Raymarine Auto pilot
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the question would be better asked as... "what are the pros and cons to installing an autopilot on a boat?"
you wont have any different pros or cons on the 26 than you would on any other boat, and if you have any idea of what an autopilot is and what it does for you, then you have your answers.
the cons are, 1; it takes electricity to run it... 2; its a mechanical thing that runs on electricity, so after you get so used to it that you begin wondering how you ever did with out it, it may break down so you can find out!... 3; if you fall out of the boat, unattached, and with it set on course, all that is left for you to do is pray and wait....
the pros, 1; it gives you freedom to let go of the helm for long peroids of time. what you do in those long periods of time will determine how much you like the autopilot... 2; refer to 1 and use your imagination..
Ive used autopilots on large workboats but never saw the purpose for them on small craft, but as i have evolved towards sailing, I began to see there may be some advantage if i could step away from the tiller to do another task..... so I purchased one and gave it a try. i found out like many others before me, its the best investment you can make if your on water big enough that you will be on course for 20-30 minutes at a time and have a boat big enough that you cant reach the jib and the tiller/wheel at the same time.
you wont have any different pros or cons on the 26 than you would on any other boat, and if you have any idea of what an autopilot is and what it does for you, then you have your answers.
the cons are, 1; it takes electricity to run it... 2; its a mechanical thing that runs on electricity, so after you get so used to it that you begin wondering how you ever did with out it, it may break down so you can find out!... 3; if you fall out of the boat, unattached, and with it set on course, all that is left for you to do is pray and wait....
the pros, 1; it gives you freedom to let go of the helm for long peroids of time. what you do in those long periods of time will determine how much you like the autopilot... 2; refer to 1 and use your imagination..
Ive used autopilots on large workboats but never saw the purpose for them on small craft, but as i have evolved towards sailing, I began to see there may be some advantage if i could step away from the tiller to do another task..... so I purchased one and gave it a try. i found out like many others before me, its the best investment you can make if your on water big enough that you will be on course for 20-30 minutes at a time and have a boat big enough that you cant reach the jib and the tiller/wheel at the same time.
Gotta say mine was the best 400$ I ever spent.
I go solo a lot and I still have the stock rigging, meaning I have to walk to the mast to raise and lower sails. Having tiller pilot makes it really nice. I can take my time and not worry. Sometimes I even just hang out in the cabin with the top up. The stereo sounds awesome from there.
I go solo a lot and I still have the stock rigging, meaning I have to walk to the mast to raise and lower sails. Having tiller pilot makes it really nice. I can take my time and not worry. Sometimes I even just hang out in the cabin with the top up. The stereo sounds awesome from there.
Best $$$$ spent on the boat, especially if you single hand. Lets you wander around the boat and make cool videos........lol.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ONYN-F2F2GQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ONYN-F2F2GQ
Just installed a EV-100 this weekend. This is my third autopilot, if you single hand which also means having guests aboard who do not sail it will make your life much easier. Invest in a good auto inflating life vest and wear it when you are alone, if you fall off the boat she will sail away very fast.
I used to be on the fence about if they were really of much value.... But I bought one anyway this spring.
This summer I did an 18 hour overnight passage (each way, and we went round trip, with a 4 day layover) with a friend who was visiting and not much sailing experience...
I was able to plot a course on the chartplotter, show him how to use the AP, and tell him his only job (aside from staying awake), was to look out for anything we might hit (we only motor sailed when he was on watch). That allowed me to sleep for part of the night each way, which was worth every penny spent on tha AP....
Mine came with an old autohelm 1000. Once I fixed the wiring to power it, I fell in love with it. I wouldn't use it in strong gusty winds, but for the most part it works great. As others have said it allows you to do other things on the boat when on a long trip. I like to pour a glass of JD and read a book. It also allows you to play with your sails and see if you get any improvement to your trim. It will hold a course better than any person can.
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I think most people would strongly disagree with this. And helmsman worth his salt can hold a better course than just about any autopilot when he is trying... They however must sleep at some point, and give his full attention to the boat when at the helm, two things that don't apply when using the autopilot.
It will hold a better course than a distracted or lazy helmsman, but not a skilled focused and attentive one.
I don't think a autohelm, with just a heading setting is a replacement for a helmsman and I too have an old autohelm 1000 which is quirky. It just stops occasionally and I have to bang on it to wake it up. But it does allow some freedom from the tiller. It just uses a lot of battery.
Now a more complex system tied to a chart plotter that makes adjustments for drift (heads to a way point) or better yet follows a laid out course would be the bees knees. Funny thing, I was talking to a transient at my marina last month and he had one of those large cats. He told me he spends no more than 5% of his time at the helm when they are out cruising. He of course is in wide open water.
For me, I just need to be able to step away once in a while to tend to other things and I would like to put a better tiller pilot on when I can swing it...maybe Santa reads the forums.
Now a more complex system tied to a chart plotter that makes adjustments for drift (heads to a way point) or better yet follows a laid out course would be the bees knees. Funny thing, I was talking to a transient at my marina last month and he had one of those large cats. He told me he spends no more than 5% of his time at the helm when they are out cruising. He of course is in wide open water.
For me, I just need to be able to step away once in a while to tend to other things and I would like to put a better tiller pilot on when I can swing it...maybe Santa reads the forums.
The autopilot is on my list however something has been bugging me about them. On the main forum within the last few months, there was a discussion about modifying one of the "linear" tiller versions (dont remember which one) to add limit switches at the ends of the travel. This was a mechanical/electrical switch that shut off power to the drive at some point but had a diode that allowed the drive to still head back the other way.
Id hate to buy one of these thinking I had to do this modificaiton so that it didnt damage itself and it probably burns up a lot of power if it its pushed up againsts the limit.
So for you folks who have put these on the types of boats on this forum (I have a 26S), how big of an issue is this? Did you ever feel like the auto pilot spends too much time grinding up againts its mechanical limit or is this only an issue after about 50 bazillion hours of hard use???
Id also love to have one.. on the list but the above has been bothering me a little.
Id hate to buy one of these thinking I had to do this modificaiton so that it didnt damage itself and it probably burns up a lot of power if it its pushed up againsts the limit.
So for you folks who have put these on the types of boats on this forum (I have a 26S), how big of an issue is this? Did you ever feel like the auto pilot spends too much time grinding up againts its mechanical limit or is this only an issue after about 50 bazillion hours of hard use???
Id also love to have one.. on the list but the above has been bothering me a little.
Originally Posted by chp
"It will hold a course better than any person can."
im not one to strongly disagree here because how the AP performs compared to a helmsman depends on a few different factors...
such as,...
the characteristics of the boat and how it is set up(weather/lee helm?),... the weather and sea conditions,... under sail or motor,...
and even a the very best helmsman will be distracted for a few minutes from time to time if he is single handing.
And it is my opinion that if there is a full crew on the boat doing all the other chores and the helmsman is dedicated to his only job of manually steering, and he is taking his job so seriously that he doesnt accidentally let the craft deviate from its intended heading once in awhile, then he probably wont be the most pleasant person to be around, and he will be completely wore out at the end of his watch.(I know this is the way it is on some big racing boats, but there are other factors involved there that preclude the use of autopilots)
if the boat is setup well and the weather is relatively decent, I think the autopilot will be more reliable than a helmsman for a longer period of time. and the boat/crew will be happier and more content because of it.
but when the weather or seas turn bad, or while racing and maneuvering for position the helmsman can predict and react according to what he sees and feels. the autopilots we are talking about here cant do that.
the first trip with my autopilot was to a large lake.... we woke up in the early morning and decided to move to another spot on the lake. there was no wind or other boats out yet... glass smooth water.
we fired up the motor and set a course down the lake to the east, with the AP holding the tiller, at 4.7 kts.... after about 2.5miles, we could look back at the bubbles left by the prop wash.... as far back as we could physically see, it was as straight of a course as could ever be made.
I took pictures of it as the bubbles were a light contrast against the dark water in the rising sun, which was behind me....
this length of straight line navigation would have been impossible with someone holding the tiller, (especially me) as a persons senses arent as sensitive as a fluxgate compass and we tend to over compensate at times to make a correction after we see the error, whereas the AP just went to where i told it to and did its job without any deviations, unlike I would have done, all while i drank my tea, ate a couple of pastries, moved about the boat and took photos of the beautiful scenery...
The autopilot will never take the place of the helmsman, but it is by far the single most useful and enjoyable "crew member" you can employ for the cost of it....
"It will hold a course better than any person can."
how long of a period of time are we talking about here?... 2 or 3 minutes,... 20 minutes... half hour?
im not one to strongly disagree here because how the AP performs compared to a helmsman depends on a few different factors...
such as,...
the characteristics of the boat and how it is set up(weather/lee helm?),... the weather and sea conditions,... under sail or motor,...
and even a the very best helmsman will be distracted for a few minutes from time to time if he is single handing.
And it is my opinion that if there is a full crew on the boat doing all the other chores and the helmsman is dedicated to his only job of manually steering, and he is taking his job so seriously that he doesnt accidentally let the craft deviate from its intended heading once in awhile, then he probably wont be the most pleasant person to be around, and he will be completely wore out at the end of his watch.(I know this is the way it is on some big racing boats, but there are other factors involved there that preclude the use of autopilots)
if the boat is setup well and the weather is relatively decent, I think the autopilot will be more reliable than a helmsman for a longer period of time. and the boat/crew will be happier and more content because of it.
but when the weather or seas turn bad, or while racing and maneuvering for position the helmsman can predict and react according to what he sees and feels. the autopilots we are talking about here cant do that.
the first trip with my autopilot was to a large lake.... we woke up in the early morning and decided to move to another spot on the lake. there was no wind or other boats out yet... glass smooth water.
we fired up the motor and set a course down the lake to the east, with the AP holding the tiller, at 4.7 kts.... after about 2.5miles, we could look back at the bubbles left by the prop wash.... as far back as we could physically see, it was as straight of a course as could ever be made.
I took pictures of it as the bubbles were a light contrast against the dark water in the rising sun, which was behind me....
this length of straight line navigation would have been impossible with someone holding the tiller, (especially me) as a persons senses arent as sensitive as a fluxgate compass and we tend to over compensate at times to make a correction after we see the error, whereas the AP just went to where i told it to and did its job without any deviations, unlike I would have done, all while i drank my tea, ate a couple of pastries, moved about the boat and took photos of the beautiful scenery...
The autopilot will never take the place of the helmsman, but it is by far the single most useful and enjoyable "crew member" you can employ for the cost of it....
I have the Simrad TP10.
I've blown the fuse, when I have taken the AP off the tiller, but didn't turn it off. so when I tacked the AP tried to steer its last course, hit the limits of its travel, and blew the fuse. didn't take more than a few seconds. happens a few times till I learned to always put it on hold.
the other thing I felt it might snap my tiller, trying to correct in following seas, when it was rough. So I'll hand steer DDW or, use the AP and broad reach.
'Otto' has his limits, but still priceless when you can use it!
Thanks Centerline. Couldn't have said it better myself. It can be very tiring to hold that level of concentration for long periods of time. Yes the autotiller has limitations. As I said in strong and gusty winds it cannot compensate fast enough. There is a reason we have autopilots on airplanes. Same reasons.
So for you folks who have put these on the types of boats on this forum (I have a 26S), how big of an issue is this? Did you ever feel like the auto pilot spends too much time grinding up againts its mechanical limit or is this only an issue after about 50 bazillion hours of hard use???
I have a 26S as well and have a Raymarine ST1000.
Mine has reached it's limits a few times but so far still works fine.
It's avoidable if you pay attention. Mine will do it if I'm going so slow that the rudder loses authority in the water. "stalling"
Under normal sailing or motoring speeds it works just fine.
I'm kinda hooked on it actually. I single hand a lot and I use it every time I go out. It's a nice addition to the boat.
I have a 26S as well and have a Raymarine ST1000.
Mine has reached it's limits a few times but so far still works fine.
It's avoidable if you pay attention. Mine will do it if I'm going so slow that the rudder loses authority in the water. "stalling"
Under normal sailing or motoring speeds it works just fine.
I'm kinda hooked on it actually. I single hand a lot and I use it every time I go out. It's a nice addition to the boat.
I just installed mr Raymarine ST1000 today. Quite a crappy manual. Unit, while a bit noisy, works fine. Hardest part was emptying the boat to run the wires properly for it and the solar panel. So far, I'm happy with it. I do note the manual says the use a 12 amp fuse...good luck finding one. I use a 10 amp.
Jeff
Jeff
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