I have a 1979 37 foot Irwin MKIII cuter rig with wheel steering and cables to the quadrant. All mechanical, no hydraulics. I am trying to figure out what is the best course to install an electric auto pilot. I tried the windvane routine and there is simply not enough wind on the coast to support it. Sicne the boat weighs 10.5 tons the ST4000 is about worthless, it can't handle the boat in a wake on the ICW, it is simply overwhelmed. I called Raytheon and they said, "Well put a ST5000 head on it, that'll fix it......" Sure it will, like that changes the strength of the hydraulics. Anybody dealt with this or did everyone go to hydraulic steering and big units? Simply put, what is the best or at least a good autopilot unit for this boat? My wife and I have been iron manning the wheel since '99 and after a couple of trips out to the islands it's getting old.
Auto Pilot Query
- Thread starter EliWatney
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Do you still have the windvane?
If you have a servo type windvane (one that uses a water trim tab to drive the boat's rudder), you can use a small tiller pilot. Replace the wind vane paddle with a lever for the tiller pilot. The pilot moves the windvane, the water trim tab moves the rudder. This should give you more power than you'll ever need and the sensitivity of the system can be adjusted by changing the length of the lever arm. If you are offshore you can use the wind vane paddle and save power.
If you have a servo type windvane (one that uses a water trim tab to drive the boat's rudder), you can use a small tiller pilot. Replace the wind vane paddle with a lever for the tiller pilot. The pilot moves the windvane, the water trim tab moves the rudder. This should give you more power than you'll ever need and the sensitivity of the system can be adjusted by changing the length of the lever arm. If you are offshore you can use the wind vane paddle and save power.
Aries Circumnavigator
Thanks for the answer but I failed to adequately describe the problem. That and you couldn't see my hands as I did it...... I am removing an Aries Circumnavigator and wanting to put on an electric that will handle the boat. This coast is poor for sailing as it is a lot of diesel moving from place to place so I am wanting to put on something that will relieve me long enough for me to relieve myself..... In Hawk Channel heading for the Keys it is a two day run with normally about enough wind to move the exhaust and that's about it. But until I can get us moved back to the other side of the Mexican Peninsula (which may be years away) I need an electric autopilot that will serve as the third crew member. Thanks for the quick answer and sorry for the poor explanation.
Thanks for the answer but I failed to adequately describe the problem. That and you couldn't see my hands as I did it...... I am removing an Aries Circumnavigator and wanting to put on an electric that will handle the boat. This coast is poor for sailing as it is a lot of diesel moving from place to place so I am wanting to put on something that will relieve me long enough for me to relieve myself..... In Hawk Channel heading for the Keys it is a two day run with normally about enough wind to move the exhaust and that's about it. But until I can get us moved back to the other side of the Mexican Peninsula (which may be years away) I need an electric autopilot that will serve as the third crew member. Thanks for the quick answer and sorry for the poor explanation.
Auto Pilot
I've had an AutoHelm 6000 (now Raymarine) mechanical linear drive autopilot for 15+ years without a problem. Installed on our 38 MkII CC. Have gone up and down the ICW, Lake Michigan storms, the River System, across the Gulf Stream, etc and it handled all conditions well except heavy following seas. I doubt that any autopilot will be perfect in all conditions, but I suspect our unit has improved controls after 15 years.
I've had an AutoHelm 6000 (now Raymarine) mechanical linear drive autopilot for 15+ years without a problem. Installed on our 38 MkII CC. Have gone up and down the ICW, Lake Michigan storms, the River System, across the Gulf Stream, etc and it handled all conditions well except heavy following seas. I doubt that any autopilot will be perfect in all conditions, but I suspect our unit has improved controls after 15 years.
Don't do it ... 
If you have an Aries mounted and it works, why take it off? The Aries has more power than just about any autopilot you can buy. When the wind is not strong enough to move the wind paddle is the only time that the Aries does not work, correct? Substitute a simple tiller pilot for the wind paddle. Let the Aries move the rudder. Even a ST4000 tiller pilot would be overkill and the boat will steer just fine. Here is a link that explains the concept:
If you have an Aries mounted and it works, why take it off? The Aries has more power than just about any autopilot you can buy. When the wind is not strong enough to move the wind paddle is the only time that the Aries does not work, correct? Substitute a simple tiller pilot for the wind paddle. Let the Aries move the rudder. Even a ST4000 tiller pilot would be overkill and the boat will steer just fine. Here is a link that explains the concept:
Maybe you should listen to Raytheon
Regardless of your boats weight, if your "hydraulics" are strong enough to turn your rudder, and most units are if your boat is not badly over canvased our out of balance, your problem may be how fast your auto pilot responds and how far and how quickly it can turn your rudder. The control head upgrade may be just what you need. We have an Irwin 43MkIII with a Navico 5000 wheel pilot, a Navico 8000 linear auto pilot, and a Sailomat windvane system. We've done about 25,000 miles of sailing with her including a trip from the Virgin Islands through the Bahamas, Florida Keys, to New Orleans, and then down the Mississippi and across the Gulf to Huston where we trucked the boat to California. After a major refit in California, we sailed to Hawaii with stops in Mexico, the Galapagos, Eastern Island, Pitcairn Island, the Society Islands (Tahiti), Cook Island, Nuie, Tonga, New Zealand, Fiji, Samoa, and Christmas Island. We probaly used the belt driven Wheelpilot 5000 which is theoretically much too underpowered for our 30,000 pound boat for about 1/3 of those miles. We didn't even buy the Navico 8000 or the Sailomat until we left Mexico for the South Pacific. The Wheelpilot 5000 was certainly "strong enough" as long as we were careful to keep the boat properly balanced and not let it get overpowered by too much sail. Under power it worked just fine.
Regardless of your boats weight, if your "hydraulics" are strong enough to turn your rudder, and most units are if your boat is not badly over canvased our out of balance, your problem may be how fast your auto pilot responds and how far and how quickly it can turn your rudder. The control head upgrade may be just what you need. We have an Irwin 43MkIII with a Navico 5000 wheel pilot, a Navico 8000 linear auto pilot, and a Sailomat windvane system. We've done about 25,000 miles of sailing with her including a trip from the Virgin Islands through the Bahamas, Florida Keys, to New Orleans, and then down the Mississippi and across the Gulf to Huston where we trucked the boat to California. After a major refit in California, we sailed to Hawaii with stops in Mexico, the Galapagos, Eastern Island, Pitcairn Island, the Society Islands (Tahiti), Cook Island, Nuie, Tonga, New Zealand, Fiji, Samoa, and Christmas Island. We probaly used the belt driven Wheelpilot 5000 which is theoretically much too underpowered for our 30,000 pound boat for about 1/3 of those miles. We didn't even buy the Navico 8000 or the Sailomat until we left Mexico for the South Pacific. The Wheelpilot 5000 was certainly "strong enough" as long as we were careful to keep the boat properly balanced and not let it get overpowered by too much sail. Under power it worked just fine.
Slipping belt
A bit off-topic, but close enough to be helpful. When the new belt began slipping just a few weeks after I installed it, I was in no mood to spring for another new one. I stopped by the local Dollar Store and bought a two pack roll of half inch rubber tape. I covered the large wheel with about three or four layers of the tape. When the belt is tensioned, the teeth dig into the soft tape a bit and there is no longer any slippage. That was three years ago and I still have that second roll of rubber tape as a spare, just in case.
A bit off-topic, but close enough to be helpful. When the new belt began slipping just a few weeks after I installed it, I was in no mood to spring for another new one. I stopped by the local Dollar Store and bought a two pack roll of half inch rubber tape. I covered the large wheel with about three or four layers of the tape. When the belt is tensioned, the teeth dig into the soft tape a bit and there is no longer any slippage. That was three years ago and I still have that second roll of rubber tape as a spare, just in case.
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