Autopilots by boat type
Autopilots for tiller-steered yachts
Compare autopilots for tiller-steered yachts, from cockpit tiller pilots to external drives. Review loaded displacement, mounting, power and Australian costs.
- Steering
- Tiller
- Displacement
- 1,000–7,000 kg
- Recommended
- 4 systems
- Examples
- Adams 10, Cavalier 28 and 32, Farr 9.2 and Farr 1020
Tiller boats are the easiest yachts to fit an autopilot to and the easiest to get wrong. A cockpit tiller pilot goes on in an afternoon and, on flat water, makes a tiller boat feel like it has an extra crew. Load the same boat for a passage, put it on a broad reach in 25 knots off Cape Byron, and the same unit alarms, gives up and leaves you hand-steering at 3 am.
The sizing rule is simple: the manufacturer's displacement limit is for a well-balanced boat in moderate conditions. If your yacht carries weather helm, is near the limit, or sails offshore, step up a class. In Australia the ladder runs from the Raymarine ST1000+ and ST2000+, through the Simrad tillerpilots and the Raymarine EV-100 Tiller, to the Pelagic and finally a below-deck on a .
The three tiers of tiller autopilot
Tier one is the self-contained cockpit unit: Raymarine ST1000+ and ST2000+, Simrad TP22 and TP32. Compass, computer and actuator in one tube; cheap, removable, adequate for coastal sailing on boats to about 4 tonnes.
Tier two splits the brain from the drive. The Raymarine EV-100 Tiller keeps a cockpit push-rod but adds an EV-1 nine-axis sensor and an ACU below deck, which transforms course keeping in a seaway. The Pelagic takes a different route: a sealed control box below, and a rugged external actuator on the tiller that shrugs off immersion and pushes far harder than a mainstream tiller pilot.
Tier three is a full below-deck system with a on a under the cockpit, exactly as on a wheel boat. It is rare on boats under 30 feet because there is seldom room, but on a 32–36 foot tiller-steered cruiser it is the offshore answer.
Sockets, pins and power
A tiller pilot is only as good as its mounting. The cockpit socket needs a solid backing plate, the tiller pin needs to be at the right height so the push-rod is horizontal, and the geometry should give full rudder travel without the unit reaching the end of its stroke. Most manufacturers publish the dimensions; measure before drilling.
Power is the other weak spot. Tiller pilots are fed from a cockpit plug and the wiring is often thin and corroded. Run a dedicated fused feed of adequate gauge and fit a proper waterproof socket. Low voltage under load causes half the tiller-pilot complaints in Australia.
- Fused, dedicated 12 V feed of at least 2.5 mm² for a short run
- Waterproof cockpit socket with a cap
- Tiller pin at push-rod height with the unit level
- A second socket on the other side of the cockpit if the tiller is offset
- A cover for the unit when not in use
Wind steering on a tiller boat
All the mainstream tiller pilots steer to if they receive wind data. On a small boat that means a masthead wind instrument talking NMEA 0183 or, on the EV-100, or . For a trailer-sailer it is a luxury; for a 30-footer doing coastal passages it is worth having, because a pilot steering to wind keeps the sails set while a compass pilot lets them collapse in a shift.
Australian conditions that catch tiller pilots out
The east coast's following seas are the killer. A short, steep quartering sea from a southerly change, or the long swell that runs up the NSW coast behind a front, overwhelms the slow reaction of a fluxgate tiller pilot. In the SA gulfs the wind-against-tide chop does the same. On Port Phillip the short steep chop is manageable but the pilot works hard and draws current.
Heat is the other issue. A black tiller pilot in a Queensland cockpit in January gets hot enough to trip thermal protection; shade it or wrap it in a light cover.
The 48-hour rule
Recommended
Systems that suit tiller-steered yachts
The default for boats under about 3.5 tonnes that sail coastal and motor a lot. Cheap, everywhere, easy to service.
The Tiller pack is the biggest single improvement in steering a tiller boat can buy for under $4,000.
For tiller boats that go offshore or race shorthanded; the actuator survives what a cockpit unit cannot.
A quieter alternative to the Raymarine if a dealer can supply one.
- Any tiller pilot on a boat carrying persistent weather helm; fix the balance first
- Running a tiller pilot from a cigarette-lighter socket on thin wire
- Relying on a cockpit unit as the sole pilot for a Bass Strait crossing
Questions
Frequently asked
My tiller pilot keeps alarming on a reach. Is it faulty?
Almost certainly not. It is overloaded: too much weather helm, too much sail, or a sea it cannot keep up with. Reef, rebalance and check the supply voltage under load.
Can I fit a below-deck autopilot to a 30-foot tiller boat?
If there is room for a tiller arm on the rudder stock and a linear drive beside it, yes. Many cockpit lockers have the space. It is a bigger job than most owners expect and worth a yard's quote.
Do I need a rudder reference on a tiller pilot?
No. Cockpit tiller pilots infer rudder position from their own stroke. Below-deck systems on tiller boats use one like any other.
Recommended systems at a glance
- Tiller pilotRaymarine
Raymarine ST2000+ Tiller Pilot
- Indicative
- $1,150–$1,500
- Editor score
- 70
- Wheel pilotRaymarine
Raymarine Evolution EV-100 (Tiller, Wheel and Power)
- Indicative
- $2,900–$3,900
- Editor score
- 77
- Tiller pilotPelagic
Pelagic Autopilot
- Indicative
- $2,800–$4,800
- Editor score
- 60
- Tiller pilotSimrad
Simrad TP22 and TP32 Tillerpilots
- Indicative
- $1,200–$1,800
- Editor score
- 60
Where these boats sail
Other boat types
Autopilot commissioning and boat-specific training
Every boat type above ends with the same advice: a handover on the water, a settings card, alarms set and a failure drill. The training section explains what good instruction looks like and where to find it.