Autopilot

[Upnorth]

Getting fed up with my Raymarine tiller pilot, so thinking about fitting an in board system on my X-332. Just done a singlehanded race in gusts up to 28knts where apart from raising and lowering the main it was more of a hindrance than a help. After several months of reading reviews and articles - I still havn't decided anything.
Considering........
NKE seems to be the favorite of all serious racers but hideously expensive.
B&G Triton2 which I think was the Simrad system. Looks as if it can be setup for racing/sailing but not as many options as NKE
Raymarine - seems to me not so flexible interms of settings, but proably easier to interface with my current instruments. Did consider the EV100 where the drive is on deck, this is the cheapest option but not sure that I want to continue lifting the drive on & off the tiller.

As far as drives are concerned considering the Jefa lineardrive LD100 or the more expensive DD1

Would appreciate any views,
Mike

 

[lpdsn]

Is there space to fit a tiller arm for an autopilot drive below decks?

I've more than happy with the Raymarine autopilot but Seatalk ng is a bit of a con - they're really just N2K cables so it is easy to mix and match with standard N2K DeviceNet so STNG isn't as big a problem as it first appears.

PS You might get more responses if you ask the moderators to move this thread to the PBO forum.

PPS And make sure you use good cables to the drive whatever you get. I used 6mm2, which may be overkill but...

 

[knuterikt]

I have the Jefa LD100 installed on my Beneteau First 38 with wheel steering. The LD100 is good, i like the way the clutch mechanism works, when AP is set to standby the clutch "hold" the rudder until helmsman start steering the boat.

Jefa stock tiller arms that can be machined to fit rudder post.
Contact Jefa for tecnical questions.

AP is Raymarine EV with the AKE 200, I'm impressed by this AP the new sensor technology results in a better "helmsman"
We also found that is is better sailing to the wind wane than the old AP, the old one got confused when we ran into head sea and the wind wane started to "flutter".

 

[wotayottie]

I've got the HLD350 hydraulic under deck drive from Simrad and its magnificent. 21 years old and no problem. Will work with other makes of control computer. Only issue is cost at something around £1500.

On my boat it has coped in up to 50kn and running off downwind under full sail with rollers underneath and 35 kn true. Am embarrassed to admit the latter - it sort of crept up on us when we werent paying attention . Obviously the hull shape and rudder size contributed to the above.

 

[Foolish Muse]

Numerous sailors in the Singlehanded Transpac have good things to say about Pelagic. I specifically asked if it could handle boats with the spinnaker up in 25 knots of wind and the responses say yes. You can see the discussion here; http://sfbaysss.org/forum/showthread.php?1812-Pelagic-Autopilot-any-experiences
A very good price. Well worth a look according to the discussion from real racers.
Keep in mind that the design of the boat is more important than the autopilot. My Olson 30 is very twitchy and an extreme challenge for any autopilot. On the other hand a Figaro II is designed to be singlehanded under autopilot and will track like a dream.