Cruising Sailors Forum Archive

Autopilot choices?

I've been contemplating adding an autopilot on my CheoyLee 35 (about 17000#- mostly empty) as an addition to my Monitor and teenager self steering devices so that I don't have to steer so much if either won't deal with the conditions. I coastal cruise in the Canadian Maritimes where cold,wet and unpleasant are often on the daily menu. The common cruisers choice of a wheelpilot has some drawbacks for me: the boat may be too heavy, the response may be too slow because my helm takes 6 turns from hard over and finally, I'd have to get the new version of the Monitor wheel adapter that mounts on the front of the wheel rather than the current one on the backside. They cost $500. On the plus side even if I get a new adapter, a WP is less than 1/2 the cost of a below deck model. The below deck models seem the most responsive and durable and are offered by a variety of manufacturers. Raymarine, Simrad, Garmin are the well known brands but there is also guys like Alpha and WH. Then you can choose between an electric linear drive or a hydraulic ram. My boat has the classic Bob Perry underbody of a long fin keel and a skeg with attached rudder. The steering is rack and pinion that can be "backdriven" I'll pretend money isn't a consideration and ask "what do you use?" and "what would you buy?" Thanks, David

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