Carib Cruising on 30’ with Atomic-4

[Pete7]

That is a tiller pilot and you have a wheel so the latest Evo-100 type of drive will be needed for a 30ft yacht. There are some older models available, but this is one item that you need to work if you are single handing, hence why I bit the bullet and bought a new one.

http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/...ml#post2794166

[Bill O]

Sailon1,
Take a look at these 2 articles for your nav computer/chart plotter and an autopilot (pypilot) using raspberry pi based computers.


There is a link to a recent thread on DIY Boat Instruments


Bill O.

[Sailon1]

Thanks for the info--this will help the decision making process a bit
easier. My 1978 Pearson is in good shape, and certainly would make
a nice island cruiser once it's properly outfitted. Seems the autopilot should
be at or near the top of the list for singlehanded cruising.

[Pete7]

I think you need something, even if its just to hold a steady course to put the sails up, make a cup of tea or go to the heads. The alternatives are the CPT Autopilot which seems well thought of on here.

CPT Autopilot Inc.

Finally for longer offshore then a servo windvane would be brilliant. Just be careful not to buy something that has done 3 laps of the world and now totally worn out needing a complete rebuild. Even available as a DIY option:

http://windvaneselfsteering.co.uk/

What ever you choose it needs to be easy to use, quick to set up and reliable. Hand steering for hours on end is actually quite tiring, when you could sit back and let "Otto" do the work whilst enjoying the trip.

Pete

[hamburking]

Wheel based autopilot is usually much more expensive than a tiller pilot, and a more complicated installation as well.

If you have no autopilot right now, you may want to consider a below deck linear drive system. Far more robust, and protected from the elements. Although I'm not sure you have space to install one on the P30.

I had an ST2000+ on the tiller of my P30, and it worked great, and used very few volts.

If the OP is starting in Toledo Ohio, on Lake Erie, then I'm curious how he intends to get the boat down to Florida/Bahamas. If he intends to take the ICW, then the range limitations of the A4 could be a problem. At the very least he would be constantly in need of fuel...like, every single day.

Personally, I'd rather go offshore. But, as discussed earlier, the P30 is not really built for that.

Truck?

BTW, I owned and sailed a great P30 here on Lake Ontario for about 5 years. Mine had a volvo penta diesel, chartplotter, furling, dinghy, etc. It was pretty much ready to head south. I was seriously thinking of going south in that boat. Like others have said, its plenty big for just one person. Unfortunately, life ashore got in the way, and I sold the boat instead. Perhaps this is why I'm so interested, and a bit overexcited by this thread. FWIW, life ashore has settled down, and I'm once again thinking about doing the trip south. But "thinking" is not the same as "doing", is it?

[hamburking]

Originally Posted by Sailon1

Thanks for the info--this will help the decision making process a bit
easier. My 1978 Pearson is in good shape, and certainly would make
a nice island cruiser once it's properly outfitted. Seems the autopilot should
be at or near the top of the list for singlehanded cruising.

On my P30, I had 2 jibs for the furler. Both were "decksweepers". Great sails, in good shape, very fast. But I could not see a thing down the leeward side. I was constantly ducking under, or going forward to see. Eventually I had a few close calls, where I had not seen an approaching vessel because it was hidden by the jib.

So I took my larger jib into the local sailmaker and had him cut it down to raise the foot a few feet off the deck. He did a great job, but I wish he cut even deeper. Although the foot of the jib was a few feet off the deck, when heeling it came right back down below the horizon.

I tried buying a used jib from a smaller boat, but that had other issues...the sheet track was too short!

Anyway, this was a constant safety issue for me on my P30, and something to consider.

[Bill O]

Here is a comparison of a CPT and the pypilot w/a wiper motor on a 30 ton vessel.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KQuBwLSMSxI

I do like the CPT but the pypilot is a much better set up with updated software and digital controllers with very good interfacing to a chartplotter.

If you are starting from scratch for an AP worth looking at the pypilot.
For a back up one could hook up a tiller pilot to the vane.

We did the Erie canal from Detroit and would say it was a good experience/worth while doing. The limitation is not the A4, but how much fuel you can carry. Adding 6-8 jerry cans on deck would give one several days of fuel, sufficient to make it through the canal. Also going west to east in the canal give you an extra benefit of ~1 kt current.


Bill O.