Tiller Pilot Opinions?

[Nick Oppermann]

I'd like to add a tiller pilot to my CD28 cockpit this summer. Any pro and con experience would be welcome.



nicopp@usol.com

[len]

nick

it will be great for motoring under calm conditions but unlikely to very good sailing - unlike windvanes, whose performance improves as the wind increases, electric autopilots performance worsens as the wind increases

len



md.frel@nwh.org

[Jim Stull]

I'd like to add a tiller pilot to my CD28 cockpit this summer. Any pro and con experience would be welcome.

We use a tiller pilot on our CD25. Like it a lot. We have motor sailed hour after hour in reasonable conditions with the unit in control. My mind tends to wander while trying to hold a course. The Tiller pilot hasn't this problem. As len mentions, we kick it off as soon as things get rough. It reacts well but cannot anticipate what needs to be done in bad conditions. You will want to be personally in control of the tiller then.
If you decide to add a tiller pilot, think carefully where you will add the attachment point to the boat. Some installations are more intrusive than need be.
We plan on adding a tiller pilot to our CD27 sometime during the rebuild.
Jim



jtstull@earthlink.net

[Brian]

I'd like to add a tiller pilot to my CD28 cockpit this summer. Any pro and con experience would be welcome.

We installed a Raytheon in our CD 28 that works reasonably well-calm weather. We used it on a trip from Boston to the Bahamas and down to Canada. Two years and no problems. I have the flux gate mounted in the cabinet under the sink in the head. It interfaces with our GPS and on those long windless jaunts across MA bay it's really nice.



pedbed@aol.com

[Jay Hubbard]

I'd like to add a tiller pilot to my CD28 cockpit this summer. Any pro and con experience would be welcome.

Tiller Pilots can be great. "Fiddlers Green" is equipped with a Navico TP5500. (now Simrad) This model has a maximum thrust of about 143 lbs which is much more that a CD 28 really needs. By keeping the boat well balanced when under sail this pilot hardly works at all.

Under power only - the pilot will hold almost any course unless we are powering into a close chop of 4 ft or more or if the wind is really slowing us down i.e. less than 3.5 knots. Running before the wind under power only the TP is over worked but adding a little head sail to hold the bow steady greatly improves it.

Under sail with course set by the Pilot or GPS: Will hold course with winds up to about 20 knots but the stronger and more variable the wind the more you have to adjust the sails. The trick is to keep the rig well balanced and reduce sail early so that the helm does need a lot of action.

Full & by the Wind --> Under sail with course set by mast head wind vane . This allows to select a course that is "X" degrees from the true wind. Once the coarse is selected, you can trim the sails for maximum speed and balance. Normally when going to windward closed hauled the course would be a few degrees off of what I might try steer manually. It is dangerous to try a steer a course much more that 165 % off of the wind because of the danger of a jibe. When running, if the boat is yawing a great deal increasing rudder gain (which applies larger helm corrections ) will help, especially when quartering seas are present. With the vane you can pretty much set the pilot to maintain a course that you would probably steer if you weren’t distracted by anything.

If you decide to buy a tiller pilot make sure it has adjustable gain. I understand some do not. and that it has a "Data Interface" which will allow you connect a GPS, Loran or Wind vane in the future. It may be a better helmsman than some but its almost guaranteed to leave you behind if you go over board. Most of us who use them have some kind of rig we have contrived that will disengage the pilot and shut down the engine if we go over the side or in an emergency.

jhh



mailbox1@worldnet.att.net

[Lyn Heiges]

Dear Nick,

I have a 1981 CD28 #307 with a Navico TP300CX autopilot installed which I really love. It is tied into the Garmin GPSMAP 225 and when you put the waypoints in, it "drives" the boat! Navico was bought out by Simrad last summer and they now call this the model TP30. Basically identical. I also have the remote control CP600 which has sockets mounted in the main salon as well as out in the cockpit. This lets you sit on the bridge deck/companionway steer the course when you need or if you're cooking something on the stove. The TP300CX is rated for 10,000# which is why I chose it. I did have an Autohelm (pre-Raytheon) ST1000 which was lighter rated and only had the internal compass or use of a windvane for steering. I recently installed it on a friend's CD27 and it works well on the lighter boat. I have found that the TP300CX has sufficient choices of sea-state and damping to make it very good in most conditions. As you can tell, I would recommend it to you for consideration. BOAT/US sells it, but Simrad dropped West Marine for some reason according to a local manager. West did sell the Navico. It is a "piece of cake" to install and you will wonder how you survived before you bought it!

Good Luck and if I can give you measurements, I will be glad to.

Lyn Heiges
CD 28 MOON CHILD
St. Pete Beach, FL

I'd like to add a tiller pilot to my CD28 cockpit this summer. Any pro and con experience would be welcome.

LynHeiges@cs.com