[christian.hess]

because of that you can get a couple of them(st3000, 4000) for cheap and use till they bust

thats kind of my plan until I get my massive cetec benmar pilot working again.

cpt pilots can sometimes be found too, the older ones have some soldering issues that can be fixed...

I search ebay all the time for pilots and they sometimes can be had for a song...of course with electronics you buy as is...

 

[christian.hess]

true but I guess the op wants something as a backup, or a backup of a backup...of course I could recomend get something new...or pricey but I didnt get that from the ops post

of course new is always good, but sometimes its either NOT needed or wanted

my vote is too for a cetec benmar autopilot based on those that use them, however it would require an installation below decks that even if simple is more than what the op wasked about

or get a new cpt(they are the budget wheel pilots of today however enjoy quite a nice reputation)

wiuthot assuming too much, it sounded like the op wants a similar wheel pilot to go in place of what he has now...meaning as simple a swap as possible

 

[christian.hess]

This guy on ebay does not list what he has (Raymarine), but he has all the help you will need fixing what you have and new parts and full systems. He is very professional and dependable. He was recommended by others here on SN and I highly recommend him. eBay Feedback Profile for kodiakjack99

good stuff

 

[christian.hess]

ziiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiing!!!!

 

[christian.hess]

Although our primary auto-pilot is a Robertson AP, as a back-up we have an inexpensive Ray-Marine ST2000 Tiller Pilot that attaches to the wheel. For this we have a bracket that attaches to the wheel hub and the rim. Approximately 2/3rds of the distance between the hub and the rim--roughly level with the top of the seats in the cockpit--is a pin that is free to rotate with a small transverse hole that will accept the pin from the tiller-pilot. The stock length of the push-rod on the Pilot is about 2' but you can purchase extensions, if necessary. This arrangement will give our wheel about a 1/4 turn in each direction which, for our boat, is more than enough to maintain a steady course under most conditions. The tiller pilot is entirely self contained and merely needs power and has more than enough thrust to handle our boat given the advantage of the wheel.

FWIW...

pics of your setup? what is lock to lock on your steering system turn wise?

thanks

 

[christian.hess]

good stuff, but again what is lock to lock on youre steering system?

I think this is great for quick turn wheel systems say, 1.5 to 2 turns.

Mine is 1.75 turns...

thanks again hylyte

 

[christian.hess]

yup

good stuff...

where have you used your system? what kind of conditions? I know my old tiller pilot on a outboard hung rudder would get overloaded all the time in certain conditions...

downwind it was decent but anything upwnind or forward of the beam it was a no go in any seas...and wind over 15knots...and it was an easily balanced boat sail wise...

it would often go max throw on the arm and beep like crazy as the boat was getting hit by the waves...

my question is of course knowing what your boat had wheel turn wise and maybe where and how you use it more than if it works or not...which obviously it does!

in any case thanks for the pics...

hijack over jajaja

op Id get some backup of backups of backups buying cheap st3000,4000 pilots and the like since you can cannibalise parts and have redundancy in the systems

I briefly used a 4000 on my old boat an islander 34...I wish I would of ripped it off and kept it instead of selling it with the boat...it was a great cheap wheel pilot for sub 20knot weather.