Conference unifix::sailing

To quote from my favorite consumer magazine -- Practical Sailor:

Both the Autohelm 800 and the Navico 1600 are a "reasonable choice for 
[a] pocket cruiser with limited battery charging capability". Both are 
"fair" upwind and "good" downwind. The Autohelm uses less battery power 
and has a greater maximum thrust. PS also found that the Autohelm 1000 
has "superior steering ability" and recommends it for 25' to 29' boats.

We have had an [old design] Autohelm 2000 since 1982 and have found it 
quite satisfactory. It steers well upwind and down in up to gale force 
winds. (Since buying a Monitor wind vane, we use the Autohelm only in 
light or no wind conditions as the Monitor is even better and uses no 
electrical power.) For short-handed cruising, I believe that 
self-steering is essential. Go for it!

Alan

    As one who has an Autohelm 1000, I would rate it's performance as very
    good. It has worked in the rain, doesn't interfere with the Loran, and
    steers a course within 1-2 degrees (much better than I can do by hand).
    It is so accurate that when we get in low visbility situations we use
    it since it can steer the more reliable course. 
    
    It really does prevent fights between the admiral and I, as who
    has to take a turn on the tiller on long passages.
    
    The only problem we have is that we don't have any power generation on
    board. Running night lights, and the autohelm will drain a 105 Amp
    hr (Group 29) battery right down in about 12 hrs. As far as we can
    figure, it draws something like 3 amps when its moving.
    
    The only thing I would caution you on is think about your power
    budget. The Autohelm and the Navico Tillerpilot both are very power
    hungry.
    
    /jim

    I have an Autohelm 800 on C&C 27.  It's performance is excellant.
     One of the reasons that I chose it is that it can be mounted on
    either side of the cockpit.  There is a small screw in the bottomof
    the unit that is turned when mounting it on the port side of the
    boat.  This is an important feature if you have seat lockers on
    the starboard side.
    
    The 800 can also interface with a dodger, loran or windvane.  I
    don't believe that the 1000 could do the dodger or loran
    

    re -.1
    Interface with a dodger?!
      

    DODGER: I GUESS I'VE CREATED A SECOND DEFINITION.  A HAND HELD REMOTE
    UNIT (SAME BUTTONS AS THE MAIN UNIT) THAT LETS YOU STEER THE BOAT.
    YOU CAN USE IT TO "DODGE" OBSTICLES.
    

re power consumption: The power consumption of an Autohelm may not be as
high as estimated in .2 above. The stall current for the Autohelm 800 as
measured by Practical Sailor was 3.0 amps. If you have separate
navigation lights (two bow and one stern), they will typically total
about 60 watts, or 40 amp-hrs for eight hours of use. The usable
capacity of a battery is usually much less than its rated capacity --
maybe as little as 50% in some conditions. Power consumption is one of
several reasons we use a masthead tricolor light with a single 25 watt
bulb. We once used our Autohelm 2000 for 24 hours in near gale conditions,
the tricolor all night, the loran every four hours for a few minutes,
and were still able to start our not too easy starting diesel, all with
one 105 amp-hr battery. 

The windvane option for Autohelms is reported to be not very good. 

Alan

    Nigel Baker - BRISTOL.
    
    I have used an AUTOHELM 1000 for the last two years on a 22ft motor-
    sailer, (the tiller half of the rig), and find it great.
    
    Points to watch for:
    
    1. The "hole" around the L.E.D. can let in water. I used clear bath
       sealant to fix it.
    
    2. Dont put a remote radio speaker in the cockpit near the flux-gate
       compass of the unit as I first tried !! The magnet of the speaker
       causes the autohelm to go into a world of its own. Obviourearly.
    
    I do a fair bit of single handed sailing and so would recomend the
    unit to anyone, its like having a crew that doesn't answer back.
    
    p.s. I sail out of Portland harbour DORSET. Anyone elsel that area?

    I installed an Autohelm 4000 aboard my boat this summer.  The only
    negative to report is that it was very sensitive to spikes created
    by my alternator when under power.  The unit will automatically go into
    standby mode when it is hit by a spike.

    I installed a noise suppressor but it did not solve the problem.  I intend
    to rebuild my alternator this winter.  To temporarily solve the problem I
    had to run the power lead for the autopilot directly from battery #2 while
    keeping the battery switch set to battery #1 when the engine is on.

    Under sail, the unit operates perfectly and has a feature which will tack
    the boat totally hands off!

	A further consideration on Autohelm vs. Navico is the turn around time
for repair.  

	My Autohelm 1000 failed a couple of weeks ago from a broken drive
gear.  As I single hand regularly, I called Autohelm USA and was told they have
a turn around time of 10 days.  Hoping to only loose on weekend of use, I 
shipped the unit next day UPS, with a note asking that they try to return it as
soon as possible.   After 8 days I called and was told it had been fixed 2 days
before and that I should call back to speak with the shipping clerk to find
out when it had been sent back to me.  Great, I thought.  The shipping clerk
didn't seem to have the same opinion of when it had been repaired (they both
looked it up on their computer system!).  She seemed to think that it had been
repaired that day!  Anyway, it would take another day to finish the paper work
and then it might be shipped out the next day or possibly the day after. So
the end result is I will not have it back in time for use over the long Labor
Day weekend.  Grrrr.  So much for quick service.  They did fix the unit no 
questions asked, and did not require that I send the sales slip.  

	I called Navico to find out how long it would take to have one of their
units repaired and was informed that they have a policy of 48 hr turnaround.

	Not sure how the units compare in reliability, but seems like Navico
has the nod in terms of customer satisfaction.

    My wife has just told me to go out and buy an autopilot as a Xmas gift
    from her to me. Wow, I can hardly believe it. After looking at a few 
    catalogs I find that I must choose between Autohelm and Navico. We have a 
    Pearson 303 with wheel steering. It weighs about 12000lbs loaded.
    
    It's been three years since anyone has written anything in this file so
    things may have changed quite a bit in that time. We do have a Loran on
    our boat and would like to connect it to the autopilot. 
    
    From what I gather the Autohelm can connect directly to a Loran but is
    a few hundred dollars more then the Navico. The Navico can connect to a
    Loran but must interface through an aditional device which can be
    purchased for $$$. Also the Navico uses a belt drive and the Autohelm
    has gear drive. The Autohelm seems to draw higher current while driving
    then the Navico.
    
    I would like to hear from those who use autopilots about your
    experience with them and recommendations in buying one.
    
    Thanks,

    Has anyone out there heard of or had any experience with a TILLERMASTER
    autopilot. A friend has an opertunity to purchase one that was used on
    a 37ft sailboat. He has been assured that it is in good working
    condition. I was originaly purchased in the early 80's. Where is the
    manufacturer based? Are they still in business? What is their
    reputation?
    
    Any help will be appreciated.
    
    Thanks

    I picked up a used Tillermaster (for my 19' Com-Pac Yacht) from a 
    neighbor last spring and had pretty good luck with it last season.
    It is analog (not digital), requires some fiddling, and doesn't
    tack worth a darn, but for holding a good course under a variety 
    of conditions,I'm pretty happy with it. I got my $75 worth.
    
    Somewhere I have an address for whoever bought them out. I was told
    that parts are still available but havent contacted them myself.
    I'll try to fnd the address and post it.
    
    	Bill