RIP Virgin

[Tales]

Congratulations Peter!

Negotiating the Rip is no small achievement. We have also found that it pays to stick to the ORCV guidelines.

Regarding the Autohelm, the 2000 is a better unit, utilizing a ball screw actuator instead of just a screw thread on the 1000.
Neither version unfortunately has cutouts at the end of travel and this is where the trouble starts with overloading. Philip has looked into this and a fix is possible but fiddly.
We used a 2000 on Tales for 10 years (5000 miles) without issue and have now used it on Boomaroo (S&S34) for 4 years. It got a pretty savage work out between Coff's Harbor and Camden Haven (Hi Shaun!) and I subsequently replaced the bearings and outer bearing housing as the noise became irritating. A squirt of Lanox in the plug/socket now and then keeps the electrical connection reliable. We also carry a spare 2000 with us.

Sail trim is critical however no matter what type of self steering is in use. If it's hard to hand steer, the self steering will not cope.

Good luck with your next foray!

Tom