what type of autopilot

[Daydream believer]

Having seen the films of the 33 ft Figaro 2's -especially the one where the single hander hoists the spinnaker in a gale -i can only look in awe at the straight line the autopilot steers
I have just about had enough of my useless Raymarine tiller steered autopilot & wondered what unit is fitted to the Figaros
Does anyone know please?

 

[Lucky Duck]

I read elsewhere that they use B&G kit but the software alone costs nearly £10k

NKE also have a strong user base on similar boats such as Pogos

 

[mrming]

Not sure about the Figaro 2s, but NKE (affectionately nicknamed Nikki) is the one many Mini Transat sailors swear by. It's gyro stabilised and I believe the setup costs around €15k with a hydraulic arm.

Lots of info here: http://www.minitransat650.com/html/autopilots.html

 

[Daydream believer]

Not sure about the Figaro 2s, but NKE (affectionately nicknamed Nikki) is the one many Mini Transat sailors swear by. It's gyro stabilised and I believe the setup costs around €15k with a hydraulic arm.

Lots of info here: http://www.minitransat650.com/html/autopilots.html

A very interesting website-- thanks

 

[laika]

Anyone got any experience of the new Raymarine evolution APs yet?

 

[Ric]

The evolution autopilots are (so I was told by a Raymarine technician) technically the same as the SPX-5 autopilots except that they have been repackaged with gyrocompass, fluxgate compass and computer all in the same unit which is supposed to make installation easier (!) and also only work with Seatalkng (again, supposedly to make installation easier!).

 

[Spi D]

.. technically the same as the SPX-5 autopilots..

Presumably this goes for the mechanical drive systems only?

Evolution systems for hydraulic drives use the EV sensor unit to feed data into the ACU that controls a pump, so any issues from the Sportpilot range (motor & clutch/encoder in particular) should be history.

 

[Georgio]

Anyone got any experience of the new Raymarine evolution APs yet?

Yes, I fitted one about 2 months ago to my Contessa 32. It's been ok so far, not brilliant but I have slowly been ironing out the bugs. I use it for single and short-handed racing (as well as cruising) so maybe I have higher expectations than someone who just cruises.

The support from Raymarine by phone and email has been patchy at best, seem to depend on who you get to speak to, one guy I spoke to was clueless and gave me completely wrong info that had me going around in circles trying to access settings that are not available on this pilot.

I still think there is something fundamental wrong with the ACU100 on my installation having compared it's performance and behaviour to another EV100 installed on an identical boat so it will be sent back to Raymarine for testing once the summer is out of the way.

I would have a serious look at B&G before buying an Evolution pilot.

 

[micha571]

The Figaro II are all using NKE-autopilots. They have to, to be class legal for One Design Racing.
Page 6 in this link:

http://pdf.nauticexpo.com/pdf/nke-marine-electronics/packs-nke-beneteau/21526-10218.html

 

[charles_reed]

Having seen the films of the 33 ft Figaro 2's -especially the one where the single hander hoists the spinnaker in a gale -i can only look in awe at the straight line the autopilot steers
I have just about had enough of my useless Raymarine tiller steered autopilot & wondered what unit is fitted to the Figaros
Does anyone know please?

NKE or Kongsberg - but in a totally different order of cost to your Raymarine tiller piloot