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On Steering Auto Pilots
"Buddy", that's what I call my auto pilot. A single-hander's best friend. I couldn't cross oceans alone without a good one.
On my last Hunter, the 46, I had an auto-pilot, but I really didn't know the fine points of using one when I started out. In fact I burned up a total of three (3) 12 volt rotary motors that drive the gears that steer the wheel. I would get the boat going on the heading I wanted and push "Auto". I thought the motor would handle the water pressures on the rudder without a problem. Until I was crossing the North Atlantic East from Cape Verde Islands to Antigua.1100 miles out from the Caribbean chain of islands, the electric motor sounded like a coffee grinder. A few minutes later it froze up. Nothing left to do but put the auto pilot in 'standby' mode and hand steer - 1100 miles. Thankfully this time, I had 2 young boys with me I had picked up on the docks of Grand Canary Island for the trip West across the Atlantic. For the trip East from Florida to Lagos Portugal, I was alone. I'm thankful the motor didn't strike then.
The 3 of us hand-steered into English Harbor where RayMarine had a new motor waiting for me. Thank goodness for on board e-mail and the 5 year warranty. I asked RayMarine to repair the old motor and send it back as re-conditioned. I added quick connect ends to the wires of both motors for a possible change-out at sea and headed out to cross the Pacific.
The motors burned out twice more, once between Galapagos and the Marquesas and another 350 miles out from San Francisco after leaving Hawaii. The quick change went well.
I have now learned to hand steer for a few minutes every hour or after every change of watch and trim the sails so that the rudder indicator on the auto pilot is showing little effort. Since using that tell-tale, I haven't had a problem.
This NEW Hunter 49 has the newest Lewmar 'Mambo' heavy duty 'Off Shore' version of the twin wheel auto pilot. Two engineers from the Lewmar factory went out on my boat at the Miami Boat Show with Hunter's test pilot, Steve Pettengill, and proved that everything was working correctly. It has a heavy duty motor and stronger U-joints that first steer the rudder, then both wheels. It is satisfying to look into the aft hatches and watch this machine at work.
I have full confidence that 'Mambo' will bring me around the world.
posted by Wanderlust @ 3/28/2007 06:29:00 PM
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4 Comments:
Mike,
Could you give us your setup for an emergency tiller. I noted a square nub on the autopilot rudder connection plate. Is that where you would attach the
ET?
On Lost Soul we have a emergancy opening on deck above the tiller. We have a large socket that fits over the rudder post, and has a 5 foot extension on it, taking it above decks. We can then steer from up there in an emergency. We used it once, for 50 miles in the south pacific, and it worked.
Hunter offers an emergency rudder for all their boats over 40 feet. It is of stainless steel construction and looks like some of the wind vanes offered. It connects into the 3 pad-eyes on the stern and the tiller for it goes above the swim steps and into the cockpit.
I want to get everything out, hook it up and try it out before leaving to cross the Pacific Ocean. I'll take pictures and, if my replacement video camera arrives, film the tests.
If you remember, three years ago I lost my complete rudder at the hull and had to construct a rudder using my spinnaker pole and 4 different versions of a steering system. After 12 days (and nights) of continuous hand steering using lines around blocks to the top tip of the emergency rudder, I was able to bring her back to Nuka Hiva, over 650 sea miles of zig-zag.
I answered this question before but upon reading it again, you asked about the emergency tiller, not my emergency rudder. Sorry, but I have both. Check out my post: Emergency Tiller.
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