I guess if one categorized the full-keeled, heavy boats as cruisers and the fin-keeled lighter boats as racers, then maybe it would have to have that label. But it surely was designed and marketed as a cruising boat and not a racing boat. And J-boats are not gilding the lilly on this - they make pure racing boats along with performance cruisers also.

I think you will find Paul's experiences to be shared by many other boats not remotely associated with racing, but having a performance design.

Most autopilot problems are caused by installation issues. Most people simply do not understand the forces applied and have severely undersized mounts and connections. This holds true for windvanes also, as they too require robust mounts and substantial connections. The main difference is that windvanes LOOK like they need substantial mounting points and so are usually provided them. Conversely, when looking at a small, thin hydraulic ram, many people don't have visions of their transoms tearing off...

I don't buy your argument of decreasing battery life because of an autopilot. They simply are not in use that much to make a difference on most cruising boats that have high capacity battery banks and routine high current draw devices in addition to the non-routine use of the AP. Now, if you are talking about a pocket cruiser with one or two automotive batteries and no refrigeration, watermaker, solar, computer usage, radar, chartplottter, etc, then I would agree that an electric AP will cost a few dollars more over its life.

Mark