Autopilot Recommendations

Hi there
Looking for recommendations for an autopilot for a cruising-oriented boat between 10 and 12 metres with cable and quadrant steering.
For cruising east coast, Bass Strait and Tassie waters.

I have a Raymarine EVO-100 on my current 10m boat (which I'm selling). It's fine but a bit flimsy and gets a overwhelmed at times.

Planning for more arduous conditions, I want something which can cope better. I'm not a high-tech gadgets person....old-school but reliable is most acceptable.
Coursemaster? TMQ? Others??

Thanks

Fleming wind vane, or similar.

I have a Raymarine Type 2 Linear drive driven by a Coursemaster CM950 which has performed flawlessly for the past 8 years.

I had a wheel pilot on a previous boat and you will certainly notice the difference going to a linear drive.

I changed from a wheel drive ST4000+ to a Linear Drive 2 with EV400 computer on 6000kg, 10.3m boat. It's fantastic. Control is best via the MFD rather than the Raymarine Autopilot head. It's much easier and intuitive changing from wind angle to heading to following a course with MFD. It's not the latest and greatest but a $1000 Axiom 7.

A machined to order bronze Edson rudder stock tiller extension cost $1300, so price something similar.

I found the whole installation pretty straightforward and the bus was plug in and play.

What partially drove my choice was talking to a retailer that sold both Coursemaster and Raymarine who did installations in the Sydney area. Their advice was the Raymarine was the far better unit for a sailboat.

I will come in with the cheap option. But it is a really great product.

I love my little PyPilot - it steers really well, much better than a wheel pilot. There is a new one out now that is even better than my one. It is so cheap I can carry a spare. Costs about $250 for the whole head unit pypilot.org/opencart/index.php?route=product/product&path=62&product_id=59

Then you want a motor controller - about $150

pypilot.org/opencart/index.php?route=product/product&path=59&product_id=57 (bigger than mine)

Then you want a motor of some sort. I use a worm drive motor with a belt. But it is not for everyone - but it is really nice when you have a custom boat and it suits better than the alternatives. I can't use a pump, ram or linear drive anyway.

You know you want one Lazz - it would fit right into your Pi based system and would be a nice backup if the pricey head unti fails. In fact I would reckon that almost anyone could pick one up for a spare head unit, even if it just drives the same ram as your current unit. They are so cheap and it is good to have a spare on board.

cheers

Phil