Buying/Fitting an autohelm advice please.

[mickyp168]

Hi All
I am considering buying an auto helm for my boat . She is a 23' sloop with tiller steering. The tiller is wood and has has a slight upward curve from where it slots onto the top of the rudder. I have one battery, and it is charged up on the berth, I can't re charge it at sea. My sailing is coastal cruising in the northern med France/Italy , and I have to admit I am a fair weather sailor these days, so no big seas to contend with. Grateful for some advice as to the best system to consider as to function, fitting, and of course price!

Thank You
Mick

 

[ghostlymoron]

I think you may be struggling to keep it powered up if you have no in passage charging. They can be quite power hungry. Perhaps you could fit a solar panel.
That actual fitting is quite straightforward although you may need a bracket on the tiller. The distance from rudder axis to the ram pin is the important one.
I've got a Raymarine TP1000 which would probably suit your boat as well.

 

[macd]

Your choices are the smallest Simrad or Raymarine. Not a lot to choose between them except that the latter has a small display showing what's going on. The Simrad boasts slightly more thrust. Suggest you download the handbook for your preferred one which will have detailed fitting instructions. It's usually a simple job, but some imagination may be required depending on tiller handle/cockpit layout.

Manuals here:
http://www.simrad-yachting.com/en-US/Products/Tillerpilots/TP10-Tillerpilots-en-us.aspx
http://www.raymarine.co.uk/manualse...Documents=&LanguageType=English&Search=Search

 

[vyv_cox]

There is a current thread about preferences for the Raymarine or Simrad versions of tiller pilots. Fitting either type is straightforward as there are many additional parts such as extensions and adapters to enable fitting to almost any cockpit shape. The power requirements suggested by ghostlymoron are valid, pilots will be consuming about 1 amp constantly with bigger excursions whenever the ram is operating.

 

[FWB]

I had that arrangement some years ago with my first boat. Raymarine autohelm,tiller pilot and a battery that could only be charged ashore/alongside.
It was no problem, I never ran out of battery power. Provided you keep the sails balanced the autopilot can be quite frugal with electrical power. Largish capacity battery obviously a good idea.

 

[V1701]

Simrad TP10 or Raymarine ST1000 & a solar panel with regulator something like this:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/30W-solar...999?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item20dcd8f6ff

All quite straightforward to fit yourself...

 

[mickyp168]

Thank you all for your good advice
Mick

 

[Spyro]

Justa small point if you're googling, What you are after is a tiller pilot rather than an autohelm.

 

[Richard10002]

How many Ah is your battery. Even 2A consumption will only use 20Ah in 10 hours of autohelming, so a 110Ah battery won't be too depleted after a day out.

 

[William_H]

The little tille rpilots are really good. It is likely you wil;l need a bracket under the tiller to drop the TP onto and usually the body will be supported on another pivot set into the cockpit seat abeam the end of the tiller. You physically lift it off the tiller pin when you want to hand steer. If you find you need more battery power another battery is your best bet but I doubt you will need it for short voyages. good luck olewill

 

[VicS]

Justa small point if you're googling, What you are after is a tiller pilot rather than an autohelm.

Tiller pilot rather than autopilot perhaps
Autohelm was the name of the earlier Raymarine tiller pilots and their predecessors made originally by Nautech.

I still have a very early Nautech Autohelm 1000. Would not be without it but often wished it would pack up so that I could justify replacing it with a more modern one. It will see me out now though hopefully.

Always in use.

Small leisure battery with charging from outboard and small solar panel

 

[prv]

Tiller pilot rather than autopilot perhaps

No, autohelm. That's what the OP calls it in his post. If that's the word he always uses, and what he googles for, Spyro is pointing out that it may not find eg Simrad tiller pilots.

Pete

 

[Cloven]

Here's a pic of the setup on my boat. Not saying its perfect but it works. It shows the pedestal mount on the seat which raises the unit up and the bracket under the tiller allowing the unit to sit horizontally.

 

[Spyro]

Here's a pic of the setup on my boat. Not saying its perfect but it works. It shows the pedestal mount on the seat which raises the unit up and the bracket under the tiller allowing the unit to sit horizontally.

What type is that? Does it have a separate control unit?

 

[Cloven]

Its a Raymaine Autohelm circa 1998 with separate control unit mounted on the bulkhead to the main cabin. Can't remember the actual model off hand. Main point of pic was to show OP an actual installation as one of the new Raymarine or Simrad models would require similar mountings.

 

[earlybird]

It's an ST4000 type, which I also have. Its proved good, although the latest versions seem very pricey. My control unit matches the ST instrumentation in the cockpit and is convenient to operate.
Its compass can be permanently mounted anywhere, (almost!) , and puts heading information on the Seatalk bus, which is useful.
IMO, a considerable advantage over the single unit types is that the ram contains only the motor. The vulnerable electronics etc. can be kept away from spray and rain.

 

[Cloven]

It's an ST4000 type, which I also have. Its proved good, although the latest versions seem very pricey. My control unit matches the ST instrumentation in the cockpit and is convenient to operate.
Its compass can be permanently mounted anywhere, (almost!) , and puts heading information on the Seatalk bus, which is useful.
IMO, a considerable advantage over the single unit types is that the ram contains only the motor. The vulnerable electronics etc. can be kept away from spray and rain.

Thanks for the ID. Here's a pic of the other part referred to:

Compass heading on the left and Autohelm controller on the right. Actual compass is out of the way on the interior side of the bulkhead.

 

[FWB]

We're getting a little off topic here since the OP is after an all in one unit.
So apologies to the OP for continuing the theme..
If you have an above deck Raymarine autopilot with a separate control head, the system can be greatly improved by fitting a rudder reference unit. Even the very latest autopilots will benefit from this. Talking about non fixed above decks autopilots here.
Not easy to do on a tiller steered yacht but I've managed to fit one on my boat and the improvement to the autopilot --S1-- is dramatic.
Hopefully pics show the arrangement. They are weather proof rather than waterproof so some protection is needed.