Where do you store yours when not in use

[H4B]

Hi

Tiller Auto pilot that is, ST 2000. At the moment mine lives in its card board box, not ideal long term . Thinking along the lines of some sort of bracket, box , velcro straps some where safe?? . What do you chaps do with yours.?

Cheers

 

[MIKE_MCKIE]

Stowed in the "black hole" along with the emergency magnetic compass, fog horn, and sundry other "ready use" items. Guess it should be in brackets with perhaps velcro strap to hold it down, and away from strong magnetic fields, but it is stable unless we get a roll over, is several feet away from the engine & alternator, but get-at-able. Been there 3 years now with no apparent ill effects. After all, when in use it sits out in all weathers, at the back end where vibration & motion is its greatest & suffers continual mechanical motion/stress, so do not believe it needs to be mollycoddled, just not thrown around too much.

 

[Guest]

Under the cockpit bench in the "daft" sea-berth that doubles as a store ..... along with boat-hooks, oars, brooms, radar reflector, signal flags, plastic fold-up bbq table, spare tiller, bits of wood that I long ago forgot why I kept 'em, bits of rolled up material ... again forgot why .... etc.

 

[tillergirl]

I have two purpose made brackets, felt lined, one has a socket for the pivot thing to hold it in place and the other has three notches, one for the arm and two for the cable (loops back). Lives under the chart table. Got to redo the notch bracket as I added a calorifier under the chart table last winter and the notch end needs to be moved. Lives there with the bracket for the cockpit table legs (felt lined of course). The use of the socket maintains its position in all kinds of motion and thus velcro is unnecessary.

 

[Guest]

Only problem I have ...

I usually slip the "pedestal" bit over the rod that sticks out to mount the fixed end of the TP ... and chuch all in the "store" ... when I get it back out next trip - it's hunt for the pedestal bit !!!!

Having a small boat .... hence the SBC id ... makes it difficult to have a nice storage mount ... mmmmm must have a re-think on this .

 

[Poignard]

Mine lives in the trotter box for my bunk, wedged between the mattress and the hull. It's not that I'm particularly fond of its company, it just happens to be a safe dry place, out of sight of any potential thief peering through the windows.

 

[Boathook]

Autohelm 3000 in a tupperware box in a locker out of site. Don't use it to often ....

 

[Blueboatman]

Used to live up under the deck in the quarter berth,secured with 2 loops of shockcord.
I made a weatherproof acrylic sleeve for it when in use in the cockpit..

 

[Guest]

Mmmm interesting the variations of stowage ... but seem to hinge on stwoing it UP out of way.

As to sleeving it when in cockpit ... mmmm having spent years on ships - a lot of items marinised need to breathe and have moving air over them to keep them from "sweating" and failing ... don't know how that goes with TP ... but my 2 TP's have been uncovered when in use and both have survived many hours of rain, spray etc. Both are old pre NMEA machines and still in full working order.

 

[roger]

Drying it internally?

My last autohelm sometimes had a mist in the display window so some water had got in. I have a feeling that stowing it ram downwards close to the engine would help it to dry out - however I've done nothing about it.

 

[neil_s]

In an old football sock! stops any condensation and protects it when rattling about in the locker.