Autohelm's

[Shaun]

From: GosfordPhil1 (Original Message) Sent: 26/05/2005 7:39 AM
Can anyone provide info on what type of autohelm works well on a tophat. Run an outboard so power consumption is a big thing. Had a look at the raymarine tiller pilot at local chandler. But found simrad model cheaper on internet. and looking at specs is more powerfull and uses less power than raymarine Any info would help



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Recommend Message 2 of 7 in Discussion

From: geoff Sent: 27/05/2005 5:40 PM
PHIL
myself and two other friends have purchased the simrad tp 10 over
the last two and a half years.
NONE OF US HAVE BEEN HAPPY WITH THEM. One has been back to manufacturer
twice and still makes horrible grinding noise inside as push rod moves in
and out. Mine has just started doing this also,its about 1 year old. I
recenly did a trip to wilsons promontry so had lots of time to play with
settings etc,and still cant get it to steer a straight coarse {even having
the boat so balanced that i fix a piece of shock cord to tiller and she
steers a straight coarse for hours} All our boats are different displacement
heavy medium and light and they are the same on all. One other thing they do
is every now and then they loose the plot and just veer off at about 30
degrease for no reason at all.

geoff
PS my old one which died of old age was a very old autohelm 1000 with a
compass dial on the top that you set to coarse you wanted to steer. IT
WAS BRILLIANT,NEVER MISSED A BEAT ROUGH OR CALM they dont make them like
they use to!!




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Recommend Message 3 of 7 in Discussion

From: GosfordPhil1 Sent: 28/05/2005 4:22 AM
Thanks geoff
Will stick with raymarine. Unfortunatly the st1000 limit on boat displacement is 3000kg. I believe the top hat has about 2700gk displacement unloaded so i feel this might be pushing it. The st2000 will cost about $350 more but has a max load limit of 4500kg. The plan is as the unit is not working to max limit, the power cosumption will be less and longevity of unit will be greater. thanks for your info on the simrad i will avoid
Phil

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Recommend Message 4 of 7 in Discussion

From: BigLofty4 Sent: 29/05/2005 5:29 PM
Phil, Not sure if this will be news or of use, but here it is. I have an ST2000 Tiller Plot, made by Raytheon Electronics which suggests it is an older model. It could be argued that it is overkill for a Top Hat, but it came with the boat, so I'm not complaining. The previous owner reckoned it worked really well, and he was running it off a standard 12v battery. After having some electrical work done, it stopped working, but just a couple of weeks ago, a friend (who is very good with electronics) got it going, and it worked well on the mooring. I hope to give it a thorough test this week, but my friend does not think I will have power problems. I have a small solar panel that trickle charges the battery. Something you should check is how easy it is to get your ST1000 or 2000 to communicate with other instruments such as a wind indicator or GPS, if you want to sail by the wind or a GPS course. I have a Navman Wind 3100 which is supposed to accept and output the NMEA protocol. However, we have yet to get my ST2000 and the WIND3100 talking to each other, and are still investigating. If any of this is of interest, I can keep you posted on developments.
Cheers
Cyril


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Recommend Message 5 of 7 in Discussion

From: GosfordPhil1 Sent: 29/05/2005 8:25 PM
Cyril
Thanks for the info it is a great help. Both units have NMEA inputs and seatalk that i believe allows intergration with other systems. At this stage i have a handheld gps that i will be using. Sounds like the raymarine unit is the better unit so will have to part with the extra $$$. Initally will use independantly and adjust course on autohelm manually. I agree the st2000 may be overkill but the st1000 will be working harder on the top hat due to its displacement. Am looking at istalling a 20w/1.1amp solar panel connected to a 100amp agm battery that allows 40% amp drain prior to affecting voltage. At a max of 1.5amp/hr unit usage this should give a continous operation time of 26hrs + solar panel input. In addition my outboard alternator has an output of 5amps so for every hr run i get 3 autohelm hours. With my longest continous trip likely to be about 24hrs i should have plenty of power in reserve. Thanks again
Phil

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Recommend Message 6 of 7 in Discussion

From: BigLofty4 Sent: 31/05/2005 3:32 AM
Phil, I presented your energy budget ot my electronics mate, and he did some "back of the envelope" calculations which turn out not to be not too different from yours. His remarks follow:

Don't forget an energy budget for nav lights, cabin lights etc. If you are using a tricolour, then 10 watts (0.8 amps), or 20 or 30 depending on how your side and stern lights are arranged; and a few hours of fluro lights.

The 1.5 amps for the ST2000 is the worst case. So, for a winter sail, mild conditions:-

Night Nav lights 0.8 x 14 hours 11 a/h
Night Autohelm 0.8 x 14 11
Night 16watts cabin 1.4 x 2 2.8
Day Autohelm 0.8 x 10 8
Radio watch 0.25 x 24 6
====== 38.8 a/h

You'll need a voltage regulator for the solar panal so that the battery doesn't get overcharged (especially AGM batteries), and check that the outboard motor has been regulated properly.

Also, the solar panel won't produce much more than 5/6 watts in winter, especially since it won't be at anything like the ideal angle or orientation, and any shadows cast across a part of the cell (from the rig) will impact on performance. The panel would be good to keep your battery topped up while on the mooring (they self-discharge).

I hope this is of use to you. In any event, let's know how you go. Sail safely.
Cyril



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Recommend Message 7 of 7 in Discussion

From: GosfordPhil1 Sent: 1/06/2005 5:10 AM
Cyril
thanks for your assistance. Have a small battery on board for aux so 100 amp will be for helm only. Am looking at 35w 1.4amp flexable panel so it can be moved around deck for best light. Cost of setup has increased so hoping tax return will be kind.
Thanks
Phil