Dougal
New member
Our auto pilot has never really been on the ball, but it's what we inherited with the boat. It's an oldish Navico WP5000.
First up, the Evasion32 has at least two major draw backs for any auto pilot...
1) It has a huge weather helm, that even with great attention to sail trim etc, is impossible to correct (its basically just a crap design).
2) Being a long keel, the rudder is not balanced. Sometimes I find it scary just how much force is needed when steering with the tiller outside (90% of our sailing).
Much as I'd dearly LOVE a hydraulic system, we simply can't afford it, and from what I've seen on the forums, most wheel pilot systems are not too highly rated.
Has anything changed in this regard? The Evasion32 is about 6t loaded I think.
First up, the Evasion32 has at least two major draw backs for any auto pilot...
1) It has a huge weather helm, that even with great attention to sail trim etc, is impossible to correct (its basically just a crap design).
2) Being a long keel, the rudder is not balanced. Sometimes I find it scary just how much force is needed when steering with the tiller outside (90% of our sailing).
Much as I'd dearly LOVE a hydraulic system, we simply can't afford it, and from what I've seen on the forums, most wheel pilot systems are not too highly rated.
Has anything changed in this regard? The Evasion32 is about 6t loaded I think.
