Autohelm thoughts?

[ignacio]

Noise

For what it's worth, by day 3 of my recent passages, I had had it with various noises and spent half a day tracking down the sources - partly to see if something was about to fail, but mostly to begin eliminating noise. The electric autopilot would have driven me nuts, were it not for the fact that I only used it during periods of motoring (so the engine noise drowned it). If I had used it while under sail - and after eliminating most other noises - I could very well have tossed it overboard. If there was wind, the windvane did the steering. It was the most reliable and hard-working gear aboard having steered 99% of the trip when there was wind, even when my electronics started acting funny.

Ryan is spot-on when he says that self-steering should be part your basic mechanical system, and electronics layered on top. On my comparatively short passages, the salt and damp (which your E35--II will also have in heavy seas) made several electrical devices stop working: One laptops mobo got fried (it was new) ... saw it later when I tried repairing it once I got home. My battery monitor also stopped working after a tiny bit of salt water intrusion.

I tried "fixing" these problems for a time, but then decided that I was there to sail and experience the ocean rather than spend my time below on electronics. I could do that at home.

 

[toddster]

Also, plenty of people have sailed with home-made windvane steering at next to no cost. Seems somehow satisfying for the "mad scientist" crowd. And I like the idea of an independent back-up rudder system on these spade-rudder boats.

 

[bgary]

...decided that I was there to sail and experience the ocean

I love this.

 

[eknebel]

While I have little blue water experience, I think it is very telling that those that do rely on simple basic systems, especially for "mission critical" systems like steering. I have heard of self steering wind vanes used to steer if loss of main rudder function occurs. Lin and Larry Pardey may take being ludites to extreme for many of us, but one has to acknowledge and weigh the information, which there is an abundance of in this thread.

 

[Joliba]

I do not, unless I can find one in a bargain bin somewhere. After speaking with some cruisers from around the world that I met here in Seattle, I was talked into just getting a beefed up below deck autopilot.

I suspect that the cruisers with whom you spoke have boats bigger than Cinderella. Sailboats of greater displacement require more robust, expensive and often custom vane steering gear. Smaller boats are easily controlled by off the shelf and homemade vane systems. (Aries and Monitor have the best track records.) Electric/hydraulic autopilots are more practical as the primary self-steering in larger boats, as they usually carry plenty of diesel fuel for motoring and battery charging, tend to be drier than smaller vessels, and have storage space for complete spare parts. I agree wholeheartedly with the advice of Ryan L, Ignacio, and others in this thread.
Though I admire the ability and confidence of an ocean voyager who can Macgyver a fried autopilot control board back to life on a gyrating boat, while steering with one foot on the tiller between shoals in a rain squall, I prefer to sit in the cockpit with a cup of tea and scan the horizon for whales and pirates as "mechanical George" reliably holds our course.
Mike Jacker

 

[p.gazibara]

All,

Thanks for the input. I don't have heaps of sailing experience. I have been sailing for 2 years, an all but once was on the Puget Sound. I bought my first boat down in Olympia (Newport 28) and over a long weekend motor-sailed to Everett. That was my first experience skippering a sailboat (to make things exciting, the motor wouldn't idle). I quickly learned never to come into a marina any faster than you would be okay with hitting a dock. After some playing around on Osprey (soloing for my first time Christmas 14')

I sailed Osprey every chance I had and between that, local racing, and reading books, I got more and more competent. The biggest thing I learned was that you can't force a time window while sailing, and doing so has gotten me into some interesting situations.

Early on I sailed to Vancouver with 2 friends and hopped a bus to Whistler for a 3 day ski tour in February. On that trip, my prop broke shear pin sheared and I had to sail to Friday Harbor from the edge of the Straight of Juan De Fuca. That was my first time I had to rely on sailing the boat.

On another trip (a week long adventure to the San Juans) I discovered the hard way what small craft and gale advisories meant, and that outboards on sailboats are worthless after about 3' waves. I sailed for a week with variable winds form 5-30+ kts and realized the boat could not go to windward after the seas built to 6' and the winds greater that 25 kts (with the sails I had)

It was not too long after that that I bought Cinderella, an ex TransPac racer that came with 12 sails in great conditions and that I have since had in 8' seas in the Straight of Juan de Fuca, and the boat didn't seem to notice them (to be fair, the rig is completely custom). I also had Cinderella in some huge winds (the meter doesn't work or I'd know the wind-speed) holding 7 kts going to windward on a double reefed main coming across the Straight of Georgia at 2 am after coming out of Porlier Pass heading to Vancouver this past December and it felt like I was at the helm of a freight train. The rig is fantastic, in no situation did I experience any weather at the helm (Osprey had me pulling so hard on the tiller I thought it would snap in half the wind!) It was during that trip that my yanmar bit the dust on the first day so Ava and I sailed for 13 days to Canada and back, in and out of several ports in the gulf islands. Something about waking up at crazy hours waiting for tides and currents, dawning rain gear one minute a t-shirt the next, and sailing through all conditions really captivated me and fueled this dream to go around the world. It was also this trip that led me to realize that sailing engine-less brings a different level of enjoyment to the sport (at least when there is wind).

I know the I have gotten off topic from Autohelm questions, and there is great news on that front! I was able to video-chat with Ava who went to the Fisheries Supply swap meet this past Saturday (since I am here in Brisbane for work) and we were able to purchase an Aries windvane for the incredible price of $275. At that deal, I was easily dissuaded from electric.

-P