Auto Tiller Pilot

Ed Schenck · Dec 30, 2010

Having lived in Hyde Park and worked in Pok I know where you and he are. So you could take a little 12v battery over there and test it. You don't state the price. But it is a good unit for tiller steering.

Deadhead · Dec 30, 2010

If you travel through Pleasant Valley make sure to stop at the Pleasant Valley Department Store. It is on Route 44 in the center of town. As a boy my grandmother would take me there for new dungarees or 'work' shoes once a summer. It was a great thrill to a 10 year old.

And maybe bring a motorcycle battery to test the autopilot.

Joe · Dec 30, 2010

Make him an offer...... it's perfect for your boat. Unless you have wheel steering.. then you're SOL. By the way, the unit does NOT attach to the RUDDER... it attaches to the TILLER.... thats why they call them tiller pilots.... as opposed to wheel pilots.

Check to see if the seller's sent in the warranty info... you may get lucky.

I have an old Autohelm 1000, which is the parent of this unit... now that Raytheon bought out Autohelm a number of years back. It work quite well on my 27 footer and is pretty durable.

The secret to effecient tiller pilot operation is well trimmed sails.... i.e. a balanced rig. What's cool when singlehanding is that you can concentrate on trim a lot easier with the autopilot handling the steering for you.

I find mine indispensible for solo sailing pleasure.

Roger Long · Dec 31, 2010

Be aware that these units have no limit switches and will burn out in less than a minute if the boat doesn't respond and they go to full in or out and sit there with the motor grinding away. This normally not a problem with a tiller steered boat since you are unlikely not to notice that the tiller is all the way over. Other than that, they are a fine unit.

I use one hidden away in my stern locker to tweak my wind vane linkage when I want compass steering under power. I went through three units before I discovered this design "feature" (as Billl Gates would call it). Here is how I fixed it with a drop in limit switch retrofit module:

http://www.rogerlongboats.com/ST1000mods.htm

I ended up with an extra unit in the process of trying to figure out why smoke kept appearing around the edges of my stern locker hatch as the boat headed off in strange directions but the unit has worked very reliably since the modification.

flynfol · Dec 31, 2010

I will concur with all the previous posts. I have only tried the "autotack" feature, and seems to hit the servo limits. Otherwise a fine unit. Trim sails is a must. Following seas....turn it off. A godsend when singlehanding.

Nice fix Roger..........watched you on Discovery the other day.....you're famous

Happy New Year all:dance:

J

Auto Tiller Pilot

Billbeard

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Ed Schenck

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Deadhead

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Joe

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Roger Long

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flynfol

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