Questions about Sailboat Self-steering

Windvane or Autopilot (05/2007)

Question: Do you prefer a windvane or an autopilot for longer passages? I currently only have an autopilot and am wondering if I should fit a windvane as well? My boat is a Nauticat 32 (10 meters) displacing 5.4 tons.

Answer: On Morgan’s Cloud we have both and I think there are very good arguments for this 'belt and suspenders' approach, particularly for the typical cruising boat that will be sailed double handed much of the time.

In fact, I believe that reliable steering is not a luxury but a necessity for short handed boats on any passage that will last longer than a day. Even on a passage that will last just a single night, a double handed crew will be very tired by the time they reach their landfall if they have been forced to steer the whole way; and tired sailors have accidents. Also, it is not possible for a single watch stander to properly sail the boat, navigate, and manage vessel traffic while being glued to the helm.

The key word in all of this is 'reliable'. Even a really beefy properly installed autopilot system—and many, perhaps most, are not—will fail at some time. The same goes for a windvane, although perhaps to a lesser extent. But if you have both, you have a reasonable chance of having some way to self steer at all times. One of my tougher sailing experiences was a three day beat to windward, singlehanded, against a reinforced trade wind and big seas, from Saint Maarten to Barbados. The autopilot died the first day and I would have been truly up the creek without the vane gear. Incidentally I broke that too, but the great thing about vane gears is that they are often fixable at sea with the tools to hand (mine was); not so autopilots.

Also, both systems have their strengths and weaknesses: We use the autopilot most of the time as we find it easier to set up and use, particularly on shorter trips, but on a long passage, like a tradewind transatlantic, steering with the vane gear cuts our total electrical consumption in half.

Finally, I believe that any cruising boat that goes offshore should be able to function and complete her passage after a total electrical failure. Autopilots will be quickly rendered useless by a failure of the boat’s primary electrical generation method—often the main engine—and this may still be the case even if the boat has solarcells or a windgenerator since autopilots are power hogs and only high output power generation systems can keep up with their demands.

Which Autopilot Drive (2007)

Quesiton: I am planning a long trip in June (Sardinia to Canaries) and then the ARC in November. A working autopilot would be nice. I’m looking at Simrad autopilots. What drive would you recommend for a Swan 44 (displaces about 30,000lbs)?
 

Answer: Your Swan is a big powerful boat and you are planning a downwind trip in big trade wind seas that will challenge your autopilot. (Autopilots are much more heavily stressed downwind than going to windward.) So I would recommend putting some time, effort and money into a really bomb proof installation of the new drive.

 

Here are some thoughts to keep in mind when selecting a drive:
 

I think that, in general, hydraulic drives are more reliable than electrical (that is, an electric hydraulic pump driving an hydraulic cylinder).

When selecting the pump/cylinder set, go big. I think autopilot companies often underestimate the loads on a voyaging sailboat.

Simrad sometimes specifies two rams to get the power they need on bigger boats. Except for the largest boats, I don’t like this approach since it adds another level of complexity and more seals and hoses to leak and blow. If Simrad’s ram is not big enough for your boat, have a look at those from Hynautic, www.seastarsteering.com, used with a Simrad pump. This is what we use and it has worked well.

Make sure that you, or whoever is installing the drive, uses the correct sealants properly applied on all hydraulic joints. It is amazing to me how many experienced technicians that should know better will use ordinary pipe dope on the joints. This is the reason that many users of hydraulic autopilot drives complain of leaks. (See Gear failures & fixes for more on this.)

The mounting points for the ram must be truly massive to take the load and there must be NO play or slackness anywhere. Here is a test: After installation, engage the autopilot and then have someone try to turn the wheel back and forth against the ram using the same amount of force as you would steering in big seas broad reaching. While they are doing that, look at the complete installation. If there is ANY play, flexing, or other movement, it is not strong enough. By the way, if the boat's steering can’t stand this test, it should be beefed up too.

You may wish to have a look at autopilots from W-H see: www.whautopilots.com. We have a Simrad and are very happy with it but I have heard good things about W-H.

 

Neco Autopilot Drive (2007)

Question: I have a Neco autopilot in my (1973) Swan 44. Last year, the pilot control head stopped working and does not seem fixable. I spoke with a Simrad representative who said it was possible to replace the 'brain' and leave the drive in place. My drive seems to work fine and is chain driven. Should I use the old drive with the new brain?
 

Answer: I would recommend against using the old Neco drive. I made exactly this mistake myself, see Gear failures & fixes. Further to what I say there:

 

Despite the fact that it works now and is a good piece of kit, your Neco drive is an absolute minimum of 10 years old, and probably closer to 20. A piece of heavily loaded gear that old is living on borrowed time.

If it gives trouble it will be difficult to get it fixed. I had two of these drives (one spare) and made several attempts to have them fixed when they started giving trouble. They either came back from the repair shop still non-functional, or failed in a few hours.

Many of these Neco rotary drives are linked into the steering cables, not attached directly to the rudder or quadrant. If yours is like that, it means that if a cable breaks, you have lost everything; whereas an hydraulic ram connected to the quadrant, or better still, to its own arm attached directly to the rudder post, will steer for you even with a broken cable or other failure in the manual steering system.

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Last edited on Monday April 28, 2008

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