We have an older Raymarine wheel mounted autopilot. According to the Raymarine literature it's way too small for the 25000lb, 41' sailboat it's attached to. But it seems to work well in most weather conditions, although it sounds stressed when steering in big swells. Our only problem has been that the wires soldered to the drive motor occasionally break off, or should I say the solder joint breaks. I believe this to be due to the vibration caused by the unit when it's turning the wheel. I like it due to it's simplicity; a control unit (which mounts below, out of the weather), a gyro compass, and a 12volt drive motor and belt. It draws less than 1 amp and can be programmed to pilot a compass course or maintain an angle of sail, similar to a vane (if connected to a Raymarine windspeed/direction display.
