Which Tiller Pilot

Chris Patterson · Jan 10, 2014

I understand your concern, and I debated this shortly. Yes you are correct, you can interface multiple devices to either of them, the connections are the same. And very simple connections at that. The 1000 will more than likely steer your boat very well. I've used both, and numerous wheel/autopilots myself, so I also have a little to go on with my opinion, and that's all it is, an opinion. But the 2000 will steer it from stop to stop nearly twice as fast. It's been a million years since I was in Mission Bay, so I can't rightly remember, (which was why I was in La Jolla anyway), so I don't recall the patterns. But on the left side here, that speed has helped me many times, and glad I had it. When a following wave starts under the boat, and you know from experience that is when it gets a tad 'squirly', and a quick helm is a comfort.

The other thing was its robustness as well. My thinking has always been why not throw the extra buck at it and have the nicest one. I've said it here till most are sick of it, but I have never been disappointed by over-engineering anything. Not ever. And I would hate like hell to get out there and come to the conclusion that the upgrade would have suited me better, but I missed my chance because I now own this one. This was evidenced just this week, when I ordered a remote from Madman Marine. It also came with an optional antennae for larger boats, and mine was close on the threshold of that bigger/smaller limit. I am reasonably confident that the unit without the antennae option would probably work well. But I wasn't willing to take that chance because it couldn't be upgraded later, and maybe it just boils down to I'm not a gambling man when it comes to a lot of things. I know that sounds silly coming from a guy like me if you've gotten a hint at some of my exploits and escapades. But I reserve the gamble for when it really matters, and things of this nature are easily rectified by throwing a couple of extra bucks at the problem and it's done.

This is actually more of a philosophical approach than actual technical information, but it seems to work for me..

THECUSCUS · Jan 10, 2014

Go with the 2000, you will be glad you did. The recirculating ball design is far better than the screw design of the 1000. It's faster, smoother and adjusts less which equates to less electricity used. Which on a small boat, with minimal battery bank, means alot.

Merlin Clark · Jan 10, 2014

NMEA is what you're thinking of to make the units talk to each other. The other language is SeaTalk and is (I think) proprietary for use with other Raymarine products.

Jackdaw · Jan 10, 2014

Although Raymarine gear normally communicates via SeaTalk, their autopilots also understand NMEA-0183, which is an industry standard. The HDS plotter you have can output 0183.

But interfacing a tiller pilot to a plotter on a small boat makes no sense. The pilot will already hold a compass heading course. What functionality do you hope to gain? Steering to a waypoint? In the years that I've owned networked boats, I've never done that. It's more of a powerboat thing. When sailing you are always adjusting some aspect of course due to wind, weather, current etc that makes it impractical.

What makes much more sense is to interface to wind instruments. Then the pilot will steer to an apparent or true wind direction. THAT is useful when you want to sail hand-off for a while. The boat adjusts to the wind, and you can leave the sails be.

Stu Jackson · Jan 10, 2014

No brainer: buy the ST2000. If you read the specs the two units have different motors &/or actuators, so the ST2000 is FAR stronger. When you need it, it will be there for you. We had an old Navico on our C25 and a dock neighbor had the ST2000 on his Islander Bahama 24. His was much better. He went through this "discussion" 25 years ago! For the extra $100, just do it. Chris is right.

Apex · Jan 10, 2014

as a side to this, but on topic: what are other options besides the Raymarine? No Worries came with a 2000 unit, but it has cracks and the EPROM memory is failing. Repair resources are scarce, so weighing not only replacement with 2000 but other options as well.

StinkBug: either would suit your needs for the MAC25 is a lightweight boat. placement to the rudder shaft is critical for proper operation. Ours was place too far away, so is unable to properly tack the boat, simply maintain a heading (throw is too short for neede rudder angle).

Stu Jackson · Jan 10, 2014

apex,

I recommend you do a Google search on tiller pilots, in addition to asking here. Amazon, Defender, WM and many others show up. Simrad also seems to make one, a TP22, in addition to Raymarine.

A while back on another forum, there was a link to a gentleman who repairs Raymarine pilots. Try this: http://c34.org/bbs/index.php/topic,7129.0.html

A lightweight Mac25 would do much better with the stronger ST2000 because of the issues discussed earlier. Lighter means it bounces around more and is affected more by wave action (waves being either swell OR wind waves OR both). Lighter boat doesn't mean lighter pilot at all.

apex, just move the tiller pilot to where it should be based on the installation manuals (undoubtedly available online at Raymarine's website).

Good luck.

Merlin Clark · Jan 10, 2014

Simrad makes 3. The lightest (TP10) does not have NMEA capabilities. http://search.defender.com/?expression=simrad tiller pilot

Captain Rahnn · Jan 10, 2014

I had a raymarine st2000 for my previous boat a Coronado 27. Worked great for 7 years never had a problem and was easy to install.

Captain Rahnn · Jan 10, 2014

If your referring to the speed of the unit in terms of reaction time. The 2000 has several settings to adjust to the wind and waves which changes it's reaction time. At least mine did bought new in 2002.

Chris Patterson · Jan 11, 2014

If you are talking hardover times, from stop to stop, the 2000 is about twice as fast. It's a huge plus.

Apex · Jan 11, 2014

thanks Stu. I contacted the gentleman in the link you provided. He deals with the wheel pilots, and was the one who diagnosed the EPROM issue (loses compass offset memory). Raymarine has out of warranty repair pricing listed directly on their website for others in the same situation.

Stinkbug: another note on installation is to make sure the mount plate has a big backing plate to prevent flexing. A little perceived motion will worsen over time.

Stu Jackson · Jan 11, 2014

Apex said:
Stinkbug: another note on installation is to make sure the mount plate has a big backing plate to prevent flexing. A little perceived motion will worsen over time.

apex, glad to help.

Stinkbug: apex is right. When we installed our Navico on our Catalina 25, I epoxied a plywood backing plate to underneath the starboard side side seat where I stalled the pin that held the ap. I did NOT place it on the coaming, which was, in my mind and in the installation manual, too darned far away even with the extender thingies that are available. I recomend NOT using those extenders. Many do, but performance suffers. My daughter, who is very bright (but not from me), gave me a good solution to the cockpit cushion issue after I had installed the pin on the seat. I said, "Wow, it's in the way of the cushion." "Nope," she replied, "just slide the cushion forward and up the back of the cabin, built-in seat back!" Genius kid.

Stu Jackson · Jan 19, 2014

Have you looked at the installation manuals online? Most of them have just that information.

David in Sandusky · Jan 20, 2014

Simrad TP 10

Our Simrad TP10 has done a good job steering our 7,000 # '77 h27 for 11summers with one repair. I estimate that is 400 hours of steering the boat.