I've just bought a 26M and would welcome any advice on any simple ways to leave the helm for a short time as I do much of my sailing single handed. My previous yacht was a Timpenny 670 owned 35 years from new and as it had a tiller and was well balanced under sail I had a simple bungee which kept the tiler amidships whilst I made a coffee or relieved myself. Upgrading to wheel steering it seems I can't leave the helm - has anyone found a solution other than installing the auto pilot shown in an excellent series of posts, but which is currently a bit more than I want to spend or get involved in at the moment.
Wed, 20/09/2017 - 4:10pm
#1
john.pompei
Hands free steering
In lighter winds, it is not difficult to balance the sails allowing you to bungee the wheel and nip down for a quick bite or pee. I have my autopilot mostly working now, and so don't need it, but the pilot does not cope with any gusty weather. I'm still working out the kinks though....it is a wheel pilot, btw.
David Claassen
"Logan's Run"
2006 26M
Hi David,
Thanks for your reply, since my original post I have been trawling the previous posts and see several owners have installed various "autopilots" also I saw a reference to hydraulic steering do you have any knowledge on this option ?
Regards
John
Ashanti 2008 M
Hi John
There's a thread on hydraulic steering that you can find under the new Knowledge Base (use the Resources menu). It was a few years back but all still relevant.
Rick Jones (Treasurer), former 26X & 19 owner, Isle of Wight
Thanks Rick,
I had read that one which was what put me on to the hydraulic idea.
Looks like a winter project,
Regards,
John