Which Tiller Pilot

[tartansailor]

Having succumbed to weakness, I wish to add a tiller pilot to my CD-25 and wish to choose between:
Simrad TP 10
or
Raymarine ST1000
More interested in reliability and durability rather than cost.
Any other recommendations?
Thanks in advance,
Dick

[Sea Hunt Video]

Hello Dick:

In my search for a Cape Dory 25D, several, perhaps many, had a Raymarine autopilot. Most had the ST2000. A few had the ST1000. From my recollection, the anecdotal information was that the ST1000 was not powerful enough to handle the CD 25D.

I know your CD 25 is a little less weight and ballast than the CD 25D but, if it were me, I would opt for the ST2000 - more robust.

The above comes to you from a guy who has yet to accept delivery of his new-to-him Cape Dory 25D and has NEVER actually used an autopilot.

[trapper]

After much looking, advise from the board, and reading, I bought the st2000 for my 25D. Many suggested that I purchase a tiller pilot which had what appeared to be an over rated weight for my boat. Last New Years I learned first hand why!

Although the offending unit was not a tiller pilot but an autopilot on a 40' sailboat, I think the experience transfers. We were 30 miles off Merritt Island the wind was pretty steady at 25 and the 40' sloop was clipping along. It was 2 am. The wind shifted and I needed to alter course. The autopilot would have none of it! It took hold of the helm and would not turn lose. I woke the caption and crew. They had to remove the wheel and hammer the autopilot off. It was exciting. Add to that, we had no autopilot the rest of the trip.

I sail Saga on a lake and I don't think I would use the tiller pilot on a double reef day. That said, we plan to take her to the coast at some point. Currents, seas and high winds would make short work of a tiler pilot rated for her weight. With an over rated tiller pilot, I hope it will last her many years and not leave us without one in the middle of a long trip.

[sgbernd]

I just purchased a replacement RayMarine ST2000+. My first one lasted 9 years and 600+hrs of actual use. It is stored below decks and got tired, working less well until it couldn't hold course in anything but calm water and mild conditions (we don't have too much of that in these parts).

I would have hoped for more life but the fact that I purchased an identical replacement means either I am not too unhappy or the cost of replacing wiring and connecting different hardware makes me hesitant about switching brands.

To Raymarine's credit, they do support the product, however, the cost of any repair is $300 flat rate (regardless the failure) while the cost of a new one is a bit less than $600 so it may not make sense to fix them when they break.

I cannot comment on the competetion. I'd be interested to hear how many hours the Simrads run before failure.

Steve

[Bill Goldsmith]

I had an ST2000 on my CD27 and it was more than up to the task.

The only caveat I would mention is that the ST2000 is vulnerable to abuse, such as being dropped or having something heavy thrown on top of it in the locker. Then you're looking at the flat repair fee mentioned above.

This is not really a criticism of the unit, just an achilles heel of the design. It is a precision instrument, what with a built-in compass and sensors, etc.

It couldn't hurt to store it in a stout box lined or form fitted with foam.

[sgbernd]

I took it apart and found;

1) the motor has plenty of power to push but not to pull even with the belt disconnected. This is the motor, not the drive. The controller applies the same voltage (reverse polarity) in both push and pull, so I suspect the brushes in the DC motor or a bearing in the gear head are failing.
2) The thrust bearing and lubrication gasket disintegrated. I removed the pieces.
3) Excess tolerance in the drive so the gear lash is about 5mm. This makes it clunk and lurch when it goes from push to pull and probably isn't too good on the tiller and rudder.

To it's credit, it died gracefully rather than suddenly.

sgb

[Bill Goldsmith]

I took it apart and found;

1) the motor has plenty of power to push but not to pull even with the belt disconnected. This is the motor, not the drive. The controller applies the same voltage (reverse polarity) in both push and pull, so I suspect the brushes in the DC motor or a bearing in the gear head are failing.
2) The thrust bearing and lubrication gasket disintegrated. I removed the pieces.
3) Excess tolerance in the drive so the gear lash is about 5mm. This makes it clunk and lurch when it goes from push to pull and probably isn't too good on the tiller and rudder.

To it's credit, it died gracefully rather than suddenly.

sgb

OK, please don't think I was implying you had abused yours. Mine was a separate thought grounded in separate experience (you can probably guess what that experience was...)

[tartansailor]

Simrad TP 22 based on size, and consensus of a majority of responders elsewhere.

Dick

[mattlydon]

and don't get the 10, go for the middle unit - you will appreciate being able connect it to your gps.

i have had tons of leakage problems woth raymarine products - wouldnt recommend them to my worst enemy, and various posts on the web back me up on that.

i recently purchased the tp32 for my CD28, and am very pleased with the unit.

matt