Tiller Pilots- Simrad v Raymarine

[theotter]

I have a Simrad TP30, in fact I have two (one by default), which is just as well because they seem to spend most of the time in rotation between the boat and the electronic fixers. Between the two of them I have exceeded the original cost by a good margin. I am not impressed with their ability to remain serviceable.

If one of them goes belly up again (which one will), I need to have a serious think as to how long should keep throwing good money after bad! The question is....would things have been any better or would they be, with a Raymarine tiller pilot?? Any experienced thoughts would be appreciated.

 

[Spyro]

In my experience YES. It's been done to death on here. try a search for it.

 

[bbg]

One more thought. One of the main (reported) reasons for tiller pilot failure is ingress of water inside the unit. On my ex-boat I addressed this in part by making sure the ram was always pointing downhill. It would mean having two attachment points (one either side of the cockpit) and a switch to reverse the polarity of the juice to the drive unit.

 

[West Coast]

Following advice from the team on the forum, I bought a Simrad for a 33' tiller steered boat - worked very well over past 3 years or so

 

[25931]

I have a Simrad TP30, in fact I have two (one by default), which is just as well because they seem to spend most of the time in rotation between the boat and the electronic fixers. Between the two of them I have exceeded the original cost by a good margin. I am not impressed with their ability to remain serviceable.

If one of them goes belly up again (which one will), I need to have a serious think as to how long should keep throwing good money after bad! The question is....would things have been any better or would they be, with a Raymarine tiller pilot?? Any experienced thoughts would be appreciated.

When I bought La Roca ten years ago she was equipped with a Raymarine (I don't know how old) which is still working well - the only trouble has been corrosion in the socket.

 

[Stemar]

I'm not sure either are of merchantable quality or fit for purpose, TBH. My 2000+ died after a couple of hours of rain, as did the SImrad I'd had before

They both have a tendancy to fail to keep the rain out, which seems to me to be an essential quality for a tiller pilot. Surely these days, cases can be made that don't leak and, if they do, electronics can be made waterproof.

 

[ghostlymoron]

On my last 28' boat I inherited a Raymarine ST1000 of unknown age. This played up on the delivery trip when rounding Lands End and started steering round in circles. We stopped using it and hand steered for the rest of the trip. I spoke to Raymarine's tech dept and returned it for a checkup. They tested it for several days and couldn't find a fault but re-made a few suspicious soldered connections and returned it to me for about £60 which I thought was fair for the work involved. I subsequently used it for several years without problem except when in heavy quartering conditions. As far as I know, it's still going strong with its new owner. I'd have no hesitation on getting another one but I'd get an ST2000 as I feel the ST1000 is a bit undersized for the size of boat.

 

[CAPTAIN FANTASTIC]

I have a TP30 and use it for the last 7 years. I have made a waterproof cover for it so no water can get in, never had any problems and I totally rely on it as I do most of sailing singlehanded. It is enoying that they are not sealed properly against water ingress.

 

[pvb]

I have a TP30 and use it for the last 7 years. I have made a waterproof cover for it so no water can get in, never had any problems and I totally rely on it as I do most of sailing singlehanded. It is enoying that they are not sealed properly against water ingress.

Waterproof covers do seem to be a good idea for tillerpilots, although it really shouldn't be necessary.

 

[Habebty]

I sail singlehanded a lot and have a Simrad TP20. even though it is slightly undersized for my boat it has performed faultlessly for 9 years. A local marine electronics guy saw it and said it was a better buy than the Raymarine unit due to water ingress problems being worse on the Raymarine.
About 4 years ago i did take it apart and regrease the gears and give it a good clean. there was very little sign of water ingress or salt deposits despite being out in some fairly **** weather.
I would buy the same again.

But, you read the same story for Raymarine, so I guess you are either lucky or you are not.

 

[santavey]

I have a Simrad TP30, in fact I have two (one by default), which is just as well because they seem to spend most of the time in rotation between the boat and the electronic fixers. Between the two of them I have exceeded the original cost by a good margin. I am not impressed with their ability to remain serviceable.

If one of them goes belly up again (which one will), I need to have a serious think as to how long should keep throwing good money after bad! The question is....would things have been any better or would they be, with a Raymarine tiller pilot?? Any experienced thoughts would be appreciated.

My Simrad TP30 lasted about 200 Hours. Wont ever buy another Simrad. The previous Autohelm ST1000 ( came with the boat so dont know how old it was) lasted 3 times as long. I might have been lucky or perhaps the old ones were better made. What ever you choose make a waterproof jacket as recommended by others or it will probably fail at the first sight of rain.

 

[caiman]

Having struggled with three second hand raymarine autohelms failing for various reasons,and all being 'beyond economic repair' by raymarine,I bit the bullet and bought a brand new ST1000 two and a half seasons ago.That has just 'failed' with excessive play in the ram.I've now fitted a ST2000 Ram(failed electronics) into the ST1000 case(failed ram) but I do not expect it to last.On principle,the next autohelm I buy will be a Simrad.
Good luck.
Cheers

 

[theotter]

Thanks for all your responses. A mixed bag and nothing conclusive I would say. Maybe my Simrad(s) are not as bad as I thought but just a bit of bad luck thrown in. Additional waterproofing seems to have some merit though. Thanks again.

 

[alan_d]

This has often been aired here here before, and the discussion may be summarised as follows:

1. There is widespread agreement that Simrad and Raymarine tillerpilots are not equivalent; one is significantly more reliable than the other.

2. There is no consensus as to which it is.

 

[awol]

At the moment I have 2 (working the last time I used them) Raymarine ST2000+ on the boat and one Simrad TP32 (no reasonable offer refused) non-working "beyond economic repair" under the bench. Why 2 ST2000s? 'Cos one went phut and I replaced it before Raymarine fitted a new cover to the other yin under warranty.

My preference is for the ST2000, not because it is physically more reliable but because I feel more confidence in its performance. When I pop it on the tiller, hit "Auto" and meander forwards, it steers to that course - the TP32 would always go for a wander first before settling down, not a characteristic I enjoyed. And then the ST2000 seems to be happy talking to my ST50 compass and wind instruments as well as the Garmin GPS so it will steer to a course, the wind, or to a waypoint.