Which Tiller Pilot for a Monitor Windvane?

[Zingaro69]

On a Kelly Peterson 44 with a Monitor wind vane what kind of tiller pilot should I be looking for? Specifically I am looking at Tiller Pilots and they are rated for the size of the boat. I believe, but maybe incorrectly, that I can choose the smallest since it only need to drive the Monitor and not the boat. Am I correct in this thinking? There is also a Raymarine C80 chart plotter display integrated with GPS on the boat. Is there any reason I want to spend the extra dough to link to the chartplotter?

Thanks

Danny

[speedoo]

If you are the new owner of the KP 44, congrats, it's a great boat.

Why do you want a Tillerpilot? They are for tiller-steered boats. Maybe you are asking for advice on a wheelpilot. I have never heard of a tillerpilot being used "to drive a Monitor" but maybe there is a reason to do it.

One problem I think you may have in adding a wheelpilot... the windvane already has a unit on your wheel and the wheelpilot will also need a unit on the wheel. Might not be room for both.

[Sailmonkey]

The smallest tillerpilot will drive the monitor no problem. Remember the direction input is coming from the tillerpilot and the muscle is coming from the oar. when building up a system this way you only need to check the TP for the features you want (such as NEMA input for track information). Before you go in this direction try to steer the boat under power using the monitor, sometime the propwash screws too much with the oar......unless you don't wan't to steer under power and only want compass course instead of wind.

[Zingaro69]

unless you don't wan't to steer under power and only want compass course instead of wind.

Thanks SailMonkey I will try steering the boat before spending the cash. I am not sure exactly what you mean by the last bit. I am adding the tiller pilot because the monitor would not steer in no wind under power situations.

Speedo I am about to be the proud new owner of a KP44. Using a tiller pilot instead on a standard Auto-pilot is many times less expensive, and uses very very little power. The tiller pilot only has to move the servo-pendulum instead of the rudder itself so it doesn't have to strain. The power to drive the rudder comes from the oar paddle.

So I can buy the smallest system...Great. What are the advantages to buying an integrated system with my chartplotter? I only want the pilot for when there isn't enough wind to sail the boat. That being said I will be crossing the equator so expect to spend a moderate amount of time under power. Anyone?

[speedoo]

Originally Posted by Zingaro69

Speedo I am about to be the proud new owner of a KP44. Using a tiller pilot instead on a standard Auto-pilot is many times less expensive, and uses very very little power. The tiller pilot only has to move the servo-pendulum instead of the rudder itself so it doesn't have to strain. The power to drive the rudder comes from the oar paddle.

So I can buy the smallest system...Great. What are the advantages to buying an integrated system with my chartplotter? I only want the pilot for when there isn't enough wind to sail the boat. That being said I will be crossing the equator so expect to spend a moderate amount of time under power. Anyone?

Well, congratulations again. I assume you know about the KP 44 owner's site:

Peterson Cutter Website - Welcome

Which boat are you buying? I am still not getting how you will be using the tillerpilot. I guess you will be attaching it directly to the windvane, which means you won't be able to adjust it from the cockpit? Which I guess means integrating it with your chartplotter would be a great benefit.

[conachair]

I´ve used a raymarine st2000 to run an aries while motoring on my 33´ long keeled cutter with no problems. Maybe inshore you woulld benifit with having something linked to the chart plotter but offshore it might be just an added complication. But a simple one should work fine, much less wear on the autopilot if you do end up having to crank up the engine.

Edit. Ah, centre cockpit, maybe speedoo is right about having some remote control over the unit, not so easy to get to.

[DeepFrz]

There is a thread, I think on this forum, talking about protecting your tiller pilot from the elements and from loss. There were some interesting pictures of tiller pilots hooked up to wind vanes and the ways in which they were encased and secured. It seems to be a good solution. Anyway, some searching the archives should help. Good luck.

[Sailmonkey]

Originally Posted by Zingaro69

Thanks SailMonkey I will try steering the boat before spending the cash. I am not sure exactly what you mean by the last bit. I am adding the tiller pilot because the monitor would not steer in no wind under power situations.

I've sailed with the tillerpilot on the windvane when I needed to keep a specific compass heading rather than follow every little wind shift (Houston ship channel). Worked fine at higher speeds under power, but the oar tended to flop back and forth with the engine just ticking over (eaisly solved by an additional 200 rpm).

[Zingaro69]

Ok so having a little more time to think this though I think I have figured it out. Do all the people who are using a tiller pilot on their wind vane keep it attached at all times? I was envisioning using it only when under power and letting the windvane steer while sailing. Are you replacing the wind paddle with the tp permanently? I can see the advantage of using it full time as the auto-pilot to steer the compass course but will that lead to more wear and tear on the tp and require replacing sooner? Those that use a wind vane do you find that a more precise course is worth the added wear and power use?

Like everything else it seems every question just brings more to think about.

The CC issue does make sense if attached all the time but if I only use it while motoring ie. no wind then that shouldn't be an issue to go aft and adjust periodically. Am I naive to think that if there is no wind the seas won't be too rough for this?

Thanks

[Sailmonkey]

Originally Posted by Zingaro69

Ok so having a little more time to think this though I think I have figured it out. Do all the people who are using a tiller pilot on their wind vane keep it attached at all times? I was envisioning using it only when under power and letting the windvane steer while sailing. Are you replacing the wind paddle with the tp permanently? I can see the advantage of using it full time as the auto-pilot to steer the compass course but will that lead to more wear and tear on the tp and require replacing sooner? Those that use a wind vane do you find that a more precise course is worth the added wear and power use?

Like everything else it seems every question just brings more to think about.

The CC issue does make sense if attached all the time but if I only use it while motoring ie. no wind then that shouldn't be an issue to go aft and adjust periodically. Am I naive to think that if there is no wind the seas won't be too rough for this?

Thanks

If it's easy for you to move around the boat, and you don't mind walking to the stern to change course, go for it. the rest of the time you'll be on the wind anyway. I'm a big fan of KISS

[seandepagnier]

I am going to try steering my monitor with my autopilot too. The guy at scanmar thought I was crazy when I said I would use electronic wind direction sensor to drive an electric autopilot that controls a windvane, but I can do more advanced filtering in computer software this way, and also use wind speed data to point higher etc...