Planning a Three-Year Circumnav

[s/v Jedi]

Ah, okay, when I spoke of hydraulic power pack for the AP I meant below deck hydraulic ram attached between hull and quadrant with 1/16 to 1/8 hp motor turning the pump.

Any tiller or wheel pilot lacks the power and longevity to be helpful in bad conditions. The time it takes the pilot to turn the rudder from one extreme position to the other is also very important. From memory I say ours takes 6 seconds and I believe the recommended value is 8-10 seconds or so. When this is too slow, the steering corrections come too late so that it looks like over correcting. In reality the correction was good but it took too long to move the rudder in position so the steering is lagging and actually making it worse.
This is only with the waves on the aft quarter.

cheers,
Nick.

[stevensuf]

Get the largest newest boat you can afford,for 3 years its not worth buying watermakers, generators, washing machines or other luxuries, pay as you go is cheaper, maybe after 5 years the tides change on those items and you have less things to fix!