I am passing this on from Brendan
Brendan Busch ToSteve Katzman CCDonald Carroll I use an old Navico on
the 27. It works fine for milder weather, but can't be trusted in 25
knots of breeze with the kite up. It has about a 50% success rate at
getting me through jibes in big wind without crashing. It can drive
the boat most of the way home from Stockton (motoring or light wind)
on a couple small hobby batteries. Navico was bought years ago by
Simrad, I believe.
I use a Simrad TP32 on my Express 37. It is a fine unit, but my
understanding is that Simrad is now done making tillerpilots, which,
if true, doesn't bode well for support and parts in the future. As it
is, I have been unable to procure a hand-held remote (the HR22) for
the TP32, as they are no longer in production.
Autohelm / Raymarine units, unfortunately, are not very reliable.
Will Paxton uses a bungee setup and swears it works well.
I think a tiller pilot is fine for an E27--below deck is a huge can
of worms, and severly limits your steering angles. That said, I
really want a below-deck autopilot on the 37.
--brendan
:: I have the X5 and purchased it because the gyro, which I
:: wanted for down wind ocean swells. Plus, you can easily
:: plug in a sensor for a hand held remote. Once in while
:: the main display registers "no signal" which I solve by
:: pressing "auto" again.
::
:: A few other single handed expresses also have the X5.
::
:: Contact me via the roster if you want to talk.
::
:: Joe
::
:: :: Hello group!
:: ::
:: :: Great to see you all at the 3BF.
:: ::
:: :: I've been thinking about adding an electronic
::
:: :: autopilot to "Summer Palace #85" to replace
::
:: :: the bungee.
:: ::
:: :: Does anyone have recommendations/experience?
:: ::
:: :: Should I consider a wind integrated system?
::
:: :: Is the Raymarine ST 1000 tillerpilot enough?
::
:: :: Should I consider the RM X5?
:: ::
:: :: I'm thinking mostly for in the bay single handing,
::
:: :: maybe Farallones or Half Moon Bay etc...
:: ::
:: :: I appreciate your insights!
:: ::
:: :: Thanks
:: ::
:: :: Wolfgang
