Tiller pilot · Raymarine
Raymarine ST2000+ Tiller Pilot
The default first autopilot for Australian tiller boats up to about 4.5 tonnes.
- Indicative price
- $1,150–$1,500 unit
- Fitted
- $1,250–$1,800
- Rated for
- Vessels to 4.5 t
- Editor score
- 70 / 100
The ST2000+ is a self-contained cockpit autopilot: a , a course computer and a push-rod actuator in one grey tube that clips between a cockpit socket and a pin on the tiller. Plug it into 12 V, press Auto, and it holds a compass heading. Nothing else on the market puts a working autopilot on a trailer-sailer or a 30-footer for this little money or this little installation.
It has been in production, in one form or another, since the Autohelm days, and the design shows its age in ways that matter on Australian water: it is noisy, it is slow to react in a following sea, and it draws a surprising amount of current when it is working hard. It also sits in the cockpit, where spray and the occasional green one find it. With a spare cockpit socket and a cover, most owners get many seasons out of one.
Fed a wind angle over SeaTalk or NMEA 0183 it will steer to , and fed a cross-track error from a plotter it will follow a route. On a Bass Strait crossing it is a tired crew's third hand rather than a true watch-keeper, and it should be treated that way.
Verdict
Raymarine ST2000+ Tiller Pilot drive sizing
Raymarine rates it for tiller-steered yachts to 4,500 kg (10,000 lb) displacement. Treat 3,500 kg as the comfortable working limit for anything that sails offshore in a swell.
Specifications
Autopilot components, voltage and steering modes
- Sensor
- Internal fluxgate compass
- Drive
- Integrated push-rod actuator, 77 kg peak thrust, 25 cm stroke
- Control
- Six keys on the unit itself; optional wired or wireless remote
- Mounting
- Cockpit socket plus tiller pin; no below-deck work
- Voltage
- 12 V DC
- Network
- SeaTalk (original), NMEA 0183 input
- Power draw
- 0.5 A typical, 2.5 A peak. Manufacturer figures. Expect 0.4–0.8 A averaged over an hour on flat water and well over 1 A in a quartering sea.
- Steering systems
- Tiller
Modes
- Auto (compass)
- Wind vane (apparent wind, via SeaTalk or NMEA 0183)
- Track (cross-track from a plotter)
- AutoTack
Features
- Self-contained: compass, computer and drive in one unit
- Automatic sea-state deadband and adjustable response levels
- AutoTack through roughly 100° with one key press
- Off-course alarm and low-battery warning
- Reads wind and navigation data from most instruments over NMEA 0183
For and against
Autopilot strengths and limitations
- Cheapest working autopilot for a tiller boat by a wide margin
- No installation beyond a socket and a power feed
- Spares, sockets, pins and service are easy to find anywhere in Australia
- Doubles as a pier-to-pier motoring pilot on flat water for hours on end
- Struggles to hold a course in a following or quartering sea above about 20 knots
- Audible motor noise all night in the cockpit
- Fluxgate compass inside the unit is disturbed by cockpit steel and speakers
- Older SeaTalk interface needs a converter to talk to a modern NMEA 2000 network
Who fits it
Boats and places where this system is recommended
Boat types
- Tiller-steered yachts → The default for boats under about 3.5 tonnes that sail coastal and motor a lot. Cheap, everywhere, easy to service.
Australian waters
- Victoria → The Gippsland Lakes and bay trailer-sailer standard.
- South Australia → The trailer-sailer standard on the gulfs.
- Tasmania → For the Channel's tiller-steered classics on flat water.
- Sydney and Pittwater → The default on Pittwater club boats and harbour tiller yachts to about 4.5 tonnes. It will steer you home from the Heads under motor all day, but rinse the salt off it and do not ask it to hold a run in 25 knots.
- Gippsland Lakes and Bass Strait → Perfect for a trailer sailer on Lake King or Lake Victoria. Light, cheap enough to justify for weekend use, and easily removed and rinsed when the boat goes back on the trailer.
- Adelaide and the Gulfs → The natural fit for the state’s big trailer sailer fleet. Light, removable between trips and capable of steering a small keelboat across the gulf while you make lunch and check the chart.
Questions
Raymarine ST2000+ Tiller Pilot: frequently asked
Is the ST2000+ strong enough for a 32-foot yacht?
Usually, if the boat is under about 4 tonnes and the tiller is well balanced. A heavy 32-footer with weather helm will overload it in a seaway. Reef early and it copes; leave the boat pressed and it will alarm and give up.
Can the ST2000+ steer to the wind?
Yes, if it receives apparent wind angle over SeaTalk or NMEA 0183 from a wind instrument. Without that data it is a compass pilot only.
ST1000+ or ST2000+?
The ST1000+ is rated to 3,000 kg with lower thrust and a slower hard-over time. The price gap is small, so the ST2000+ is the better buy for anything over about 2,500 kg or anything that sails offshore.
Alternatives to consider
The systems most often weighed against this one.
Head to head
Comparisons featuring this system
Autopilot commissioning and operator training
A $1,800 installation with no handover is a gamble. Half a day on the water with the installer or an instructor covers the modes, the override, the alarms and a failure drill. It is the cheapest safety equipment aboard.