auto helms

[auriga]

Hi

Im in the market for an auto helm (electric version) just wondering what everyone else is using and any recommendations etc

thanks
dan

[Miker]

I have an inherited and earlier version of this. http://www.whitworths.com.au/main_itemd ... lutePage=1

It's not too bad, although I've only tried it a couple of times to try and learn how to use it's additional, but limited features like auto tack. Mine doesn't have the LCD screen, it's got on/off, port 10 deg, stb 10deg, port 1 deg and stbd 1 deg and that's it. What I have found is that they will heave you to if you're sailing close hauled into the wind because they can't adjust qickly enough to the small shifts required.

On the beam, broad and downwind they're pretty good and will allow you to do your stuff without worrying too much.

Last Thursday I had "George" on whilst on the way back to Gladesville under sail with a very light NW breeze near Spectacle Island. I was down below washing my plate and cup in preparation for stowing and mooring when the Water Police pulled along side thinking the boat had been abandoned..... So the old ones work OK in most situations, the newer versions of tiller pilots will have connections to GPS and digital read outs.

Michael,

[Tales]

Dan,
We have been using an old Tillerpilot 1500 which came with the boat.
Simrad sent me a handbook 'scanned from stone tablets' they said - it is so old!
No fancy features (although there was a windvane attachment as an option which would have been handy).

Sail trim is very important. This from the manual:-

When sailing under automatic pilot is is strongly recommended to pay very careful attentetion to sail trim. If your yacht is sailing out of balance in gusting conditons she may luff up suddenly to windward. When sailing manually, the helmsman automatically counteracts this by applying weather helm. An automatic pilot cannot forecast when weather helm is required but will allow the vessel to luff up until sufficient helm is applied to set a new state of balance or for as long as incereased weather helm is required.
This is usually overcome by not sailing the vessel over-canvassed and by reducing the area of the mainsail more that you would expect to when helming manually.

Cheers,
Tom

[Dolphin]

Dan,
I've got an ST1000 Autohelm, now superceded by the ST2000. It's Interfaced to the ST50 wind inst bus, (the yellow wire) and it uses the wind instruments as the vane. If the wind changes more than 20 degrees it beeps fast.
To activate it put it into auto and then press auto and standby together, a "W" comes up in the window to tell you that you are in wind mode. My display gave up the ghost a long time ago. But you don't need it really.
For tacking press +10 and +1 together and it will tack to Stbd 100 degrees. Great if your shorthanded and you need to nip forward to do something.
Some people say that they can steer better than a person but I don't believe that. Mine used to go straight for about 20 minutes and then suddenly do a dogleg of about 10 degrees left and right. I've mainly used mine under motor and it saves a lot of boredom. You do still have to keep a good look out and when single handed I used to wear a harness because I couldn't see anywhere in the manual how it was coming back for you if you fell overboard.
They really are a great device, even if you get a very basic one.
Mine is in the sun and although they say its ok, that may have killed the display. I also broke the toothed drive belt once for some unknown reason. The shaft gets a build up of salt on it that can chew out the seals and let moisture into the unit.
Hope it helps.

Greg
Felicite.

[robf]

Hi Dan

I inherited an old ST1000 autohelm that I've had cause to use a number of times when short-handed/bored, both offshore and in sheltered Pittwater, under sail and under motor. I've found that it "learnes" the motion of the seaway and ends up steering better than I would under the same circumstances (as I lose concentration and it doesn't!). You need to keep an eye on the current drain from the battery - the harder it works the more it will draw. I've read somewhere to expect an average draw of 2 amps in open ocean, less in enclosed waters. As a safeguard, it would be best to run it off the auxiliary battery only if you rely on a battery to start your motor (my Drofin diesel is not easy to pull start!).

Cheers and fair sailing!

Rob
Isabella II
Pittwater

[scott]

I've just spent a couple of days in Jervis Bay, seeing what I can change on Lapse of Reason, fix or just sitting looking at the scenery. Mostly sitting around to be honest. But I did get out for a sail and gave my ST1000 a good run.

I've not used one before and revelled in my new found freedom of being able to head down a made a cup of tea, heat up some lunch or just sit around enjoying the view. Wind was 5-10kts, with some stronger gusts, but nothing awkward. I was impressed at how in the gusts and the boat took on a few more degrees of lean, the pilot would round us up and then go about it's business again. In the end I just let it go to see what would happen in all gusts and it was the same result each time.

As mentioned previously, I can see how the sail trim would chew the battery up. I steered manually while adjusting the trim to have the least amount of pull on the tiller and then set the pilot to auto. It still needed to work, but no where near as hard.

Does anyone have any comment as to the how the ST2000 compares? I guess the same, just for a larger boat?

As a result of my experience with the 1000, I have got rid of my old auto pilot (my daughter) and will use the ST1000 from now on.

Scott.

[fullandby]

Hello Dan,

I have been using an Autohelm ST2000 for the past few months. I previously had an ST1000 which came with the boat when I bought it a year ago. The 1000 broke ( thrust bearing) and they wanted $ 350 to fix it. So I bought an ST2000, it has some better features than the 1000 - recirculating ball thrust mechanism, faster response and more powerful. It is also more expensive
The ST 2000 is excellent. It can move the tiller faster than the 1000 so corrects the course faster. Both have adequate power for a Top Hat. I just set the sails for maximum speed and hand over to the autohelm. It has no trouble on any point of sailing but I only sail it it Moreton Bay. The only minor problem is the autotack feature, it doesnt have enough speed to stop the boat rounding up after a tack, so I put it onto manual for a while after a tack.
I bought one of their early models 20 years ago and it still works, but it hasn't got enough tiller travel for the Top Hat.

Bart