Here is a clip from a Practical Sailer review on the Raymarine:
"The Raymarine ST1000 Plus is an updated version of the Autohelm 1000. It uses a conventional leadscrew drive, simpler than the recirculating ball drives found the other more expensive tillerpilots from Raymarine and Simrad. Ball screw drives generally have proven to be faster and more efficient than screw drive types. In Practical Sailor’s previous bench test, the 1000 Plus’s no-load hardover time was 8 seconds (1 second slower than the TP10), and its hardover time at 15 pounds of load was 12.8 seconds. It drew about 2 amps when operating at a 15-pound load and .05 amps in standby mode.
The Raymarine had been Allan’s main tillerpilot for two years before the SHTP race. It never once hiccupped and was not affected by single-sideband radio (SSB) transmissions, unlike other units. (Tester’s Note: In Allan’s view, more accidental jibes on cruising boats are caused by SSB transmissions affecting the autopilot than any other reason.)
In the SHTP, Allan used the Raymarine for half the race, or 385 hours. He always used the Raymarine when the true wind was less than 12 knots, as his Sail-O-Mat windvane was not as effective at boat speeds under 4 knots. In addition, the Raymarine allowed him to retract the windvane oar and eliminate the added drag.
In the latter half of the SHTP, after two particularly severe broaches in 40-knot night-time squalls, Allan increasingly began to rely on the 1000 Plus during night-time running. It seemed to have positive control and quicker adjustment than the windvane, and his confidence in the tillerpilot increased.
Although the 1000 Plus can interface with a windvane and has an optional remote control, Allan took a simpler approach. At night, he could check his masthead windex from a custom-designed cockpit hatch. He could also reach up through the hatch and adjust the course on the Raymarine as needed. In comparison, to adjust the Sail-O-Mat windvane at night meant going to the aft end of the cockpit to reach over the transom and make the windvane adjustment. During the trip, Allan’s two 43-watt solar panels and 120-amp-hour battery bank were capable of keeping up with the boat’s electrical demands, including the tillerpilot.
On Allan’s return passage from Kauai, he used the Raymarine an additional 80 hours. Just over half of this was in light winds and motoring through the Pacific High. The other 35 hours was in Force 9 gale conditions where Wildflower was running in 15- to 25-foot breaking seas. It never faultered in the gale, despite the increased loads and a very wet environment.
Bottom line: The Raymarine ST1000 Plus proved itself in some very tough conditions, and Allan noted that it showed superior resistance to water intrusion over previous Raymarine models. His biggest complaint applies to every tillerpilot on the market: There is no lanyard to keep this unit on board."