Hello Cruisers,
I've recently encountered problems with my
autohelm that has me a little puzzled, I'm hoping there might be some mechanically inclined minds that could help me out.
We have a 18 ton, 44 foot Boden South Seas
ketch purchased second hand. The
steering system is completely hydraulic, with a T.M.Q series 2000
autopilot, and a Octopus hydraulic
pump. This system is (obviously) very old, but has worked problem free for the last two years. Recently the
autohelm stopped holding headings however. The
pump is still operating, and it's still operating the
rudder, but it seems to have
lost it's ability to hold any sort of heading. Normally when this
autopilot is turned on it holds it's
current heading and gives you the option of changing headings left and right by 15 degrees without disconnection the system, now this function also allows us to do 360 degree turns. It seems to have completely
lost it's orientation
Before deciding on a new system, I'd like to be assured that there isn't an easy fix for this. My only thought is that possibly the
compass it receives it's information from (on top of the mizzen) is our problem. Any thoughts or idea would be appreciated.