I bought one, and it's installed but I'm still tied to the dock.
The reviews were good.
I like that it is stand-alone - not tied into anything else.
Install was no prob..straightforward

 

Installed one in 2003. Reliable, trustworthy piece of gear. Simple design, no whistles and bells. The motor is actually a Bosch windshield wiper motor. That AP has been on since Tahiti, used mostly for motoring as I have a Monitor windvane. I sent the unit back in 2010 for some mother board upgrades. The newer owners were easy to work with, promptly did the work requested and sent it back to me as promised. Enjoy! You still need to balance out your boat under sail to make this unit work effectively. You will find you don't need to adjust the controls much with a well trimmed sail plan. Enjoy. Any other questions let me know.

 

Had one, nothing but troubles, sent it back.

 

Dave on SV Soggy Paws has considerable experience with the CPT.

S/V Soggy Paws - St. Francis 44 - Steering Systems

 

We have one but mainly use a Monitor with the CPT for motoring. It is a good unit and I like its simplicity. Nice to phone the company and talk to the people who make and repair them.

 

You can buy a new unit for $1,900 and a complete spare, less the mounting hardware for under $1,500. So you get an AP and a spare for $3,400.

I see they have recently come out with a new model. Now there are no controls on the motor box, and the engagement is now “point and shoot”. More like an old Autohelm control box. I’m considering getting this new unit to replace my old one.

I have two older units I bought online used. One in service and one spare.

We have a steel boat and the magnetic distortion can be a bit of a challange but should not be nearly as bad on a plastic boat. With the distortion the CPT heading does not match the compass or the GPS. You have to look at the drive wheel spin, hold the boat on course, and adjust the control heading knob while rubbing your belly. That why I’m thinking of getting a new unit, the initial heading alignment would be much simpler. But then I’d have 2 spares.

 

Thank you for the replies.

 

I'm shopping around too but haven't seen many options outside the EV100. I know Drake Paragon on youtube uses a CPT on his Westsail 42. He loves it.

 

The big failure point is the motor drive on the Raymarine Wheel Pilot. Depending on the force required to steer your boat under sail, the Raymarine Pilot may not be able to handle it. My boat's helm is especially heavy and more so as speed increases under sail with its unbalanced barn door rudder The Raymarine pilot could not handle the boat under sail except at very slow speeds and light winds. The pilot would click off giving a motor over load signal. Worked great under power running continuously for periods as long as 36 straight hours.

A fin keel boat with semi balanced rudder or a boat that takes relatively light force to steer under most conditions would probably work just fine. Seem to remember reading about people crossing oceans with a Raymarine Wheel Pilot, certainly something it wasn't designed to handle. Believe the electronics on the Raymarine Pilot are way better than the CPT giving a lot more ability to set it up for varying conditions.

The CPT, at least the non current model, are dinosaurs (meaning they are more than 5 years old) electronically. Will keep a boat on course but little way to optimize for conditions if I read their literature properly. What they have in spades is power to turn the wheel. Some quite large boats have used them for long passages. If you could just combine the Raymarine electronics with the CPT electric drive you'd have the perfect simple to install A/P. The new version of the CPT supposedly has upgraded the electronics which might make them wheel pilot of choice. In any case, if you have a heavy helm, the CPT will probably be the wheel pilot that you'll need.