help me spend £500

[Gargleblaster]

1000 on just the wrong side of being big enough. I did see a good offer at last years boat show for one, but on further analysis realised that Black Magic is a little bit too big - may be talking from my backside, but I think I remember that the 1000 is suitable up to 3ton displacement and I'm about 3.5 + baggage.

My UFO27 weighs 3.5 tonnes [probably 5 tonnes when I am setting out across the Atlantic] and manages quite well with a ST1000. But it has neutral helm verging on lee helm which makes it very light to steer. But it is a very sharp fin keel with a flat bottom which makes it wobble all over the place in any form of chop or swell - so the autohelm has to work constantly.

I must admit that in anything that doesn't require a dead straight course I tend to use a Windpilot. So the autohelm only gets used generally in harbours, rivers or estuaries. One of the benefits of using wind vane steering is that you learn very quickly to balance your sails, which you also think about with the electric steering as a result.

I find the autohelm is a must have as I do mostly single handed sailing - when I take others out I stick them on the helm and rarely get the autohelm out. But is it just being lazy to rely on an autohelm. For most of my sailing life I had no such gadgets and used to rely on heaving to to make a cup of tea, sleep or reef the sails.

 

[maxcampbell]

What's stopping you sailing more often?

Lack of crew? Get the autopilot.

Can't face the row ashore / to the boat? Get the outboard.

Poor / unsatisfying sailing performance? Get the jib.

What about rigging a sail for the tender?

With the boat so close to the upper recommended limit for the 1000, bear in mind how heavy she is on the helm - if she's well mannered & neutral, you could well get away with the smaller model.

I reckon I could do the outboard and a Tillerpilot for £500 - but I wouldn't go for a Seagull - a nice, easy-to-start "modern" (mine's 1980's, Mariner - £250 mint condition) jap outboard, and put in a search on Ebay for secondhand tillerpilots with email alerts.

Either TP or outboard is potentially going to change your use of the boat more than the sail.

 

[Athene V30]

Auto pilot for certain.

May seem greedy but I have two TP10s on board so I have a reserve. Couldnt do my type of sailing without it.

Definate no to a stinky outboard!

 

[Lodesman77]

The sail. The improvement to your sailing will easily be the single biggest improvement. As a singlehander a tiller pilot would come next, followed by a small, light outboard. I currently have the tiller pilot and the outboard but my genoa is an issue...

 

[Burnham Bob]

For £500 could you get the outboard and get the sail recut? Maybe somethoing vould be done with it to give it another lease of life. Then save up for the autohelm.

I have 1000+ and its great for my boat, and makes single handed sailing so much easier. But if you can't easily get to the boat you won't do as much sailing as you'd like.

 

[Dazedkipper]

If you go for the autopilot may I suggest the TP32. I had a TP20 but upgraded to the more powerfull/quicker one.