Autopilot Questions for a C-22

[Aldo]

I have a few questions about the Autohelm ST1000+. I am planning on buying one for my Catalina 22. Is this the most popular autopilot for a C-22? Which side of the cockpit does it get mounted on, or can it be mounted on either side? I was really disappointed at the Ratheon website. It didn't even tell what the 4 buttons on the autopilot do, or how it gets mounted. Is the sensitivity adjustable? I have never seen one being used, so my questions may seem silly. How long can the autopilot be run without draining the battery too low? I have a bigger than standard (size 27) battery. Also, how noisy is it? Is it annoying when used while sailing? On the West Marine website, they have a consumer review section, and there were 2 comments about this model. One of them said that it "had a tendency to go hard [to] port with no warning". The autopilot was replaced by West Marine, and the sailor said that the replacement had the same problem. Have any of you had this problem? I have never spent $400 on my boat at one time before, and an autopilot really isn't a necessity. But, I have rigged my boat to sail itself and I do like the feeling that I get not being tied to the tiller. The rig that I made doesn't work while motoring the boat, or running. My wife and boys only steer the boat when it's a great sailing day. That leaves me with all the windless days, and the days when we are running. We are planning on some serious cruising this coming summer. Thanks for your comments, Aldo

 

[Jack Gilmour]

Old Autohelm 1000

I used an Autohelm 1000 for 15 years on a Sun 27. Had it rebuilt after 12 years. This unit steered the boat much more than we did over that period. Sensitivity adjustment wasn't needed as the unit contained a microprocessor and re-learned to sail the boat with each course change. The only time we couldn't trust it was near steel seawalls. The current draw averages about 2 amps and we have sailed all night with GPS, compass light, nav lights and autopilot on a small battery with enough power left to start the engine in the morning. We had another battery for backup just in case. Ours had 6 buttons: AUTO, STDBY, +1, -1, +10, and -10. You aimed the boat on the desired heading and punched AUTO. Course corrections + or - were made with the appropriate buttons. We often joked about a tough day when we had to push the button 5 times.Happy sailing

 

[Dave LaPere of Nature's Cradle]

Hi Aldo

I know all those questions you are asking, because I have faced the same thing myself.When I purchased my new MarkII from Catalina this past year I had them install a Tri-Data system from Raytheon and included in the manual was a catalog for All of Raytheon's products including the ST-1000 thru the 4000 series. In the Catalog they not only list the ones that will work up to certain boat lengths but also what must be considered is the total displacement weight figured in. The hard over comment on West Marines site has been there for a while. If you go to Sailnet.com you will find the ST-1000 on sale with a remote control for $399.00 the remote has 25' of cable and thus can be controlled from anywhere on a 22' Cat.If the ST-1000 is going to be borderline for your weight displacement then step up to the 2000 model, which has more, 175 pounds of thrust . It is my belief that the hard over problem is caused by the unit being over powered by the boat and conditions.In other words the person should have stepped up to the next larger size!The battery draw is about.3 of one miliamp. It is very quiet and appears to be mounted on the starboard rear quarter of the cockpit seat, or coaming above the seat then extentions used to connect to the tiller. It is simple to operate and in case a hardover situation is needed it will do it in 4 seconds either direction.Incidently, the remote usually sells for $129.95Hope this helpsDave

 

[Larry Watkins]

C-22 autopilot

Aldo; When I had my C-22, I bought a Navico 1800, primarily for use when powering, since while under sail I liked to steer. It worked well, mounted on the aft starboard side of the cockpit and didn't pull too much juice, as long as it didn't have to work too hard.Larry