Raymarine Auto pilot

[jgbrisson2000]

I will be installing an Raymarine S1 tiller pilot into my Vega. My tiller sits fairly low in the cockpit so that I am sure I am going to have to install brackets to align the level the tiller attachment point with the top of the cockpit seats.

Any comments concerning the installation of a tiller pilot would be very welcome.

John

 

[pjacobs55]

Hi John,
That's a pretty neat unit!

http://tinyurl.com/2alzotz

I have an ST2000 by the same maker, not the same, but maybe my mounting experiences will help:

I mounted the unit less than the "required" distance from the tiller pivot so that I could mount the anchored end of the pilot on the cockpit seat, just aft of the locker lid, allowing the lid to be opened while the pilot was in use.

The tiller end was mounted the same distance as the anchored end, so it's at 90 degrees to the tiller when the tiller is centered.

I tightened my tiller pivot bolt until there was enough friction to hold the tiller up at the correct angle. When I did this I suspected it might loosen over time and drop the tiller, but after five years this has not been the case.

Even at the reduced distance from the tiller pivot point, the pilot works just fine. Like all automatic steering devices, it helps a lot to have one's sails trimmed and balanced well for the wind conditions.

Hope this helps, and good luck with your new accessory!

Peter
#1331 'Sin Tacha'

 

[bbach1949]

I use a piece of line to hold the tiller up (top of tiller aft to edge of stern seat) but just tightening the tiller yoke cheeks to increase friction also works fine. The line keeps me or others from bumping the tiller pilot loose. I wouldn't bother with a clunky bracket on top of the tiller - just gets in the way. Having the tiller angled higher is easier on peoples' knees as well. Just my opinion.

 

[robwhelton]

John,
I've just fitted a Raymarine ST1000 to my Vega and am very happy with it.
Like other people, I moved the mounting distance back a little bit to clear the locker lid. This also has the benefit of allowing the tillerpilot more distance through which to swing the tiller.
To adjust the height, I made up a block (epoxied together three pieces of 6mm scrap ply) which I epoxied into the metal bracket which holds the tiller at its base. This has the effect of raising the tiller up to a higher angle and making the autopilot sit horizontal.
My wife had a few misgivings about the new tiller angle- it's no now longer possible to steer using your foot, for example- but having put about 200 miles on the boat with this setup we think it's a big improvement. The higher tiller allows you to lean on it whilst steering, rather than having to always hold it up, which I used to find very tiring. And of course it still swings upwards if you want to stand up for a better view, or keep the cockpit clear. So a win-win situation.

The Raymarine itself seems to work well- we haven't used it in really difficult conditions but even quite far off the wind it does a good job and the auto-tack function (which, by the way, you can also use to auto-gybe, assuming you reset the course fairly promptly) is very handy for those of us without self-tailing winches- it really does allow effortless singlehanded sailing.

Rob
V1583 Mavanier
Stornoway
Scotland

 

[emmajen5]

I use the same system. The other advantage of this is that it allows
free and easy upward movement of the tiller when the auto pilot is not
in use.

Garry McKevitt
V2427

 

[brockhaus77]

Just to second what others have already said: The tiller will stay up in any position if the clamp is properly tightened. I am using Steve Birch's beautiful replacement tiller (which swings up in an S-shape) so I had to drill the hole for the pin to which the autopilot attaches at an angle (it goes into the rising part). No problem, though.
One additional point: It's true that the installing the pilot aft of the locker lid is probably the way to go. I did install mine with sockets IN the lid, though; the advantage is a longer lever arm (more torque), but the disadvantage is that the "throw" is less (the maximum angle it can turn the tiller). I found that if you have a bit of weather helm, it may be best to have TWO sockets in the locker lid (that's what I did, anyway), so you can put the end pin of the autopilot in whichever lets you avoid end-of-range problems. (One can also buy additional pieces of rod to extend the length of the autopilot; however, that of course does NOT increase the overall range).

- Sebastian (VegaLyra 1060)

 

[jbergman888]

I put the pin in the locker lid to get more torque on the tiller (less force exerted by auto pilot) and hopefully more life from the auto tiller pilot......I'm new to this all so my question is: should my sails be balanced to the point that I shouldn't need the amount of travel that Sebastian refers to below? I think I have 4.5 inches to either side of center on my Raymarine 2000. Thanks for your input.

Bruce
s/v Cygnet #169

 

[pjacobs55]

When I bought 'Sin Tacha' she had sockets in port and starboard locker lids for the autopilot. This is OK, as long as you remember to re-program the autopilot each time you swap sides, otherwise the poor thing gets confused and corrects in the wrong direction!

If the autopilot is that stressed it's probably better to reduce sail to balance the helm so that the tiller is more centered. The boat will sail faster too, when you're not dragging the rudder sideways through the water.

Peter
#1331 'Sin Tacha'

 

[tim_klynn]

On my boat the previous owner (Hans Heiduck--did a lot of nice work on the boat I am still enjoying), made a bracket the easily mounts to the cockpit. Bracket raises the big part of the autopilot above the cockpit cushions. The "ram" part of the tillerpilot clips onto a pin fitted to the tiller. If you want, I can post photos of it sometime. It also has a little windvane that works with the tillerpilot, but I have never hooked it up.

The autopilot works well when I am single handing, however I only use it while setting sails.
Usually, I have crew so I don't need it. Today Cindy and I took out two 13 year old girls, (that just finished the sailing clubs Junior sailing program) for some club racing. I had them work the jib sheets and do a little helming, they had a blast. Several of the other club boats had juniors on them as well and it was interesting to see rivalry between the kids when we would pass their counterparts on the other boats, from what we heard from our kids there was some pretty fierce Sunfish competition between the sailors who had all of 4 days of sailing under their belts.
It was also interesting to see the differences in the 2 kids on our boat. One girl needed constant reminding for everything, the other was a natural sailor, she immediately picked up trimming the genoa to the telltales and I didn't even bother to check her trim after an hour or so. It was amazing how much power she had in those tiny arms to crank that winch....

At the end of the race I asked the girls if they wanted to helm and Cindy and I would be their crew, and of course the prodigy jumped at the chance. She did pretty well, considering the shifty winds today, but she seemed equally happy doing cannonballs off the bow, climbing all over the boat like a monkey and horsing around with her crewmate, swimming after the boat as as we drifted along in a heave to or getting towed along in the horseshoe lifering.
On the way back to the dock we hit 6 knots close hauled and 30 degrees of heel which got some excited giggling going in the girls. Overall, it was a pretty fun day for us and the kids.

 

[pjacobs55]

Sebastian:
There is a tapered pin holding the tiller head in the correct position on the rudder stock. Check message #16823 for a complete rundown, including the specs and source for a new pin.
Hope this helps,

Peter
#1331 'Sin Tacha'

(snip)