Autopilot

[celtium]

Is anyone familiar with this unit? http://cptautopilot.com/index.php

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The CPT Autopilot is a reliable, heavy duty, wheel pilot suitable for a wide range of sail and power boats.

Our cockpit was flooded at one point, but when we next needed the CPT, it worked as if nothing had happened. Interestingly, the CPT was the quietest unit, even quieter than the windvane, that has a quiet kind of clang to it. At the moment we are refitting and preparing for a circumnavigation. The CPT is coming with us�Our unit, though old is extremely reliable, strong and very quiet.
—40' Center Cockpit Cutter Rig, 1998
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The rugged CPT is a cost effective crew member that steers your vessel so that you can take your hands off the wheel, whether motoring or sailing. This cockpit wheel pilot is easy to install and operate.

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It is an in the cockpit heavy duty autopilot. Appears to be very strong and is a heck of a lot easier to install than the Raymarine under the cockpit unit!!

Jay
E38-200
SF Bay

 

[Sven]

My answer is "no" but it sure looks interesting.

The simplicity is very appealing but it is too bad it won't take a wind direction input. We'd get it in addition to the Cape Horn (that is on the schedule for a couple of months from now) so wind steering is not critical.

I'll have to look closer but in my skimming I didn't see power draw specs or displacement capabilities (other than ... has been used on 60-footers

Did you notice if it had a gain or sea state adjustment ?

Like I said, I have to look closer but it looks very interesting.

Thanks for the pointer,



-Sven

 

[Sven]

I'll have to look closer but in my skimming I didn't see power draw specs

Ok, found that: "0.027 amp standby current, 0.3 amp average current drain, varies with load & settings".

I asked them for a downloadable users' manual since I didn't see one. I also wonder about the 1 year warranty, seems short ?


-Sven

 

[Loren Beach]

I believe that I saw ads in sailing mags and catalogs for this same AP in the late 70's and the 80's.
Bad news would be that it is a dated design, looking for all the world like an "Autohelm 3000 on steroids". Good news is that often the best reliability lies in mature technologies.
I wonder if the innards in the control box are different than those from olden days?

Keep us posted.

Best,
Loren

 

[rwthomas1]

Interesting but looks like it was designed in 1958. I question its ability to steer the boat in heavy seas or difficult conditions like running in large quartering swells. If you have an E38 you know it slews around in those conditions. You also know that it wears you out quickly to hand steer like that. If the pilot won't keep up, then what good is it?

I looked very hard at everything on the market before I jumped into a pilot for my E38. I ended up with a Simrad setup. HLD2000 hydraulic drive with AP24 head. Hands down the BEST upgrade I've ever done to the boat. I won't lie to you, it wasn't cheap. And it wasn't easy to install. But holy cow does it work well! It will steer my E38 better than I can in any conditions I have encountered. Never a hiccup, insanely strong, very quiet. It has a "learning" capability and it actually seems to anticipate the oscillations of the boat in those aforementioned following/quartering seas, the wheel moves less and the course is straighter than I can steer. I actually rarely hand steer my boat off the wind anymore. Sounds crazy but it is more relaxing to let the pilot do it so I can mess with sail trim or just sit back and enjoy the ride.

RT

 

[celtium]

Hmmm

You can download the entire manual online. I also spoke with the owner (Jeff) today. He's been using his for 10 years, I think he said. In fact the ketch rig picture on the web site is his and it displaces 25K + #'s. He said he has made 3 trips to Mexico with it, without a windvane.

I think it uses .30 amps per hour? He said it's very efficient. Displacement, per Jeff, is not an issue, it's more about balance and not overpowering your boat. He and 2 other partners own the company and build each one individually, all American made no less how kewl is that?

It's simplicity is what makes it so nice I think! You can adjust it so the 'lazy S' around the compass is severe or light.

I think I've decided on the CPT. I currently have a Raymarine wheel version, but it's just to darn light. I used the first one for 12 hours and it broke, they replaced it and I've never used the replacement. So if you know of anyone with a boat under 18,000#'s I'd sell it at a reasonable price.

Re windvanes, have you heard of:

http://selfsteering.com/ it's called a Norvane. I've seen one on a boat here in SF at the dock on a Rawson 30 I believe. The guy said he likes it a lot and will use it on his trip south. Priced around $2500.00 Looks very interesting to me as well.

Hope that answers your questions, you now officially know as much as me!:nerd:

LTR

Jay
E38-200
SF Bay

 

[celtium]

History

As I understand it... Jeff is the 3rd owner of the company. First was in Florida, second was Scanmar. There problems started when Scanmar attempted mass production. Supposedly it is, in fact, simplicity in motion, which makes for a good unit, per Jeff.

He and his 2 partners make each one so as to maintain a high level of QC. They don't want any low paid assembly worker putting the units together he said.

He's a very nice guy, easy to talk to. If anyone were interested, give him a call. I live close enough that I'll probably drive down and pick it up and meet him.

That's what I know.

Jay
E38-200
SF Bay

 

[Sven]

Independent user opinion

I got this reply from Don Radcliffe on the SSCA board:

I've had one since 1995 and have used it as a backup to my Simrad below deck autopilot. I only try it when the primary has broken down, so conditions are usually pretty nasty. It got me the last 24 hours into Oman in 30-35 knots of close reaching, but the belt broke after about 6 hours of 35-45 on the stern quarter last year going down to the USVI. Fortunately the guys in Aptos were able to come up with replacement belts. The CPT is not as strong as a hydraulic ram or as smart as the latest technology, but it does pretty well for a belt-driven wheel pilot if you balance the sail plan.

Sounds like a good independent endorsement.


-Sven

 

[celtium]

Yup

It would seem the unit does pretty well in all conditions.

It sounds as if the gents belt was very old? 14 years? I also 'think' Jeff said that it's a different belt construction than it was that many years ago. (assuming it was a 14 year old belt )

Unless you're a new sailor, I think most of us try to sail balanced anyway. If you're racing, it would be a different situation of course, you would sail a little closer to the edge.

One thing Jeff at CPT said was that indeed the rig needs to be balanced, but also you may need to tighten the belt in heavier conditions and also adjust some of the settings so unit adjusts more frequently, with the offset of using more amps of course.

So 'maybe' Don needed to do both of the above? Strictly guessing obviously.

And the one big negative I have noticed is that it is a 'dumb' system. It will not sail to a GPS point, only magnetic. So you do have to navigate the vessel. But then maybe that will keep you on your toes. I used way points on my way up from LA with my Raymarine Smart Pilot and allowed the rig to navigate to way points...as we were coming into Ventura, if we had allowed the AP to navigate to the chart, we would have missed the harbor entrance by 1/2 mile and been on the beach. The chart was wrong, so........go figure.

LTR

Jay
E38-200
SF Bay

 

[celtium]

Cpt

I sent an Email to Jeff at CPT inviting him to make comment on this thread and or answer any questions that may come up as I'm not well enough informed or knowledgeable about his product to do it justice. If there are any questions his # is 831-687-0541, email: 831-687-0541.

Just don't want to sound like an advertisement for the product, but it does sound very interesting to me.

LTR

Jay
E38-200
SF Bay