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Old 16-01-2018, 06:55   #1
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Tiller Pilot on a Catamaran vs Wheel Pilot

Hi [emoji1309]
I have a Heavenly Twins Catamaran which has an internal bar that connects the two keels. Connected to this is the steering cable to wheel.
After watching a Vlog on Sailing Kittiwake about Heavenly Twins Sailing from Falmouth UK to Malta, I discovered that they have fitted an internal Tiller Pilot to the bar between the two keels.
Now the cost off a Tiler Pilot is around £1000 cheaper than that off a Wheel Pilot which would suit me fine.
Is there anyone else that has a similar set up on their Catamaran or Trimaran and would be willing to share some knowledge and some pictures?
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Old 16-01-2018, 07:09   #2
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pirate Re: Tiller Pilot on a Catamaran vs Wheel Pilot

I have rigged up tiller pilots on Wharrams but.. that's open deck space and easily set up/disconnected.
It would need to be somewhere quick and easy to access if down below as unlike the wheel pilot there's no clutch to hand to put it into neutral/manual mode..
This may or may not also be of interest to you.. show some possibilities/ideas to help with the setting up for a TP.
https://www.hisse-et-oh.com/system/a...pdf?1488909673
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Old 16-01-2018, 08:25   #3
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pirate Re: Tiller Pilot on a Catamaran vs Wheel Pilot

Another thing I would suggest is you remove the plastic composite fitting at the end of the tiller arm, take it to a fabricator and have them make up a brass copy.. the original will not last long with the modified loads imposed.
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Old 16-01-2018, 12:09   #4
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Re: Tiller Pilot on a Catamaran vs Wheel Pilot

I have a 11m cat with a single central rudder with a tiller to which is attached a hydraulic ram which in turn is connected to two steering wheels. I use a Raymarine tiller pilot which, when I want to use it, requires me to turn an on/off selector valve on the hydraulic system. The Raymarine tiller pilots are not strong enough to handle the forces on the tiller in a blow and with big waves - my last one ST2000 lasted about 20 hours! For the coming season I am considering a Simrad tiller pilot or some other system, be it attached to the tiller or one of the wheels.
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Old 17-01-2018, 09:03   #5
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Re: Tiller Pilot on a Catamaran vs Wheel Pilot

I don't know if this solves your cost issue, but you might be better off with a linear autopilot drive, intended to be used below decks, which has an internal clutch. I can't imagine using a true tiller pilot, which has to be lifted on and off the rudder tie-rod or some other steering component, every time it's needed. Plus, the below decks drives are much more robust than above decks models.

And, and this is a big and, the world is full of sailing stories that are due to too-small autopilots letting the crew down because they were undersized, or poorly water resistant. There's always a temptation to use a cockpit mounted pilot to go across oceans, and I believe it's far smarter to use them in protected waters, and under power. If you're sailing across oceans, use a below decks drive, either linear-hydraulic or recirculating ball drive, and it will serve you well.

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Old 17-01-2018, 10:19   #6
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Re: Tiller Pilot on a Catamaran vs Wheel Pilot

To follow-up on Chuck's post above....

We have a Prout 37 Snowgoose and when we bought it we found a number of wheel pilots on board which all were dead. I think this is because they are undersized for our boat. I have since installed a Raymarine Hydraulic system which has worked very well and I have much more comfort in it.

Hydraulic may not make sense for a Heavenly Twins, but for us it makes sense as we already had Hydraulic steering.
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Old 23-01-2018, 03:22   #7
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Re: Tiller Pilot on a Catamaran vs Wheel Pilot

An undersized tiller pilot may last for just a few days or weeks of curising, depending on how much you really use it and how bad the weather is. A wheel pilot may last some months to years. An hydraulic will last for many years.


Longevity comes with increasing cost. A tiller pilot is starting at something like 400 Euro, a full hydraulic starts at more than ten times as much. IIRC the ram & pump of our boat is around 3500 and the AP brain with sensors and display is also 3500. With all the small bits required for installation we are talking about 8000 Euro roughly, much more for a professional install.

If you just want to cruise to Malta maybe a wheel pilot should do. Or maybe you can find a cheap used hydraulic ram & pump at the scrapyard, and build your own brain for it?
See this thread as a starting point
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Old 24-01-2018, 00:59   #8
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Re: Tiller Pilot on a Catamaran vs Wheel Pilot

I had an HT27 with a wheel pilot. The only problem was with the clutch slipping sometimes when it got a bit lively (and it it being rather old). I cannot imaging jumping down below to engage or disengage when needed. Used it all the time because it was close at hand.
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Old 24-01-2018, 03:45   #9
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pirate Re: Tiller Pilot on a Catamaran vs Wheel Pilot

Hey OP.. any chance off some feed back on here..
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