BELOW DECK AUTOPILOT ?? Tiller Steered ??

[NakedCity]

I am extremely tired of messing with tiller pilots for my 34' tiller steered boat. I want to hear from anyone who has a below deck autopilot for their tiller steered boat. How well does it work ? Does it change the feel or effort on the tiller when not in use.

Thanks

[Snowpetrel]

Just sailed a sunfast 3600 with a belowdeck pilot on tillers. Felt fine to me, a bit more drag than normal but quite usable even in light airs. The boat has twin rudders and twin tillers so lots of extra friction anyway. But even with all this the helm was pretty light, as in I could comfortably helm with one hand.

I dont know the details of the install, but my brother said if he was not using the AP he can disconnect the ram for a slightly better feel. Maybe worth it on longer fully crewed races for him.

One smaller issue is the reduced maximum rudder angle caused by having the limited travel ram on. In some cases this can reduce maneuverability slightly.

[deblen]

If you use a Raymarine M81130 type drive,you will not have any appreciable extra drag. They are very reliable,simple & avoid messing with hydraulics.
Most brands of below deck pilots will drive them.

Mechanical Linear Drives | Raymarine

http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/...nt-140087.html

[Matt Johnson]

Do you just need more power or advance system? You can get a Pelagic autopilot where you still need to discount the ram when not in use. PelagicAutopilot | Sailing Autopilot Technologies

If you'd still like the ease of having the drive outside, but with a clutch to disconnect it when not in use, lecomble and schmitt make a hydraulic drive that can be exposed to the elements. We bought one for our new boat since it has a sort of transom hung rudder. Half of it is inside a lazarett, but the ram cylinder is outside.

Matt

[out42]

We sailed round Britain & Ireland using a simple Raymarine tillerpilot below decks. It pushed/pulled a mainsail car along a track with pulleys attached to either end of the car and the dyneema cables fed out to under the tiller arm, one of them crossing over and returning to such that they both were in tension when in use. The boat was a Farrier 31. It worked just fine and we had no issues. Part of that reliability I am sure was due to the machinery being below in the dry.
You may be thinking of buying something which attaches directly to the quadrant, in which case this is a pointless reply but it is a very cheap and reliable method, and indeed the only way if the rudder is transom-hung.

[Cheechako]

Get an Alpha 3000 with the quadrant disconnect. Simple and reliable and strong.

[Chuck Hawley]

I have an Alerion Express 38 Yawl (about 12,000#) with a SIMRAD linear hydraulic drive. I think it's terrific, and it does not impart enough drag to affect the feel of steering with a tiller. The pilot is very strong, and other than having filled it with hydraulic fluid once, and having replaced the AP display with a newer version, it's been trouble-free.

I have sailed around 10,000 miles with tiller pilots from a variety of generations, mostly from the 1980s. I found them to be extremely energy efficient but not very reliable. In two instances on long voyages (2500nm nonstop), I had to rely on a second tiller pilot to finish the voyage.

My experience in the marine industry, and my personal experience, would indicate that below decks pilots are dramatically more reliable.

Chuck Hawley

[Roniszoro]

Ditto on the Alpha 3000. It is a great unit, is very fast, uses very little energy and is price right. It is a KISS unit (keep it simple stupid!)

[Matt Johnson]

Originally Posted by Roniszoro

Ditto on the Alpha 3000. It is a great unit, is very fast, uses very little energy and is price right. It is a KISS unit (keep it simple stupid!)

The price is right? Alpha 3000 is $3,400 for the computer and controller, $1,900 for the drive, and $250 for the rudder link. That's over $2000 higher than comparable Navico/ Raymarine units. For that price, I'd start looking at NKE.

[PaulSommers]

I have a Simrad SD-10 drive unit - the drive motor sits inside, under what would be a seat locker on most sailboats with a tiller - in my case it is a difficult to access area that could be devoted to the below decks drive unit and autopilot "brain." The drive unit has a stainless rod that goes through a steel bulkhead (with a vinyl boot around it to keep out water) and connects to an Edson quadrant mounted on the rudder shaft below the tiller. There is some resistance if hand steering, unless you disconnect the drive unit, which I can easily do with a removable bolt like you would see in a gooseneck going through the tack of the mainsail. This rig has taken me from Virginia south through the Bahamas/Turks and Caicos, the Caribbean, Panama Canal, and up to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico in all sorts of sea conditions with winds pushing 35 kt. at times. A very powerful and reliable unit. Not cheap - I think I spent about $7K on the whole system with "special" Annapolis boat show prices in 2011.

[Cheechako]

Originally Posted by funjohnson

The price is right? Alpha 3000 is $3,400 for the computer and controller, $1,900 for the drive, and $250 for the rudder link. That's over $2000 higher than comparable Navico/ Raymarine units. For that price, I'd start looking at NKE.

Wow, they have gotten expensive!

[ALAIN97133]

Originally Posted by NakedCity

I am extremely tired of messing with tiller pilots for my 34' tiller steered boat. I want to hear from anyone who has a below deck autopilot for their tiller steered boat. How well does it work ? Does it change the feel or effort on the tiller when not in use. Thanks

Hi! Could you tell us more about your sailboat ? What make & model ? That would help us help you

[Cheechako]

By the way, the Alpha quadrant disconnect can be used with other AP's.

[NakedCity]

Thank everyone for their input.
I'm sure I can design a good system for my S2 10.3
I also have instant easy access to my rudder post for a manual disconnect.

[DeepFrz]

The Raymarine website has a good document on how to install an inside autopilot. I think it's worth reading.