[Rhodes22-list] Tiller Pilot Recommendations

Thu Feb 3 15:49:54 EST 2022

Hi Mike,

My tiller pilot is connected to the bottom of the tiller.  I attached a
couple of photos for reference.  One shows the tiller, and the other shows
where the base of the tiller pilot mounts on the gunnel, a few inches
inside from the horn cleat.

Regarding the mounting of the electrical socket, on my boat it was mounted
on the inside of the coaming compartment, which keeps it somewhat protected
from weather.  That socket is on its own circuit that is only turned on
when I'm actively using the tiller pilot.

Hope that helps...

Jesse

On Thu, Feb 3, 2022 at 2:22 PM <mm.bizlist1 at gmail.com> wrote:

> Thanks Jesse.  Out of curiosity, is your Tiller Pilot connected to the top
> or the bottom of your tiller?
>
> ~Mike
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Rhodes22-list <rhodes22-list-bounces at rhodes22.org> On Behalf Of
> Jesse Shumaker
> Sent: Wednesday, February 2, 2022 2:31 PM
> To: The Rhodes 22 Email List <rhodes22-list at rhodes22.org>
> Subject: Re: [Rhodes22-list] Tiller Pilot Recommendations
>
> Hi Mike, I know your question was directed at Peter, but I'm sending a bit
> of unsolicited feedback anyway :)
>
> I think you're asking about accessing the back of the side of the gunnel in
> case you want to reinforce that.  My boat already had the tiller mount
> installed when I bought it so I didn't have to install that.  I can't
> recall for sure, but I don't think my boat had reinforcement in the tiller
> pilot mount on the gunnel.  I can't recall how far forward the mount is,
> but you can get to the underside of the aft portion of the gunnel from
> within the lazarette.  I've found that I can fold myself into the lazarette
> to work on things, though it is a bit of a tight fit.
>
> If the mount on the gunnel is forward of the lazarette, you can get to the
> area under the gunnel by laying down in the cockpit and shuffling
> underneath the cockpit benches towards the hull.  There's an open area
> between the backrests and the hull.  I recently installed shelves under the
> gunnel with an access port on top as part of my off-season projects so I
> spent some time around that part of the boat.  I'll provide some details on
> the under-gunnel shelves when I put together a recap of my off season
> projects in a month or two.
>
> Jesse Shumaker
> S/V Zephyr
>
> On Wed, Feb 2, 2022 at 1:01 PM <mm.bizlist1 at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> > Hi Peter,
> >
> > I do have Bill's writeup, as well as Roger's email describing his Tiller
> > Pilot installation.  My boat has speed and depth transducers in the
> > lazarette, so the pathway into the coaming is already present.
> >
> > Since I will be drilling holes in my boat for the first time, I want to
> > make sure my plan sounds reasonable based on your experience.  I intend
> to
> > install the electrical socket for the Tiller Pilot in the starboard
> coaming
> > pocket.  I will also install a 12V socket there as well.  Since these
> will
> > be relatively small holes I am guessing that I will need to use a fish
> tape
> > or something like that to get the wiring from the electric panel
> connection
> > to that hole.  Is that how you did it?
> >
> > I'm also hoping that my gunnel is thick enough so I don't have to
> > reinforce the Tiller Pilot mounting socket from underneath.  If that is
> not
> > the case, I believe I can reach that point from inside the lazarette.  Is
> > that what you did to put the hardwood backing block in Silverheels?
> >
> > Thanks for all you help and for the amazing library of videos you have
> > shared with our community.
> >
> >
> > Mike McKay
> > s/v Liber (2006/2018)
> > Allatoona Lake
> > Acworth, GA
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: Rhodes22-list <rhodes22-list-bounces at rhodes22.org> On Behalf Of
> > Peter Nyberg
> > Sent: Monday, January 31, 2022 5:59 PM
> > To: rhodes22-list at rhodes22.org
> > Subject: Re: [Rhodes22-list] Tiller Pilot Recommendations
> >
> > Mike,
> >
> > I'm not Roger, but I'll offer some of my experience anyway.
> >
> > First, I hope you've found Bill Wickman's write-up of the installation of
> > a Raymarine ST-1000 on his boat:
> >
> http://rhodes22.org/document.html?documents/TillerPilotSetuponRhodes22.pdf
> >
> > To answer your second question first, I had an unused circuit on my
> > electrical panel, and used that to power the tiller pilot.  Since that
> > placed a breaker into the circuit, I did not also include and inline
> fuse.
> > It seems to me that would be redundant.
> >
> > As for the routing of wires...  If you have the standard General Boat
> > galley, there's an area that's below the electrical panel, above the
> > counter-top and behind the sliding panels.  If you drill a hole in the
> aft
> > panel of this area, you will have an opening into the interior space of
> the
> > starboard coaming.  Do this close to the hull, just to be sure you're not
> > drilling a hole into the cockpit.
> >
> > Best of luck,
> >
> > Peter Nyberg
> > Coventry, CT
> > s/v Silverheels (1988/2016)
> >
> > > On 2022-01-31, at 16:36:49 EST, Michael McKay wrote:
> > >
> > > Hi Roger,
> > >
> > > I am finally prepared to install a Tiller Pilot on s/v Liber and am
> > hoping to
> > > get some additional advice before I start.
> > >
> > > 1) What is the best way to route the wiring harness to the starboard
> > coaming
> > > pocket?
> > > 2) Did you connect your Tiller Pilot to the electric panel or bypass
> > that and
> > > connect it to the house battery directly?  I do understand that an
> > inline fuse
> > > is required in either case.
> > >
> > > I do plan on eventually installing a chartplotter and integrating the
> > Tiller
> > > Pilot with that, but that is a project for another day.
> > >
> > > Thank you for all your contributions to this forum!
> > >
> > > Mike McKay
> > > s/v Liber (2006/2018)
> > > Allatoona Lake
> > > Acworth, GA
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> >
> >
> >
>
>
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