How to choose a tiller pilot?

[malbow]

Does anyone have experience with Raymarine ST2000 or Simrad TP32 on a heavy displacement yacht? my Alden-designed timber cutter displaces just over 9 tonnes. my worry is the pilot may wear out very quickly.



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[boatman61]

Like the Raymarine ST2000...
Don't like Simrad...
But they're pretty much the same principle..
Maybe look into these...

Raymarine Home > Marine Products > Raymarine Autopilots > Evolution Autopilot > Evolution Packages

EV-100 Tiller

EV-1

• ACU-100
• p70 Control Head
• Tiller Drive
• Evolution Cabling Kit

Tiller Drive


The Raymarine EV-100 Tiller Pilots are perfect for large tiller steered yachts up to 6,000kg (13,200 lbs) displacement.

The tiller drive unit is compact and unobtrusive and used by some of the world's top single-handed sailors!

[Mike OReilly]

I use a Raymarine SPX-5GP tiller pilot on our 15 ton (30,000#) full-keeler. It is rated for up to 16,000#, but so far has done OK as long as we only use it in calm conditions. Basically, we use it when motoring or with very light winds (and no seas) that are too low for the windvane. I would not use it in taxing conditions.

[centerline]

Originally Posted by malbow

Does anyone have experience with Raymarine ST2000 or Simrad TP32 on a heavy displacement yacht? my Alden-designed timber cutter displaces just over 9 tonnes. my worry is the pilot may wear out very quickly.



Sent from my iPad using Cruisers Sailing Forum

I have the ST2000... the problem isnt whether the tillerpilot will wear out quickly, but whether your rudder is balanced enough on that size of boat to make the ST2000 a candidate for the task.

the ST2000 is a strong unit but it is designed for lighter displacement boats which usually never have a heavy helm when sailed correctly.
it has about an 80lb push/pull limit, but as with anything, the lighter the task, the longer it will last.

the unit connects to the tiller at 18" from the rudder shaft pivot. and it only has about 4.5" of travel either way from center (8-9" port to starboard)

how hard is it to control the rudder at that point on the tiller?

the other thing to consider, as they did when they designed the unit, is the yaw time of the boat
a heavier boat in waves will yaw slower than a light boat.
this is adjustable to some extent with a lighter boat with quicker yaw times but on a heavy boat that is slower, the unit may not be able to be adjusted enough.

and then it depends on how you are going to use the unit...are you trying to control the boat in heavy seas, or just motoring across a flat calm passage...

on a motor passage, in light to choppy conditions, i wouldnt have a concern at all as to whether or not it would work, but when the seas get a bit stronger the concerns may change.

so.. if you have a light helm, it would be worth a try for the cost difference between it and the "proper" sized unit.
and if you do try the ST2000 over the TP32 unit, you will quickly get most of your money back if you decide it doesnt work on your boat, as they sell quickly... so it will be a 50-75 dollar gamble just to see if it works