Autopilots for wheel-steered yachts

This is the biggest single group of yachts in Australia: the 34–46 foot production cruisers that fill marinas from Pittwater to Manly to Fremantle, most of them ex-charter or owner-cruised, most with a pedestal wheel and cable steering. They are also the boats most often fitted with the wrong autopilot, because a wheel pilot is cheap and the dealer had one on the shelf.

The decision is above deck or below deck. Under about 7 tonnes and coastal, an EV-100 Wheel is fine. Anything heavier, anything that sails overnight, and anything heading up the Queensland coast for the winter deserves a below-deck linear drive — definition on a tiller arm — definition, from Raymarine, B&G or Garmin with a Jefa drive.

Manufacturers rate drives by loaded displacement. A Beneteau 40 at 8 tonnes light is 10 tonnes with tanks, gear, a dinghy and a season's provisions. Size to the loaded figure and give yourself margin. Raymarine's Type 1 linear drive — definition is rated to 11 tonnes; above that it is a Type 2 with the ACU-400. Jefa drives for B&G and Garmin are sized from the maker's tables by displacement and rudder torque.

The classic east coast season is north in May, south in October. That is weeks of downwind trade-wind sailing in 20–25 knots with a following sea, exactly the conditions that separate a wheel pilot from a linear drive — definition. Then it is reef passages inside the Great Barrier Reef with strong tidal streams, where route following and No Drift — definition or track modes earn their keep. A below-deck system with wind and track modes, tuned on the way north, makes the season.