Tiller style autopilot on steering arm?

[snailsail]

I would imagine someone has tried this, but I have not found any posts in the archives or I'm not smart enough in my search. At any rate, I know of several installations where someone has taken a tiller pilot and installed it to a stubby tiller on the rudder post (emergency tiller location) of a wheel steered boat (Laguna 26). The tiller pilot is able to steer the short tiller and overcome any friction within the wheel cable arrangement.

On a power sailor it appears that there would be enough room to install it in the motor well area and attach it to the steering arm which links the rudders and motor. Naturally, this would place it in an awkward position to engage, adjust, and see.

Why would I want to do this? Certainly cost is the primary driver as I have a tiller pilot that works and the $1K or more for a wheel pilot could be used for more priority boat $'s. In my case I briefly use the autopilot to do simple tasks that allow me to leave the helm for short periods of time.

I was just wondering if anyone has tried this? I would imagine the earlier, less robust steering cables, would be more problematic.

[DLT]

I have one (tiller pilot) that I intend to use like you suggest, for the reasons you suggest. But, I haven't gotten to it yet...

I'm cheap, so price is always a driver for me.

I like the idea of a backup to the entire steering system. Wheel pilots depend on the steering system... A tiller pilot would only be dependent on some subset of the final linkage.

But, it ain't gonna be simple. It also won't be very convienent and will just about require a remote to be of much use...

[Frank C]

Some will recall that I purchased the ST5000+ from WM's "bargain store." This is a below-deck pilot for larger boats. It uses a linear ram drive unit - basically a motor with a push-pull sliding push rod. It's a lot like a tiller pilot, but the ST5000 has its electronics in a separate control head & fluxgate. I have mounted the drive ram & motor but haven't yet managed to pull the wires and connect everything. Even so, it seems clear that from a mechanical linkage perspective, it should work fine.

I'd say that a tiller pilot should be fine, too, if you just find a method to control its electronics. There's clearly a redundancy advantage to bypassing the wheel system in the pedestal but you can't be scrambling under the helm seat to manage the electronics ... which spawns DLT's idea of a remote control.

Later today I should be able to post a couple of pictures showing how mine is mounted.

[They Theirs]

I must be missing something here? Tiller pilot seems a great application for the linkage above and below the deck, and I do understand the need for remote operation, but knowing the tiller pilot has rigid shaft mounts at both ends. How can one unlock the Tiller Pilot in taking command of the helm? With a tiller you lift the Pilots linear control arm out of its socket in the tiller, otherwise??? Will the shaft on the tiller pilot disengage or clutch release for manual control of the wheel?

[Frank C]

Good question TT ... I remember seeing your question posed before, regarding this topic. I was assuming the TP acts just like my AP ram, but maybe that's not true?

The AP ram works fine (push/pull) while connected to the steering linkage, and completely unpowered, electrically dead. That is, I can turn the wheel, or just push the motor side to side. The AP moves, yet adds little, if any, drag to the feel of the steering.

Raymarine's docs are notoriously sketchy ... not sure if this "dry movement" is damaging to the AP motor.

[James V]

I would make sure that it can handle it. With the 3 or 4 to one ration of the wheel, you may find that you need up to 100 pounds of PUSH with the tiller pilot or else it will become useless.

[They Theirs]

Frank
I’m glad to hear your autopilot is coming along; you may be first to circumnavigate the Sport Pilot’s untimely demise. Your linear ram, under deck unit is quite sophisticated in comparison with the TP. (Lucky find on sale!) I do not have a TP but would love to hear from the voice of experience. I’m guessing there is need for a clutch for what may be a simple TP low budget application. Hope it works

I found these in the Owners Manual
* To return to hand steering:
1. Press STANDBY
2. Remove the pushrod from the tiller pin to return to hand steering: the display will show a flashing “C” and the boat’s current compass heading.
3. The last heading is memorized and can be recalled.

ST1000+ & ST2000+ Tiller Pilots Owners Manual

SailNet on Auto-Pilots

[DLT]

I bought an old ST2000+ of eBay and it has way too much resistance to leave connected all the time. So, I can't use it below decks.

I was thinking of fabricating a mount that would be secured to the stardboard side somewhere near the fuel locker. The other end of the tiller pilot would secure to the motor linkage somewhere in the motor well area...

Engaging it would probably be a pain and this is probably not a very elegant solution...

I may end up just following FrankC's lead...

[Frank C]

I posted this thread showing the preliminary mounting of my ST5000+ autopilot, directly to the aft deck steering linkage of my 26X. Not sure if it adds much value to the tiller pilot discussion, but both have a common advantage ... redundant steering control to bypass the wheel system's rack, pinion and cable.

P.S. to DLT, the linear drive "feels" as if it too has way too much resistance when pulling by hand. But once attached to the linkage, it's not noticeable when turning the wheel ... FWIW.