Hi lads, i am getting curious about auto pilots, does any one have one, and use it when short handed? The thing i would like to find out is, are you able to helm as normal with the auto pilot connected, and just turn it on if you need to leave the tiller for periods of time? Cheers. Nathan
I have had a simrad tiller pilot . I had to dissconect it from the tiller to hand steer.
I have also had a wheel steer system , it had a flick lever to connect to steering system.
Cheers Sandy, yeah just had confirmation from Simrad, you need to disconnect the unit from the tiller to go old school manual. Sorted.
very good unit tho, best thing i ever spent cash on for that yacht .
clipped on and off pretty easy , and for single handing , really conveneant!!!
tp 10 i think it was.
20 years ago, I use NAVICO tiller, my question was, which one should I buy no now.
Guess what I found on SailNet.
Simrad bought out Navico a couple of years ago. The Simrad units are the same as the Navico units except for the color of the plastic -- Simrads are black, Navicos are grey. Features and functions are the same.
I use an Autohelm ST2000 tiller autopilot. The boat can be steered with the pilot on standby but within the mechanical constraints (lock to lock) and winding the motor. It is very easy to just unclip from the tiller for normal steering.
I have a Simrad TP32 tiller pilot on an S&S34 (about 13,000lbs displacement). It works very well and can handle the boat under sail in the majority of conditions. Stronger winds with a quartering swell stretch the friendship a bit. $950 on discount at Whitworths a couple of years ago.
