Which tillerpilot ?

[kingfisher]

I'm looking for an autopilot. Here's what I've got to work with:
The Obi-Wan is a 31foot, semi-long keel. Weight: 3tons. She's very well balanced and behaved. She's tiller-steered.

I usualy sail the Westerschelde (NL), which is comparable to the Thames Estuary. So I can't use it there (to much traffic+sandbars). But I could use one for the odd (3x year) channel crossing, or coastal stretch (once a month).

I was looking at the Raymarine ST2000+, but a friend (ocean sailor) said that only the 4000+ is reliable, the others just pack it in after a while.

But I'm not going to fork out 800+£ for a kit I use irregularly.

My friends argument is that, as soon as you fitted one, you use it more as you appreciate the comfort.

How good are the Simrads ?

Obi-Wan

 

[Plum]

I recently replaced my old Navico (Simrad) with a new Simrad tillerpilot. The new one does not work as well as the old one due to interference with some metalwork which is close by. The old one never suffered in the same way and always worked perfectly. On talking to Simrad they explained that they had made the compass in their tillerpilots more sensitive as an improvement! So, the message for you is: don't rely on recommendations of old Simrad tillerpilots, and, ensure metalwork (ferrous), especially gas bottles, ar all at least 1m away. By the way, I sail in the Thames Estuary and use the tillerpilot a lot! Also, my insurance company insists I carry one when sailing on my own.

 

[DanTribe]

I have used an Autohelm 1000 for three years,1 year on a Stella 26ft and two years on a UFO 31.George[inevitably] has become an essential crew member,last year he was on duty all the way from Breskens to Harwich.He struggles on a shy spinnaker reach but otherwise is quite adequate.I guess power consumption could be a factor but we generally use it when motoring for long periods or when an extra pair of hands is needed for sail handling.

 

[Guest]

Do you need/want to interface with GPS/plotter etc? If not the TP10 is excellent, I had one on my last boat. On my new boat I do want to interface so have bought an Autohelm 1000. Not got it yet so can't comment.

Regards,

Peter
http://www.yachthawkwind.co.uk

 

[tonyleigh]

2000 should be adequately powerful for your case. I had a 1000 pack up after 3 weeks - called in at St Helier and agent busted a gut to get it replaced in rapid time. Back-up from Raytheon was excellent. Two year guarantee. I have had 3 Raytheons over the years and always been satisfied. Never heard that criticism of 2000 before.

 

[charles_reed]

I have been single-handed sailing for the last 10 years, doing about 3500M pa, using both electric and wind vane pilots.

The first electric pilot I had was the MkII Autohelm, a device that was well ahead of its time, backed by an excellent service organistaion who once changed a pcb for me in 20 mins (no longer that level of service I'm afraid).

I then had an early Autohelm 2000 (just before they were taken over by Raytheon) which was not as satisfactory as the MK II and failed spetacularly.

Autohelm's response to this involved a concessionary priced 4000 unit (then newly released) being airlifted to St Mary's where I was marooned.
That unit, with regular rebuilds and updating, is still in use on my boat now, and is, with the windvane, in constant use.

My observations:

It is a truism, but you don't know what you don't know - if you haven't used an autopilot extensively you have no inkling of how useful you will find it.
I have no hesitation using mine for entry to ports, going up rivers, close work of all kinds - it steers a far more accurate course than any human helmsmen ( certainly after the first 40 mins on watch) including world-class offshore helms.
So your friend's comment that you'd use it far more than you think is probably a shrewd assessment .
Incidentally your boat is a far less challenging task for an electric autopilot than mine which is a lightweight flyer with short, deep winged keel and spade rudder which frequently surfs in F4-8 under autopilot.
From the point of view of control, it is probable that the R1000 will be quite capable of handling your boat - however this is not the question that you should be asking.
ALL autopilots with membrane keypads die in the rain or in heavy weather, because there is no such thing as a truly waterproof keypad - so go for a keypad type autopilot, if you don't object to standing at the tiller when it's raining.

In using the name Simrad, I presume you are referring to the old Navico range of autopilots, as well engineered as Autohelm but with more suspect software (in my opinion).
You'll not find many offshore single-handers using the Navico or Autohelm units (except as back-ups), they're very much aimed at the leisure market, arguably the best "professional" autopilots are made by Simrad, which makes your choice of nomenclature doubly ironic (or are Simrad trying that old marketing ploy?)
The great benefit of the 4000 tillerpilot is that you can mount the control head, with all its vulnerable electronics, in a dry spot (mine lives in the mainhatchway) - secondary advantages are that you can mount the fluxgate close to the boats CoG and reduce yawing and inaccuracies due to exaggerated sensor movements.

To summarise:
The autopilots you mention are for fair-weather leisure sailing and are inadequate
for all sea-conditions.
A good autopilot, especially on a short-handed boat, is an essential - those who have not got them have no inkling of their true value.

 

[kingfisher]

1000xThx

Thanks for the answer. So basically you get what you pay for.

I'm trying to convince myself to buy the 4000-series, under the pretense that the extra cost is negated by the fact that you gain a fluxgate compas.

Obi-Wan