so are you going to sail through the UK winter?

[noelex]

We have sailed through a couple of UK winters in the Hebrides living on the boat full time at anchor. Beautiful scenery and wildlife. If you have the chance, go for it.

However, the winter gales and storms need some serious respect.

 

[NormanS]

A while ago, we kept our boat in commission all year for three years, sailing on the West Coast of Scotland. Yes, as Noelex says, the scenery is beautiful, and with a decent heating system, can be really enjoyable in winter. There is a big 'But'. We don't just sail, but use the boat to get to places where we can walk over the hills and explore, and for that we found the short hours of daylight to be very limiting, if wanting to do both.
We now prefer to lay up for the winter months, and are rarin' to go in the Spring.
(Nice photo of Loch Aline, with thin drifting ice).

 

[dancrane]

In my experience tiller pilots aren't over dependable in terms of holding a course especially in windy weather or any kind of sea running. I can sell you a very nice Mascot 28 which has just come back from a 100nm trip around the Clyde in rough weather.

Thanks for the offer, but my plans are very impractical at the moment - getting big dreams out of a wafffer-thin budget. But I like the look of the Mascot.

I wasn't thinking of letting the tiller-pilot do the job unsupervised - I meant I could sit in the doghouse to escape the rain and wind, while the tillerpilot steered, taking corrections from my remote handset.
.

 

[trapper guy]

I must admit it's a very vague memory (as they mostly are) of the tramp character with gaping shoes...

the chance of them staying stuck to the shoe long enough to develop a hole would be an improvement

 

[trapper guy]

Thanks for the offer, but my plans are very impractical at the moment - getting big dreams out of a wafffer-thin budget. But I like the look of the Mascot.

I wasn't thinking of letting the tiller-pilot do the job unsupervised - I meant I could sit in the doghouse to escape the rain and wind, while the tillerpilot steered, taking corrections from my remote handset.
.

thats what i did, first once i figured out how it worked on 'hold course' it was a boon to take the tiller while i went below to shut of the damn emergency alert siren which went off ALL the time on the calmest bluest days.
then i used it to take the helm while i put the kettle on, went for a pee etc.
without it, letting go of the tiller was russian roulette whether it would swing wildly one side of the other, the first time it did that it almost threw me off, the first time was the last time, i either never let go of the tiller or used the tiller pilot.
it did FK up a couple of times, dont know what it was doing but it refused to hold course, deviating port or starboard over time to the point i wa pointing the wrong way, dont know what wa going on, but several system restarts and unplugging seemed to fix that

 

[Snowgoose-1]

You can still get a boaty during the winter on foot. Lots of creeks and rivers to explore on the East Coast and make plans to visit by boat in the coming year. I take pics on the phone and add leading marks and notes.

 

[oldmanofthehills]

thats what i did, first once i figured out how it worked on 'hold course' it was a boon to take the tiller while i went below to shut of the damn emergency alert siren which went off ALL the time on the calmest bluest days.
then i used it to take the helm while i put the kettle on, went for a pee etc.
without it, letting go of the tiller was russian roulette whether it would swing wildly one side of the other, the first time it did that it almost threw me off, the first time was the last time, i either never let go of the tiller or used the tiller pilot.
it did FK up a couple of times, dont know what it was doing but it refused to hold course, deviating port or starboard over time to the point i wa pointing the wrong way, dont know what wa going on, but several system restarts and unplugging seemed to fix that

Continuing the thread drift: Tiller pilots depend on having decent rudder and stable sailing or motoring characteristics. Our Simrad TP22 was a nightmare as if wave knocked it off course to the end stops it decdided to get back to right course by continuing round the circle and broaching, backing jib etc

Modifying rudder and deadwood (actual stern by prop) as per Laminar Flows suggestion on motorsailers (which cost pehaps £250) has mostly sorted it and it does hours at time while I read books/facebook in the pilothouse. Massive seas (2m steep waves) are beyond its capability and the Navigators tolerance

 

[dancrane]

I'm such a cheapskate, it occurred to me to set up blocks either side of the tiller and run the lines into the doghouse. It wouldn't give much (or any) peace from helming but it would be better than sitting outside.

 

[Stemar]

The tiller pilot on my old boat developed a weird fault. It would hold course fine, then alter course 15-20 degrees. I'd correct, and it'd be off the other way. I eventually pinned it down to my faithful German Army knife having become magnetic, I've no idea how. The TP was fine once I banished the knife from the boat

In grotty weather - actually in any weather, a TP is such a bonus that even a good Yorkshire lad like me reckons it's worth spending on. They do come up second hand from time to time, but I wouldn't be without on a tiller steered boat, even if I had to buy new and do without something else.

 

[Wansworth]

Came out the lock into the waterway passing Amsterdam and nothing looked right,where were all the buoys and why was that barge heading towards us……..to access the inland waterway we had lowered steel mast in front of the wheelhouse

 

[oldharry]

I have the Raymarine Evo-100 system (tiller pilot version). It weaves a bit when you ask it to steer to a heading in heavy weather with a following sea, but if you set it to steer to the wind instead it works great.

There's very few helmsmen who dont weave a bit in a following sea either. Specially if you cant feel your hands in the cold!