etc and probably a lot more reliable than the TP - TPs don't like getting damp or working hard for a living in my experience. Plus being separate components, failed ones can be replaced without changing the whole set up.

 

[pvb]

Then someone comes along saying it can and shows a photo of their set up which has taken them across the channel for a decade. Although we have now upgraded from a Raymarine ST2000 to an Evo 100 wheel pilot. The steering system fitted 20 years after the original build is a Whitlock Cobra 5 drag link system. With the boat out of the water you can push the rudder from side to side with medium force. On the water the RM ST2000 had no problem steering the 31ft yacht in conditions up to F5.

So, the solution suggested might work.

It wouldn't work - the OP's boat has been fitted with a worm-drive steering box; you can't drive those backwards, unlike your Whitlock Cobra which is bevel-drive.

 

[Pete7]

She had an earlier style wheel mounted drum type previously. These are fairly common on eBay etc and probably a lot more reliable than the TP - TPs don't like getting damp or working hard for a living in my experience. Plus being separate components, failed ones can be replaced without changing the whole set up.

The black wheel drives, lets call them Mk 1, have brass gears rather than the later grey (Mk2) which has plastic. I deeply regret selling a black RM wheel drive unit in mint condition

 

[Akestor]

Here is a nice article describing how a TP32 used as a brain to drive a beast linear actuator!
Tiller pilot booster