[Rhodes22-list] Tiller Pilot Recommendations

Thu Feb 3 18:22:11 EST 2022

Mike,

I have an old fashioned varnished wood tiller.  I haven’t seen the GB fiberglass tiller.  So, I don’t know exactly how it is shaped.  But, the nice thing about the Raymarine pedestal mount is; there is a 3” OD X ½” thick base which is thru bolted to the top of the gunnel.  Then, there is a cylindrical pedestal that screws into the base.  The Tillerpilot has a pin that drops into the top of the cylindrical pedestal.  The cylindrical pedestal is available in a variety of lengths to adjust for the difference in height between the top of the gunnel and the top of the tiller.  The Tillerpilot Owner’s Handbook gives instructions how to determine the appropriate length of the cylindrical pedestal such that the Tillerpilot is installed level with the top of tiller.  The cylindrical pedestals are available in the following lengths and you would need to choose the length that raises the Tillerpilot up above the top surface of the tiller.

Pedestal Length                Raymarine Part No
38 mm (1.5 inch)                              D026
50 mm (2.0 inch)                              D027
64 mm (2.5 inch)                              D028
76 mm (3.0 inch)                              D029
89 mm (3.5 inch)                              D030

I think I needed the D027 Pedestal.  But, I don’t seem to have it written down anywhere and the boat is in winter storage for a couple more months.  The chances are, your fiberglass tiller would need a different length cylindrical pedestal anyway.

I looked at all the other mounting options for the Tillerpilot.  Between the selection of different length pushrods and the different height cylindrical pedestals, this mounting option gives the best overall fit and leaves the least intrusive hardware permanently attached to the tiller and gunnel.  For example, when the Tillerpilot is not being used, the cylindrical pedestal can be unscrewed and stowed with the Tillerpilot.  This leaves just the base attached to the gunnel, which is small enough to sit on and not likely to snag a line or stub your toe.  There is also no permanently attached bracket on either the top or the underside of the tiller.

Regarding the plug and socket for the Tillerpilot cord - The socket comes with a waterproof cap, which has a retaining lanyard, so you can’t lose it.  The plug itself is waterproof and I’ve never had an issue with water intrusion in 22 seasons.  For me, running the cable thru an area of the cockpit wherein you are unlikely to sit on it &/or foul a line on it is a more important issue than protecting a waterproof socket from the elements.  But, that’s just me.  Certainly, mounting the socket inside the coaming compartment will work.

Roger Pihlaja
S/V Dynamic Equilibrium
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From: mm.bizlist1 at gmail.com<mailto:mm.bizlist1 at gmail.com>
Sent: Thursday, February 3, 2022 12:19 PM
To: 'The Rhodes 22 Email List'<mailto:rhodes22-list at rhodes22.org>
Subject: Re: [Rhodes22-list] Tiller Pilot Recommendations

Roger,

This is very helpful information.  Other owners like Peter and Bill
installed the mounting socket directly into the gunnel as opposed to using
the pedestal mount.  Bill installed his tiller pin on the bottom of the
tiller using the 1" tiller bracket, but that won't work for me.

I have a GB fiberglass tiller.  The bottom of my tiller is exactly level
with the height of the gunnel.  For that reason I think I need to put the
tiller pin on top, which may require the use of the pedestal mount to keep
the Tiller Pilot horizontal.  Is that what you did?

I'll reconsider where to put the electrical socket--you make a good point
about keeping the seating area clear.  I also need to replace my tiller
extension with a shorter one since the current extension covers the point
where the tiller pin needs to be.  These boat projects have a nasty habit of
growing as you get into them!

Thanks again for your support.

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 ROGER
PIHLAJA
Sent: Wednesday, February 2, 2022 4:44 PM
To: The Rhodes 22 Email List <rhodes22-list at rhodes22.org>
Subject: Re: [Rhodes22-list] Tiller Pilot Recommendations

Mike,

In my previous post, I gave Raymarine Tillerpilot P/N's.  These pieces/parts
assumed the gunnel end of the Tillerpilot would be mounted on the top of the
gunnel on the starboard side.  The pedestal mount is thru bolted thru the
top of the gunnel using 4 SS fender washers as backing plates.  This type of
mount will load the gunnel in shear.  The 4 fender washers will provide more
than enough shear strength for this application.

Far more critical is the installation of the pin in the tiller.  It needs to
be precisely mounted in terms of the distance from the center of rudder
rotation and the angle of the pin in the tiller.  The pin needs to be
vertical when the tiller is all the way down.

I considered mounting the socket for the Tillerpilot in the starboard
coaming compartment.  But, I decided against it because the cable would be
in the way in between the Tillerpilot and the coaming compartment.  That's
very valuable sitting real estate in the cockpit.  Instead, I mounted the
Tillerpilot socket thru the side of the starboard gunnel aft of the
Tillerpilot.  This puts the cable out of the way of the mainsheet and
traveler controls and it isn't in danger of someone sitting on it.

Have you ever crawled under the cockpit seats?  On my boat, there is an
epoxy coated strip of wood covering the hull/deck joint.  Cables can be
anchored to this strip of wood with cable ties & anchors.  As far as the
installation of the Tillerpilot socket, the underside of the gunnel can be
accessed from the lazarette compartment.  Assuming the lazarette compartment
is cleaned out, I can get my whole body in there and I'm a pretty big guy
and not very flexible anymore.

You will need to use a fish tape or an unbent wire clothes hanger to fish
the wire from the cockpit bulkhead to the circuit breaker box.  It's only a
couple of feet, so this is a pretty easy fishing job.  The Tillerpilot
should be on it's own separately fused circuit.

Other than that, refer to my previous post.

Roger Pihlaja
S/V Dynamic Equilibrium

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From: mm.bizlist1 at gmail.com<mailto:mm.bizlist1 at gmail.com>
Sent: Wednesday, February 2, 2022 11:02 AM
To: 'The Rhodes 22 Email List'<mailto:rhodes22-list at rhodes22.org>
Subject: Re: [Rhodes22-list] Tiller Pilot Recommendations

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:
https://na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Frhodes22.org%2F&data=04%7C01%7C%7Cc61deb045f3b4e34337008d9e7526ed8%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C637795163510316570%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000&sdata=0UhN6lzUm4L8Bb7fNpP4WUb%2FTku3fZTlMz%2FLVVwn0tc%3D&reserved=0
%2Fdocument.html%3Fdocuments%2FTillerPilotSetuponRhodes22.pdf&data=04%7C
01%7C%7C46b1c3e18c8d4716342608d9e67e7d8d%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%
7C1%7C0%7C637794253233449617%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJ
QIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000&sdata=qHOiiYudmChIw13
nZzsvDBcaTFJ8DxOZWGu0TMF2joA%3D&reserved=0

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
>
>
>
>