Auto Helms

[Dave D]

Hay every one I am new to the forum and this my first post...so please be kind.

I own a hans christian 43 and am looking to install an auto helm and am looking for opinions.

hydraulic or mechanical...brands, models...likes, dislikes?

All she has on her now is an aries.

Thanks

[zeehag]

aries is great in wind for sailing. does nothing for motoring. i have no wind vane but i do have a hydraulic auto pilot on my quadrant. will steer my heavy boat in BIIG winds safely and accurately. if i had a choice i would go with the kind i have. takes money. mine is simrad hdl2000. heavy and reliable, so far. uses very little electricity. awesome machine.
your boat is heavy, so think along those lines... autohelm isnt gonna do it for your boat, even with a heavy duty one, unless is a quadrant mounted pilot.
wheel steering units are not reliable an d do not work well in BIIIG winds or heavy seas. the boat will work better in those situations than the auto helm. i donot know who else makes hydraulic systems for steering, but i would go that way, given a choice. i am fortunate min ecame with this steering system.

[beneteau-500]

you may want to try and look at this company **** ( and before the moderators delete this i have no commercial interest what so ever in this company )**** they make auto pilots Jefa rudder and steering systems and a friend has just installed one and it works well he has a sg3 course computer with a st6002 and i must say it works well and i wish now i had put one in in fact they supply Garmin auto pilot drives and they re-brand them as Garmin and buying this drive my friend saved about 500 euros instead of buying garmin