PhillM
Well-Known Member
Anyone know where I can pick one up? I know I could make one but time is short and tbh sewing isn't my strong point.
Cover for simrad tp10 tiller pilot
- Thread starter PhillM
- Start date
charles_reed
Well-Known Member
Take it along to your local sailmaker (suggest Crusader in Poole) and they should be able to make one up in acrylic offcuts while you wait. You do want a proper sailmaker with a loft and machinists though - many are agents now for Hong-Kong Sails et al.
forelle541
Well-Known Member
I got mine from EBay, good thing well made.
PhillM
Well-Known Member
I saw them on ebay about 6 months ago and was going to. Then forgot. Seller doesn't seem to be advertising any now. Do you have any contact details for the supplier?
CAPTAIN FANTASTIC
Well-Known Member
I made up a waterproof and see-through cover for my TP30, using an A3 size clear plastic pocket which is obtainable from stationaries. Just put it through, wrap it up and use duck tape at the open end, looks good, waterproof, breathable, easy to press the buttons, cost 5p, and works great.
causeway
Well-Known Member
What about heat shrink from models? Or cling film?
PhillM
Well-Known Member
Thanks chaps. What I want is to be able to protect it from rain, damage and I was hoping that the cover would have a d-ring or similar so I could tie it to the boat, just in case I dropped it while taking it off. Its a lot of money to go swimming / sinking!
AngusMcDoon
Well-Known Member
I'll make one for you if you like when I'm back from my summer sail in the Autumn, if you can wait that long.
charles_reed
Well-Known Member
Few autopilots fail due to water ingress on the actuator rod O-ring. Nearly all those all-in-one (like the TP30) will inevitably leak through the controls on the top and have the PCB junked.
I've single-handed for 24 years and nearly 1/2 million miles and early on found the only way round the problem was to fit a proper distributed unit, with flux-gate compass mounted separately near the CoG of the boat, control head in a protected position and just the separate actuator out in the elements. I'm still on my original 4000ST and apart from brushes and leadscrews, a new display and two plugs, it's never given trouble.
PS I do know, having had one of the Autohelm MkII on my second boat, which had 3 replacement PCBs, a Raymarine 2000, which failed twice in one season for that same reason (you'd have thought that a membrane keypad would have been waterproof) replaced, @ an advantageous price, by one of the first 4000STs, flown to St Mary's and fitted, in 2 hours, by myself and the RNLI mechanic.
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AngusMcDoon
Well-Known Member
Well I've only sailed 30,000 miles in 12 years on my tri-meringue with a tiller pilot protected by a waterproof cover so way to go to reach half a million miles, but no water ingress or damage to my ST2000, thanks to the cover, so it looks like there is another way round the problem.
If you are sailing 21,000 miles a year every year for over 2 decades as you state then I would agree that a full installation of separates is what you want, but then it would almost certainly be on a boat that is too big for a tiller pilot system anyway. For a smaller boat with a smaller budget used for less miles, then a tiller pilot can me made to work long term and stay waterproof. The answer is a cover.
The OP has a 25' boat from the 1960's using the smallest model tiller pilot available. Realistically, it's not going to have a full blown system of separates installed on it, is it?
Pete7
Well-Known Member
I would be interested in one for my ST2000 if you don't mind. Perhaps set up a production run for the forum, add something for your time and do a job lot.
Pete
PhillM
Well-Known Member
Yes please. Please send me a PM when you are back and we can discuss what I had in mind and of course a reasonable recompense. It sounds that others may well be interested, so if you are minded you might be able to shift a batch
In answer to some of the other remarks, my sailing is mainly Solent cruising so a TP is fine. I want a cover because it seems sensible to have to protect it from water and perhaps knocks AND I really want a way of attaching it to the boat. On my boat it is on a flat transom (no toe rail or guard wires / dodgers, etc) and so is both exposed and there is nothing to stop it going overboard if I dropped it while attaching or removing. A cover with a lanyard seems the answer.
AngusMcDoon
Well-Known Member
Remind me in September. I've only made covers for ST1000/2000 but I doubt the TP's are too different. You might need to measure it for me or make a paper prototype or something.
PhillM
Well-Known Member
Sounds good to me.
