How much for a decent wheel autopilot?

[FullCircle]

What you need is a permanently employed deck hand.
I can cook, steer, and if pushed will buy a round - do I get the job

Hmm, dunno, you unemployed have got a bad name.
But as you will buy a round, the job is yours.

 

[Koeketiene]

Other than when racing, I find hours at the helm to be boring, so the autopilot is used all the time under engine and most of the time under sail.

+1
And we don't even race

 

[GrahamM376]

I find hours at the helm to be boring, so the autopilot is used all the time under engine and most of the time under sail.......
But then its all in the mind / personal preferences. I leave the helming to the autohelm but much prefer old style nav with paper charts to the chartplotter we have.

+1

I fid Biscay and some other long trips often a bit like watching paint dry - utterly boring.

 

[Twister_Ken]

+1

I fid Biscay and some other long trips often a bit like watching paint dry - utterly boring.

Glad it's not just me. If you think back to 'The Great Days Of Sail', the captain was never the helmsman, but would sit in his cabin and be enigmatic. If we employ a helmsman called Ray Marine, Sim Rad or Gar Min, it allows us to do the same.

 

[Vara]

I'm with the "if you've got it use it'' team, I helm out of the berth and back in, the rest of the time Navman does the steering.
If it can't cope the sail plan is wrong or I shouldn't be out there.

Since I discovered the joys of an auto helm, the one with the compass rose on it's case was the first one, I wouldn't set out without one.

 

[JONDAVIS]

how much for a decent wheel auto pilot

I have a Cpt which has been rebuilt for me by CPT it is a great bit of kit but no nmea you set the boat up on the course and dial in the cpt compass works well and is very powerful I have it on a 43ft wishbone ketch .you do need the belt tensioner as shown on their video I would contact them as they may have to make from spares as I am not sure if they still sell new ones they are very helpful.

 

[LadyInBed]

the captain was never the helmsman, but would sit in his cabin and be enigmatic.

Yep, that's me

 

[Twister_Ken]

Roger the cabin boy?

 

[TQA]

Met a delivery skip who carries a CPT on all deliveries and has fitted it twice in mid ocean.

Uses a Bosch wiper motor I think.

Back in prodution according to the web site.

Also see http://www.csyowners.com/forums/index.php?topic=98.0

 

[maby]

Met a delivery skip who carries a CPT on all deliveries and has fitted it twice in mid ocean.

Uses a Bosch wiper motor I think.

Back in prodution according to the web site.

Also see http://www.csyowners.com/forums/index.php?topic=98.0

It's quite expensive compared to the Raymarine and with less features - is it significantly better built?

 

[Terra-Loon]

I dont know a precise figure but its in the 2 to 3k region for the complete set up inc the computer bits. But I have had tiller pilots and several wheel pilots and this system is by far the best I have had. To put it another way, if I were speccing up a new boat there is no question but that I would go for this pilot again and if I had to economise, it would be on something else.

Other than when racing, I find hours at the helm to be boring, so the autopilot is used all the time under engine and most of the time under sail. But that depends on what sort of sailing you do. Mine involves some longer distance coastal trips , crossing the channel etc but no blue water. If I were just going out for a couple of hours and returning to base then I guess the pilot would not get used much.

But then its all in the mind / personal preferences. I leave the helming to the autohelm but much prefer old style nav with paper charts to the chartplotter we have. Other people will no doubt helm all the time and rely on the chartplotter.

Thanks, I'll give it some consideration when I'm going to fit an AP.

 

[Tradewinds]

It's quite expensive compared to the Raymarine and with less features - is it significantly better built?

Read the features here & take an educated guess.

It's used on quite large yachts too.

TBH, I doubt whether the standard British yottie would risking buying such a unit as it's an unfamiliar product from a relatively unknown US manufacturer.

When my Neco eventually gives up the ghost I'll probably get one (if they are still made ).

PS: I also have a tillerpilot on my Hydrovane for back-up.

 

[jordanbasset]

It doesn't matter which pilot you have the one thing none of them can do is anticipate and stop a turn off course before it starts. The advantage of a quadrant fitted linear drive must be that it can put more rudder on faster than can a wheel drive.

We had a Raymarine ST6000 on our last boat that came with it and went with it after we added another 10 years and 18,000 miles, still going strong. Before that it had done the AZAB and out to the eastern Med and back. We also had an AH4000 backup, wired in with a control head in the pedestal array and an inline plug/socket connection to the wheel drive so that the mechanism was kept down below for fitting only if needed (which required removing and replacing the wheel) which it never was.

Agree with you, we also have the ST6000, very reliable.
Now tend to use the autopilot most of the time, except entering/leaving harbour etc. Allows us to enjoy what is going on without being tied to one place in the cockpit.

 

[maby]

Read the features here & take an educated guess.

It's used on quite large yachts too.

TBH, I doubt whether the standard British yottie would risking buying such a unit as it's an unfamiliar product from a relatively unknown US manufacturer.

When my Neco eventually gives up the ghost I'll probably get one (if they are still made ).

PS: I also have a tillerpilot on my Hydrovane for back-up.

Well, I would risk buying one, but it does not have any NMEA input to allow it to be driven by a chart plotter and it is quite a lot more expensive than the Raymarine equivalent that does have NMEA, so it would need to be a lot better built to justify the price.

 

[Tradewinds]

Well, I would risk buying one, but it does not have any NMEA input to allow it to be driven by a chart plotter and it is quite a lot more expensive than the Raymarine equivalent that does have NMEA, so it would need to be a lot better built to justify the price.

So you really want to able to set a course on the chartplotter & have the autopilot follow it?

 

[maby]

So you really want to able to set a course on the chartplotter & have the autopilot follow it?

Well, not for long distances, but if we're having lunch while the autopilot steers, it may as well be under chartplotter control so that it doesn't drift off course. I guess my point is that that CPT autopilot seems, superficially at least, to be very similar to the Raymarine Smart Pilot, costs about 50% more and does not have a chartplotter input. Hence the question as to build quality...

 

[Tradewinds]

Fairy nuff .

 

[fireball]

I never did quite understand the chart plotter link. When I use it I just steer a course set it to auto and leave it. I'll adjust the direction with +-1 and 10 keys.

What's the deal with nmea input?

 

[Robin]

The plotter is irrelevant it is the GPS position and the ability to follow a ground track precisely between waypoints that in some circumstances is very useful. The pilot does it by adjusting the heading to maintain a zero cross track error, not by adjusting the heading to match the COG (course over the ground) to the BTW (bearing to waypoint).

This ability to tell the pilot to follow the track is very useful for example in staying right on the planned course through a channel when the tidal flow is variable in strength perhaps and certainly in direction, therefore difficult to continually recalculate by hand. We had tried and tested routes through the Little Russel and through Chenal Du Four that we ran with the pilot set on 'track', these we had followed enough times in clear visibility to trust (we had radar too) in poor visibility. In both these examples the tides were a significant factor and in places ran across the course required. Another example (also tried and tested in perfect conditions) was the entry into L'Aberwrac'h which passes between two reefs close at hand and with a tide running at 4/5kts at times directly across the channel. It is actually quite spooky how well the pilot does the tracking job and it frees up the navigator to look for the marks and in bad visibility watch the radar as well.

So not used that often, but in my book definitely worth having.

 

[TQA]

It's quite expensive compared to the Raymarine and with less features - is it significantly better built?

Soggypaws has used one in a heavyweight 44 footer for 10 + years.