tiller pilot/self steer

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david100952

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In my few years of sailing I always said I enjoy sailing my boat and have no interest in buying a machine to do it for me. In the last month I have had 2 incidents that have made me reconsider 1) Wife hurt back and I was faced with single handing for the first time. 2) Just had fantastic weekend in glorious weather with one fly in the ointment - NO WIND! ie. 4+ hours of steering on motor in a flat calm sea - beautiful but boring after a while.

I have now started to look round for a tiller pilot etc and all the chandlers & boat yards seem to have the same reply "would you like a Raymarine Autohelm or a Simrad?"

Are there any other solutions - I only sail on weekends and short breaks so don't want to spend a fortune (I already did that this spring!)

Any help or advice much appreciated
David
 
They are a 'what did I do without it?' item. To be able to head up to furl/reef, make a brew, loo stop, or just eat miles dead on target.

They are also rather delicate creatures. The motors are exactly the same as those used in children's remote controlled cars, about the size of a 'c' cell battery, so lots of gears and belts involved.

Balanced sails will reduce power usage and wear.

also, (I kid not) they are not necessarily waterproof! :( (I couldn't believe it either...)

Nick
 
AFAIK that s the only 2 makers of tiller pilots and in my experience having had both raymarine is the better of the two.
 
Important not to skimp in size The Raymarine 1000 is fine up to about 25/6 ft light boats, but if your boat is bigger or you want it to perform well in heavier conditions choose the larger 2000.
 
I have one, it came with the boat. Very useful, but make sure your battery is up to the job of powering it for long periods of time.

Can't beat sitting up in the bow while the boat steers herself. In benign conditions you can get away with out, but when conditions get more challenging they really come into their own - holding course during reefing, loo or food breaks. Even if there are two of you, having the boat steer while you both sit up in the bow is even nicer.

Used ones sometimes come up for sale. They are a bit pricey, but cheaper than a new wife ( I would imagine...).
 
Tranona said:
Important not to skimp in size The Raymarine 1000 is fine up to about 25/6 ft light boats, but if your boat is bigger or you want it to perform well in heavier conditions choose the larger 2000.
Click to expand...

Agree - I had the ST2000+ on a heavy 24 footer and was very glad of it. The 2000 is able to move much quicker than the 1000, so it works better even if the increased power isn't needed.

Pete
 
I got a Raymarine 2000 earlier this year...

Ideal for sails up sails down, upwind it manages as long as I am not over pressed down wind as long as its not to rough...

Then my boat is a 35 footer..

I think allot has to do with the compass, mine seems to perform better on wind angle than Compass..

Spangaly covers available on ebay (No connection other than I bought one)...
 
Only got a Simrad TP10 this year. Seems to work ok and I was very happy last week when s/handed. In the past I have been knackered after about 5 hours on the tiller. I was able to do 8 hours without feeling any strain at all. Was even able to walk around the boat and do all that nav stuff that I'm told one should do to be a "proper" skipper :)

Drift - where do you get a waterproof cover from, any recomendations?
 
I must be out on a limb, a TP22 came with the boat (30ft), only paid it any mind when I realized how expensive it was, might have tried to negotiate for the boat without it included (given that the previous owner was not interested in throwing in the old inflatable tender which was definitely worth less). Only plugged the thing in this season to see what it can do, put it back in the box with approving sounds but still have found no reason to use it. Look forward to giving it a go but it definitely won't underpin what we do.
 
Have aTP22. Makes cruising much more fun. Especially at night and when motoring. Can struggle in some conditions so needs to be 'supervised'. But I've single handed often with it being a spare helmsman. More reliable than many people
 
PhillM said:
Only got a Simrad TP10 this year. Seems to work ok and I was very happy last week when s/handed. In the past I have been knackered after about 5 hours on the tiller. I was able to do 8 hours without feeling any strain at all. Was even able to walk around the boat and do all that nav stuff that I'm told one should do to be a "proper" skipper :)

Drift - where do you get a waterproof cover from, any recomendations?
Click to expand...

Long thin plastic bag that walking sticks come in. I get them from my physio (wife) and they last months.
 
Autohelm St2000,24' yacht. The ST 2000/1000 seem to be the most common,I got one secondhand from this forum and when it went wrong,got another similar to cannibalize.
It works ok and I would not be without one,as others have said,how did I manage without it!
If you open one to repair it,it is difficult to see why they cost £500. The bits inside are like a cheap kids toy from the market,and they are not robust in a nautical way,like a decent handheld VHF for example,which will take some abuse.
Get a secondhand one and mollycoddle it! Cheers Jerry
 
Autohelm St2000,24' yacht. The ST 2000/1000 seem to be the most common,I got one secondhand from this forum and when it went wrong,got another similar to cannibalize.
It works ok and I would not be without one,as others have said,how did I manage without it!
If you open one to repair it,it is difficult to see why they cost £500. The bits inside are like a cheap kids toy from the market,and they are not robust in a nautical way,like a decent handheld VHF for example,which will take some abuse.
Get a secondhand one and mollycoddle it! Cheers Jerry
 
Cling film (several layers) and PVC tape makes a nice cheap sock to keep the wet stuff out. Or pallet wrap if you can get it.
 
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