[Rhodes22-list] Autopilot (was Roger)

[William E. Wickman]

I may be the most recent Rhodie to install an autopilot.  It was the
ST1000.  I did not use a mounting bracket, but rather just drilled a hole
in the gunwale and fit the little mounting cup into it pretty much like
Bob's setup.  I had to purchase two extension rods and a mounting bracket
for the underside of the tiller.  The tiller bracket was the 1 inch one,
and the two extension rods were 6 and 3 (or 4) inches I think.  I mounted
the power/control plug inside the starboard cubby hole to keep it out of
the weather and keep from having to drill another hole in my boat.

While I was at it, I installed the wiring to connect my Garmin GPSMAP 76CSx
to the tiller pilot so I could sail to a waypoint instead of just a
bearing; again in the cubby hole, and added a 12v socket to power the GPS
in the cockpit.

I also got the S100 remote control.  It was purely a luxury item and cost
nearly what the tiller pilot cost, but it has been a fun toy.  I probably
would not have gotten it, but I got caught up in bidding on eBay and got it
for a really good price.  The transmitter module is mounted on the
starboard bulkhead just to the right of the cooler inside the cabin, and
has wires running from the circuit breaker panel and out to the tiller
pilot plug socket.  I can sit at the bow of my boat and steer, or make
course changes while making a sandwich in the cabin.  Or make adjustments
while sitting in the cockpit without having to touch the tiller.  It
certainly isn't essential on a boat our size, but it definitely has the
"cool" factor.


Bill Wickman