More single handed problems

warwicksail

warwicksail

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14 Dec 2007
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219
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Carmarthen West Wales UK
wwc.co.uk
I have tiller steering on my westerly warwick, at the mooent im using a peice of shock cord tide either side of the cock pit then wraped around the tiller but it just isnt really suitable surley there,s a better way..... Please advise
 
A rope instead of shock cord and either Tillermate or Tiller tamer or Tiller hand from our own Salty John

But if you are going to be doing a lot of single-handed sailing there is no substitute for a Tiller pilot. The smallest from either Raymarine or Simrad will be more than adequate for a Warwick
 
Cheers VicS tiller mate seems a more affordable solution for the minute, I may allready one there is a hadle with a cable running to two cams on the underside of the tiller, never put much thought to it, /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif
 
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there is a hadle with a cable running to two cams on the underside of the tiller

[/ QUOTE ] Sounds like a simple tiller brake. That should do just as well, better in some respects. Work out how to thread a rope through it. squeeze the handle should then release it, let go and it should grip.

As said balancing sails is very important. In fact dont try to sail hard on the wind, free off a bit, you'll go faster, make less leeway and get to where you are going before the tide turns. You may find it best to free off the main a bit more than you'd expect to.
 
For single handing a good tiller pilot is essential, you have to be able to leave the tiller an can't assume you will always be able to hove to or balance the boat. It also makes it much more enjoyable. Somthing like the ST2000 is good and quite easy to fit and I would go without many things to afford one.
 
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For single handing a good tiller pilot is essential, ........... Somthing like the ST2000

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Dont worry you are preaching to the converted. Mine is one of the early if not original Nautech Autohelms.

But to say essential is a bit of an exageration, even if I would not be without mine.

The ST 1000 will be adequate for a boat as small as a Warwick, but I think the Raymarine range may be changing.
 
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For single handing a good tiller pilot is essential,

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Usefull maybe but definitely not essential. Most boats will sail themselves with the sails balanced or heave to if you need to.
 
I use a Sea Sure Midshipman tiller control - this has a cam cleat instead of the Tillermate locking knob. I have tried both, and the Midshipman is far easier to use as it can be locked or unlocked with the flick of a finger while steering, and leaving the other hand free to handle ropes, hang on, drink tea etc. Much easier and quicker than having to screw or unscrew the Tillermate's knob:

http://www.sea-sure.co.uk/SeaSureCatPt2.pdf

But I would also agree in a smaller boat an electronic autopilot make s life vastly easier. You can very rarely hold a course for any length of time by just locking the tiller. As wind and trim vary so the boat will go wandering off without active tiller control.
 
I asked this a few days ago and the midshipman won the day for me out of all the good answers, £30 later said item is in my possession and it looks very impressive and very simple, two screws and it is fitted.
 
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For single handing a good tiller pilot is essential,

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...essential........?

Useful, desirable, handy etc, but essential?

People seemed to manage to sail single-handed perfectly well before there were such things as tiller-pilots, or engines, or roller-furling headsails etc etc? I know I did, and I'm far less competent than Joshua Slocum, Eric Hiscock, R.T.MacMullen, Robin Knox-Johnson, Val Howells, Hilaire Belloc, E.F.Knight to name just a few.
 
Could any of the more experienced contributers comment on the power consumption of the tillerpilot while under sail? I have heard that you can really only utilise them while motor sailing in order to avoide excessive battery drawdown?
 
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Could any of the more experienced contributers comment on the power consumption of the tillerpilot while under sail? I have heard that you can really only utilise them while motor sailing in order to avoide excessive battery drawdown?

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As others have said, getting the boat nicely balanced is the key. if you can get any weather helm to an absolute minimum, the Tiller Pilot will have very little work to do, and not use very much power at all.
 
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I have heard that you can really only utilise them while motor sailing in order to avoide excessive battery drawdown

[/ QUOTE ] You are listening to the wrong people then.

The manufacturers technical specs quote typical power consumption as well as maximum figure
You should be able to find it all on their websites.

However the power consumption will vary with the type of boat and the sea state, wind etc etc.

One used with a well balanced long keel boat will use very little while one fitted to a badly balanced bilge keeler will use something approaching the maximum.
 
My Westerly 25 had no charging & only 1 car battery for "electrics". We used oil lamps & balanced sails to reduce load some of the time, but the battery would last a fortnight's cruise if fully charged at the start. We had echo sounder, VHF, car radio, usual lights (inc cabin) and an early Nautech tiller pilot.

My fave trick was to balance the sails on a beat, with helm loose & stand on foredeck, leaning on mast looking casual for as long a tack as I could. despite being a bilge keeler she could go for a couple of miles on track if wind was steady & not too many waves.

Like said already, learn to balance the boat, she won't go as fast or point as well, but life gets easier. Or heave-to for stuff like reefing main, going to loo or serious chartwork/ passage plan revisions etc. If down wind, drop the main for an easy life. Single-handing is more about enjoying a safe journey than making a fast time.
 
There is another cheap and easy method of keeping the tiller in the chosen position - wrap a strip of smooth velcro around the tiller, then string a strip of rough velcro across the tiller (you only need a 3 or 4 inch strip in the centre, the rest can be rope & it will need to be fairly taut)
This will give you an infinitely variable gripping point with the rough side in contact with the smooth bit of Velcro and the neat part is - just flip the rough tape over and you have a free running tiller.
I’ve used this on several boats from time to time over the years when single handing.
 
I have an ST2000 on a Centaur (3500kg fully loaded I guess). The tiller pilot draws between 0.1A and perhaps 1.3A in use, so for a fully charged 100Ah (and without anything else) will give min 35hrs use before battery is down to 50%, so easily manageable without the engine running. Technically it is right to say that a tiller pilot is not essential for single handers. I do quite a lot of single handing, and I for one wouldn't be without one.
 
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