Quote Originally Posted by ebb View Post
'3 strikes yer out' on the Raymarine/AutoHelm tiller pilots. Discussion is hard to quickly find on the internet.
Can find an uninterrupted review by PracticalSailor of two 'entry level' tillerpilots....(as a way to get
started) Practical Sailor Reviews boat tilllerpilots: the Simrad TP10 and the Raymarine ST1000 Plus. 2009
SO, I wonder if you're sailing with a Simrad now? The TP10 is certainly rated for the Ariel's displacement....

Defender has it for $440....but, is it feasible to go with a pilot rated for size up sailboat, like TP20? Maybe it'll
be easier on the pilot with a more robust model?? Hype says the unit is waterproof. Assume the Raymarine
tillerpilots are also.... but again maybe one of the two is more waterproof, or just more friendly, than the other?

Also wondering if you upgrade to interface digital navigation tools? Or keep it simple. And how simple?
I'm blown away that you begin a voyage in the middle of the night (4AM) in dense fog...to tell us about it!!!
Thanks Ebb. I really enjoy writing about my Ariel!

I'm still using the Raymarine autopilot. I found, with a few tweaks, it can be made reliable. Although, if I ever took a long voyage, I'd bring two. The biggest problem is the tiller pilot's sensitivity to low battery voltage. I installed a "battery booster" that's normally used by Ham radio operators to keep their radio powered at 12.6 volts when the batteries sag.

I have my Raymarine wind vane coupled to the autopilot and so I'm stuck with a Raymarine autopilot. Set a wind angle, and the autopilot will keep the boat on that precise angle to the apparent wind. Works great!

I have a Standard Horizon chart plotter, which also sends steering corrections to the autopilot for steering to a waypoint, but I generally just set a wind angle. The wind direction doesn't change much offshore.

Here's a recent video clip of the autopilot in action: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oSS46BctscI.