Tillerpilot, long keel, heavy ish displacement

DoubleEnder

DoubleEnder

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My boat is 34' LOA, 24' LWL, displaces 5.5 tons. Full keel, with a large rudder on a raked rudderpost at the aft end of the keel. No balance in the rudder so can feel quite heavy. I really need to fit a tillerpilot. Should I just go for the most powerful available TP32? There is sadly no way to fit a below deck pilot.

Thank you

Graham
 
My Hartley 32 RORC ferro (8 tons) does fine with an old ST4000, when that gives up the ghost I'd consider replacing it with a Raymarine SPX5, see here:
http://www.raymarine.co.uk/view/?id=349
Claimed good up to 6 tons, with balanced sails on yours would be fine I would have thought. Good if you could service the rudder first, it all helps...
 
I Have a Raymarine SPX5 on a Rival 34 of ca. 5.5 tons displacement and it is fine. Raymarine seem to be changing their range and I could make little sense of their website when I looked at it a few moments ago. Personally, whilst the tiller pilot is a bit of an obstruction in the cockpit I would not want to go to an out of sight below deck system (call me an old luddite...)
 
No. The SPX comes with either a wheel drive or tiller ram. There is the same choice seemingly in the new Evolution range. The drives look basically the same, but even fancier new electronics.
 
I have an x5 on just a 26ft (2t). Overkill I known but it was fitted by previous owner. Even so it needs balanced sails and to be reefed in for it to cope in a breeze. Especially with a lumpy sea. But having the built in control panel and linkage to chart plotter is a nice.
 
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Graham
I have a 36ft Sparkman & Stephens (wooden, about 9 tonnes, long keel). Like your boat, the rudder is large and the tiller can be heavy.
I use a Raymarine ST2000 and it seems fine despite the fact that on paper it is wildly under-rated for the job.
Having said that I use it mainly for motoring or for very moderate sailing.
I wouldn't use it in heavy conditions partly because it might burn out but mainly because I prefer to hand steer through bigger seas.
I also make the most of the long keel characteristics - if she's set up well then you can leave the tiller to put the kettle on etc !
and when it is windy / lumpy and things need attention (reefing, food etc) I tend to heave-to.
I suspect the answer to your initial question is that if you intend to use the unit to work hard for long periods, buy the most powerful available.
But if use is moderate then you may well get away with something smaller.
M
 
Macwester Wight, heavy boat and even heavier tiller; I use (for the last 8 years) the TP30 which is the previous model to TP32; very powerful and simple to use. I use the autopilot during big seas for all points of sail except downwind, which I rather steer myself around the waves.
 
I have a tiller steered Sadler 34 and have found the TP 32 to be pretty good, especially when motoring. In stronger winds under sail and especially when close hauled the forces on the tiller occasionally cause it to give up and sound the alarm. Fortunately, I also have an Aries wind vane which is outstanding in those conditions and much quieter.....
 
Ok we are going for it now, making the necessary mods. For various reasons I dont want to fit the tillerpilot at the recommended 18 inches from the stock. It would cause a lot of awkwardness with mainsheet arrangements, hatch opening etc. So I am thinking of fitting the TP really quite close to the handle (inboard) end of the tiller. Obviously this means that the effective left/right range will be quite dramatically reduced, so the TP will only be able to make small course corrections. I wont be able to use it to steer a tack, for sure.
One advantage of doing this is that the load on the TP will be much smaller. Another is that it will be located in a better place on the boat. Other than reduced 'range' of steering angles, are there any other considerations I've missed?

Thank you

Graham
 
OK Very different boat but...

I have a mid 80's 3/4 tonner. she weights a little under 4 ton's and can be heavy on the tiller. I bought a ST2000+ knowing that it was on the limit for the boat, my conclusion?

Its not that bad I think the compass unit lets it down as much as the strength or speed. If she is following the wind rather than compass she behaves much better, I have been known to use it on wind when motoring!

Advantages: Cost, lower power usage?, easy installed,
Disadvantages: Slower and not as strong,

Having looked for a second hand one for a whilst and seen the high prices, in the end I bought new with the knowledge that I would get a good price secondhand.

Having sailed long keelers yes I think the ST2000 or TP whichever will be fine, if you can integrate it with your wind-gear the its worth doing.
 
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