For Sale: cpt autopilot

[sailingman2]

Doesnt work.(did until I needed it) Not sure what the issue is.Could be electrical but the drive appears jammed. Has remote,some paperwork.So it would be possible to send back and have serviced and still come out or use for parts or whatever. This is located in Annapolis.
$200

[onestepcsy37]

please reconsider. i love my cpt autopilot. boat is 37' and 20000lb full keeler.

just send the whole mess to cpt and ask them their opinion. the guy who runs the place - jeff - is an engineer and a super guy. he answers the phone or your emails personally. really knowledgeable. i asked them to test/fix/rebuild my old cpt and they sent it back to me, working, for $150.

can't buy an autopilot that good for anywhere near that price...

[Exile]

Originally Posted by sailingman2

Doesnt work.(did until I needed it) Not sure what the issue is.Could be electrical but the drive appears jammed. Has remote,some paperwork.So it would be possible to send back and have serviced and still come out or use for parts or whatever. This is located in Annapolis.
$200

Is yours an older one? They generally have a great rep, even for larger boats in rough wind/sea conditions. I've been thinking of one for some time as backup for my below-decks AP in lieu of a wind vane. I do seem to recall some issues with older ones which has since been rectified when the co. changed hands. They are around $2K new as I recall, so it might be best to repair it and then sell a working unit if you've lost confidence. Either way, I may be interested in buying it.

Onestepcsy37 -- do you use yours as primary or backup? Do you think it could be stashed below and installed at sea in the event of a primary AP failure? Only hard part may be the pulley wheel as I vaguely recall, but I'll check the website again. It has its own, indpt. compass which I like.

[onestepcsy37]

exile, my cpt is the only autopilot on the boat. the most i've used it is two days nonstop coming back to florida from the bahamas. it was in following wind and seas and it steered flawlessly. i don't do enough long distance sailing to really justify an expensive below decks unit - especially since the cpt works so well.

as for using it as a backup unit. i'm guessing that, if you've got the brackets and wheel pulley already in place, and a power outlet in the cockpit, i'm thinking you could get it out from a locker and put it in place in about 15 minutes, even in a moderate storm.

i'm not sure when jeff bought out the old company, (maybe ten years ago?) but he is just a super guy to work with. he's an engineer as well as the owner. if you call or email he will respond personally.

there is now a NEW cpt autopilot! jeff updated the unit from a magnetic compass to a more modern fluxgate compass, and has added some useful features. i have the old mag compass unit and am completely satisfied with it, but i'm beginning to lust after the new one...

www.cptautopilot.com

[robert sailor]

I bought a new CPT for back up to my below decks for offshore sailing. Its a super little unit thats easy to install and steers wonderfully hardly uses any power. We bought it for backup but its so damn quiet and just sips the electrons that we have used it almost all the time. Can't go wrong on these units and Jeff is great to work with. Happy to answer and questions about the new model.

[Matt Johnson]

Just had mine serviced for a intermittent issue and it was $285 with shipping. Ours is 100% a back-up to our below deck. The drive stays attached all the time, but the wheel gear is removed unless we are going a long distance.

Matt

[Lojanica]

What a freakin' deal. I'm sure Jeff will have it fixed pronto for half of a new unit. Not sure what's wrong with yours but these autopilots are robust!!! If I didn't own one I'd buy it.

[Exile]

Originally Posted by onestepcsy37

exile, my cpt is the only autopilot on the boat. the most i've used it is two days nonstop coming back to florida from the bahamas. it was in following wind and seas and it steered flawlessly. i don't do enough long distance sailing to really justify an expensive below decks unit - especially since the cpt works so well.

as for using it as a backup unit. i'm guessing that, if you've got the brackets and wheel pulley already in place, and a power outlet in the cockpit, i'm thinking you could get it out from a locker and put it in place in about 15 minutes, even in a moderate storm.

i'm not sure when jeff bought out the old company, (maybe ten years ago?) but he is just a super guy to work with. he's an engineer as well as the owner. if you call or email he will respond personally.

there is now a NEW cpt autopilot! jeff updated the unit from a magnetic compass to a more modern fluxgate compass, and has added some useful features. i have the old mag compass unit and am completely satisfied with it, but i'm beginning to lust after the new one...

www.cptautopilot.com

Thanks for the info. I read through the website and did not see where the compass had been updated to a fluxgate. Probably just not posted yet. An improvement I'm sure, but I haven't read any complaints about the electronic one! It also said that Jeff purchased the co. from Scanmar in 2008, if I'm reading it right. I

I also get the idea that, as you say, there are various ways to have supporting components already installed in the cockpit so the rest may be quickly & easily deployed if needed. But now that I know how quiet it is, and how little power it uses, my below decks AP may get relegated to backup status instead!

[sailingman2]

Everyone,thanks so much for the wonderful input.It appears this thing was just serviced and anyway I dont like all the mounting hardware,belts etc..I enjoy using my feet to steer with on occasion and I still enjoy he fact I have all my toes which may be an issue here. So I dont mind letting er go to a new home where someone else can use it and I buy what I am familiar with and besides,I kinda like being able to tie my auto in with my gps.

[S.V.Duet]

200 bucks sold send pm how you would like toget paid

Unless Exile had 1st dibs?

Thanks

[Exile]

Originally Posted by S.V.Duet

200 bucks sold send pm how you would like toget paid

Unless Exile had 1st dibs?

Thanks

No, no -- but may regret later! Best of luck with it.

[S.V.Duet]

Originally Posted by Exile

No, no -- but may regret later! Best of luck with it.

WHOO been waiting for one of these babies.

Thanks. Just need sailingman2 to come back online..

[Exile]

Originally Posted by S.V.Duet

WHOO been waiting for one of these babies.

Thanks. Just need sailingman2 to come back online..

Hopefully for your sake he isn't having second thoughts after reading all these rave reviews!

Useful thread and nice having more up to date info on these AP's. Probably just a matter of time before I take the plunge as well.