onesea
Well-known member
Having asked the forum about Pypilot here:
PyPilot How difficult?
We ended up buying a complete or made set from here:
https://pcnautic.nl/nl/autopilot/pcnautic-autopilot-detail
With additional GPS plug in, I notice it is now a bit more expensive.
We have used it all summer and through the winter so about 8 months in total.
Installation took a little thinking about prior to purchase, cable lengths and locations. Installation was easy. A couple of holes and some crawling in lockers job done.
The boat is a 30' long keel yacht, we will use the autopilot in all circumstances. From pilotage in the rivers to open waters.
We have used it in all conditions from drifting in a flat calm to Solent chop and 30+ knots of wind against tide.
You set the gains manually and they take some understanding. We have resorted to 4 presets still being tweaked:
Motor - maintain tight course, no thought to power.
High -
Medium -
Low -
Low 1 - Even lower settings. Most used.
Even on low gain settings it maintains a good course.
We have not had weather or conditions that have given us reason to doubt it other than when winds are so light humans struggle.
In Christchurch bay with 1-2 meter quartering seas and 20+ knots of wind it maintained a good course.
In 30 knots and Solent chop we never thought about needing to hand steer.
It is often steering better than us after 30 minute as it keeps concentration better and doesn't get side tracked.
Power consumption is low, exact numbers hard to give but at worst ? 1-2 amps. Probably much less on a bright day our 30watt solar panel gives more charge than amps used.
The user interface is simple, and self explanatory particularly considering it is accessed by 4 buttons.
A simple customisable user friendly interface is accessible through WiFi and a web browser. (Your phone tablet or iPad).
Yes it means you can steer your boat through your phone.
The GPS dongle for COG is good, however she can slip sideways a little as she is not following a track to a waypoint just maintaining a COG.
Great in cross currents in eg river entrances reducing the number of course alterations as the current varies.
The "Auto Tack" can easily be set up and works well you just have to remember to turn it off after your tack to adjust course.
We have found it superior in course keeping than our previous RayMarine ST200 tiller pilot.
We like the control unit being mounted forward in the cockpit and easy to reach.
Negatives:
Its not plug and play, you need to set and change gains. To the prevailing conditions, hence our pre-sets. In open waters it is generally low 2.
If we carry any weather helm the set course and show a difference of up to 10 degrees but she steers a good course.
Large fast course alterations (20 degrees plus) in close quarters are slow compared to RayMarine tiller pilot. We are slowly finding better gain and sail settings.
The tiller arm is showing some VERY slight weathering then we have not washed it after use as recommended. A new tiller arm is €175.00
In future when we get to add other inputs GPS and wind direction it will take some thought/ knowledge.
In summary we do not regret our purchase, the course keeping and usability is good. We would not to go back to a traditional tiller pilot.
PyPilot How difficult?
We ended up buying a complete or made set from here:
https://pcnautic.nl/nl/autopilot/pcnautic-autopilot-detail
With additional GPS plug in, I notice it is now a bit more expensive.
We have used it all summer and through the winter so about 8 months in total.
Installation took a little thinking about prior to purchase, cable lengths and locations. Installation was easy. A couple of holes and some crawling in lockers job done.
The boat is a 30' long keel yacht, we will use the autopilot in all circumstances. From pilotage in the rivers to open waters.
We have used it in all conditions from drifting in a flat calm to Solent chop and 30+ knots of wind against tide.
You set the gains manually and they take some understanding. We have resorted to 4 presets still being tweaked:
Motor - maintain tight course, no thought to power.
High -
Medium -
Low -
Low 1 - Even lower settings. Most used.
Even on low gain settings it maintains a good course.
We have not had weather or conditions that have given us reason to doubt it other than when winds are so light humans struggle.
In Christchurch bay with 1-2 meter quartering seas and 20+ knots of wind it maintained a good course.
In 30 knots and Solent chop we never thought about needing to hand steer.
It is often steering better than us after 30 minute as it keeps concentration better and doesn't get side tracked.
Power consumption is low, exact numbers hard to give but at worst ? 1-2 amps. Probably much less on a bright day our 30watt solar panel gives more charge than amps used.
The user interface is simple, and self explanatory particularly considering it is accessed by 4 buttons.
A simple customisable user friendly interface is accessible through WiFi and a web browser. (Your phone tablet or iPad).
Yes it means you can steer your boat through your phone.
The GPS dongle for COG is good, however she can slip sideways a little as she is not following a track to a waypoint just maintaining a COG.
Great in cross currents in eg river entrances reducing the number of course alterations as the current varies.
The "Auto Tack" can easily be set up and works well you just have to remember to turn it off after your tack to adjust course.
We have found it superior in course keeping than our previous RayMarine ST200 tiller pilot.
We like the control unit being mounted forward in the cockpit and easy to reach.
Negatives:
Its not plug and play, you need to set and change gains. To the prevailing conditions, hence our pre-sets. In open waters it is generally low 2.
If we carry any weather helm the set course and show a difference of up to 10 degrees but she steers a good course.
Large fast course alterations (20 degrees plus) in close quarters are slow compared to RayMarine tiller pilot. We are slowly finding better gain and sail settings.
The tiller arm is showing some VERY slight weathering then we have not washed it after use as recommended. A new tiller arm is €175.00
In future when we get to add other inputs GPS and wind direction it will take some thought/ knowledge.
In summary we do not regret our purchase, the course keeping and usability is good. We would not to go back to a traditional tiller pilot.
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