tophatyachts.com

Hiya,
Has anyone made any wet weather gear for their tiller pilot? wondering if so if you have any good ideas on it....what worked & what didnt!
Last thing id want to happen is the autopilot gets drowned offshore, & have to hand steer home.
cheers
shaun

Hello Shaun,

I wrap mine in glad wrap. It seems to work pretty well. I keep a roll on the boat.

Cheers,

Bart

hi shaun is it an auto helm ?? if so i have had mine apart to fix the gear attached to the electric motor was spinning on the shaft all fixed now but when i had it apart it seemed to be sealed by rubber gaskets all round so dont know that water would be an issue or maybe im just to trusting of the design ? thoughts and opinions of the integrity of this design when subjected to water would be much appreaciated cheers dan

hi Dan
my altopilot has gearing problem too.
is it a big job to repair it ?or something simple as screws losen inside?
8philip8

hi phillip it is simple really without knowing what symptoms its displaying its a little harder , for example with mine the shaft would stop but i could still hear the elec motor going so i assumed it was one of the toothed rubber belts ,but thought best to check it with the covers off [ remoed all screws and the top cover with the buttons on it the electronics and motor drive will stay in th bottom half ] with the power conected it was clear that the shaft of the elec motor was spinning inside the gear , removed motor then removed gear cleaned shaft and inside of gear and using locktite bearing reataining compound put back together and its been sweet ever since so yea i guess the long and short of it is pull it down and power it up good luck cheers dan

thanks dan
I'll have a go today
can I use wd40 or something alike product?
8philip8

Hello Shaun and Dan,

Regarding the sealing of an autohelm, I think the sealing around the two halves of the casing is ok, but I dont trust the shaft seal. The only way I can think of to keep water away from this is to water proof the casing and shaft with glad wrap. It may interfere with cooling, but so far no problems.

Cheers,

Bart

hi phillip the point of the locktite is to secure the gear to the shaft as the shaft was spinning inside the gear so wd 40 would not work , if you have any questions i am happy to try to help just give me a call if you get stuck cheers dan 0424803929

When my previous Simrad TP10 died I pulled it apart and saw evidence of leakage around the pushbuttons.

I fitted a very simple cover to the new one: some strong-ish clear plastic around the body which covered the pushbuttons and LED's and extended out a bit past the shaft gland. I secure it with insulation tape and it works fine. I replace it when it gets too funky to see the LED's. It's also good becasue it vents freely and avoids humidity build-up inside (in my cycling days I was aware of people sealing their bike computers with Gladwrap, only to find an even higher mortality rate due to any tiny bit of trapped moisture).

lockie

hi dan
this photo shows the retaining rings to hold the narrow belt on the gears
hope it works
the gear cost about $10. if it works ,it'll save me $700
Sylph
8philip8