I have a used old style Autohelm 1000 autopilot which works but I have no installation or user's manual. Does anyone have any experience in installing one? I would like to know how far from the gudgeon/pintel assembly on the transom to attach the autopilot to the tiller. Any other tips also appreciated.
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On the tiller
Sorry - My syntax was unclear - how far from the transom(and the gudgeon/pintel assembly) should the autopilot be attached on the tiller? A foot? two feet?
Sorry - My syntax was unclear - how far from the transom(and the gudgeon/pintel assembly) should the autopilot be attached on the tiller? A foot? two feet?
Autohelm 1000
I'm not sure there is an exact "should" involved here, as it depends on whether you have unlimited choice as to where you plan to attach the autopilot mount in the cockpit at a right angle to the tiller. I can't answer in feet... I would consider at least two thirds of the distance from the rudder to the tip of the tiller so that you have enough mechanical advantage, but not so far forward that you have too much constant pull on the autopilot arm from weather helm, seaway, rudder play, etc. You sort of have to feel the exact spot by controlling your tiller with one finger pushed on top of it while under way. The spot that takes the least finger pressure to hold course is a good spot to mount the pin. This is a case where a picture would be worth a 1000 words as far as the placement on my H27 goes...
I'm not sure there is an exact "should" involved here, as it depends on whether you have unlimited choice as to where you plan to attach the autopilot mount in the cockpit at a right angle to the tiller. I can't answer in feet... I would consider at least two thirds of the distance from the rudder to the tip of the tiller so that you have enough mechanical advantage, but not so far forward that you have too much constant pull on the autopilot arm from weather helm, seaway, rudder play, etc. You sort of have to feel the exact spot by controlling your tiller with one finger pushed on top of it while under way. The spot that takes the least finger pressure to hold course is a good spot to mount the pin. This is a case where a picture would be worth a 1000 words as far as the placement on my H27 goes...
18 inches
The install manual says 18" but I moved it down to 14" on my H23.5. I needed a little more 'throw' and the ST1000 seems to have adequate power so I moved it and it works better. The H26 shouldn't be much different. It is important to keep it reasonably level and at right angles to the center of the boat so the compass will work. I used standard shelf bracket hardware and SS hose clamps to mount the pin under the tiller. This made it easy to keep the ST1000 level and also to make adjustments. My first move was to have a machine shop thread both the cup and pin so standard nuts would fit them. Mounting them with epoxy didn't sound mechanically sound. The ST1000 doesn't like weather helm any more than I do! Ken S/V Wouff Hong
The install manual says 18" but I moved it down to 14" on my H23.5. I needed a little more 'throw' and the ST1000 seems to have adequate power so I moved it and it works better. The H26 shouldn't be much different. It is important to keep it reasonably level and at right angles to the center of the boat so the compass will work. I used standard shelf bracket hardware and SS hose clamps to mount the pin under the tiller. This made it easy to keep the ST1000 level and also to make adjustments. My first move was to have a machine shop thread both the cup and pin so standard nuts would fit them. Mounting them with epoxy didn't sound mechanically sound. The ST1000 doesn't like weather helm any more than I do! Ken S/V Wouff Hong
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