Tiller Pilots

[Dennis]

The magnetic interference comes from the magnet which is embedded in the flywheel. It is there to operate the magneto ignition system, it makes no difference whether it is two stroke or four stroke. Different manufacturers outboards cause more or less interference depending on the physical location of the flywheel relative to the tiller pilot fluxgate compass.

I have had experience of three different outboards in use with tiller pilots, a Mariner 4 caused no problems. Whereas a Yamaha 4 and Honda 5 produce significant interference.

Hope this helps.

[Stephen Foyle]

Hi Dennis & Charles,

Thanks for that. I have a Yamaha 5hp so seems interference is likely. Can you recommend a tiller pilot or system to buy or,probably more importantly, what system not to buy! Would love to go to your Whitsun rally to talk to you all and see the boats but unfortunately it’s a very busy time at work here.

Kind regards,

Stephen

[erbster]

I copied Dennis! Got a flux gate compass second hand from Ebay. However, I still haven’t been able to get it to talk to my tiller pilot. There’s no doubt that the addition of an external compass adds significantly to the cost/complexity. My need for a tiller pilot is not critical so I haven’t got my system working yet. Dennis uses his regularly and it gives him good service


Cape Cutter #86 Aurora
travellingaurora.wordpress.com

[Julian Porter]

Can you recommend a tiller pilot or system to buy or,probably more importantly, what system not to buy!

Where did you get to with your quest for a tiller pilot?
Thanks
Julian

[Malcolm Sadler]

Thanks to all for the wisdom and guidance in this string.

I too am toying with the idea of a tiller pilot. I bought a non-electronically-working one from a very nice man who advertised it on Gumtree for a sensible price. The mechanics work, he tells me, so I thought this might be a cheap way to find out if I can use a TP near my Mariner 6hp 4stroke assuming I can fix the electrics on the TP.

Can I ask please the following :-

1 - is the magnetic interference from (some) outboards only when the outboard is running ? Ie. Can you use a TP successfully when under sail only ?

2 - my research on the net found that one boat owner had overcome magnetic interference by cantilevering the TP so it was over or even beyond the coaming - so fitting a long extension to the push/pull rod connected to the rudder. Does anyone know if this works on a Cape Cutter ? It moves the internal flux gate away from the o/b sideways rather than lengthways - I thought it was a nice bit of lateral thinking!

All views welcomed

Best

Malcolm

[erbster]

The magnetic interference on my Honda comes from a magnet at the top of the engine. When the engine is running it is spinning and will prevent the flux gate compass working. When it’s not running, there will still be interference- as I
understand it, it will cause a compass deviation, but it will be different every time after the engine has run.

Your engine may be different, so it may not be a problem for you.

My TP is cantilevered from a fitting which screws into the wall of the cockpit, to a bracket on the lower side of the tiller. The TP also needs an extension to the piston. I don’t think I can fit the TP any other way, but open to ideas. I’m looking for a boat electronics retailer who can advise me. The problem is that the big online chandlers seem to be “box shifters” and not able to give much advice. The kit which Dennis got is fairly simple and compact, but is no longer available.


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[Malcolm Sadler]

Thanks for that Charles

I’ll proceed a step at a time - see if I can get the TP working on the bench first and then start introducing the outboard. Happily the o/b is in my shed at home over winter so I can experiment in controlled conditions

I will report back

For the record the chap who set the TP at a distance is on https://youtu.be/je4LwjXR2wY He said it overcame the problem with his motor

All the best

Malcolm

[Donald]

Just bought a second hand Raymarine St1000+ and wondering if others have installed this without a fluxgate compass, or do you all have one. I have the old Honda 5HP motor that most people got with the boat. Any help would be appreciated.

[Dennis]

Hello Donald

I suggest that you fit your tiller pilot and try it.

It will (should?) work when sailing. The magnet in the engine flywheel will be stationary, which will give a fixed deviation to the fluxgate compass built into the tiller pilot. This would only matter if you were expecting the inbuilt TP compass to give an accurate directional reading.

You might be lucky and find that the (running) engine does not affect the operation of the TP. However, it is most likely you will find the rotating magnet on the engine will interfere with the inbuilt fluxgate (situated in the bulge on the underside of the unit).

In my case I found that at low engine speeds the TP had time to react and caused the tiller to oscillate constantly, as the engine speed was increased the oscillations decreased until it was operating almost normally at full throttle. However, this was not satisfactory because of the constant wear and tear on the TP mechanism.

[Justin Greig]

Hi Donald, I fitted a Navico TP200CX this afternoon. So if you need any practical input do ask. The fittings for Navico/Simrad tiller pilots seem to be interchangeable with Raymarine versions, so the principles are probably the same.

To say I fitted it this afternoon makes it sound like the work of a moment, but actually I have been thinking about how to do it all through the winter months - since my brother gave it to me last autumn.

I have mounted the bush (mounting socket) 20mm. ahead of the stbd mooring cleat. I epoxied a piece of marine ply under the deck to reinforce the mounting, but when I drilled through the deck (an unpleasant thing to do!) I found it is about 20mm thick so I'm not sure any reinforcement is actually required. A 60 mm bracket (Simrad TB60) bolted to the underside of the tiller and a 150mm extension tube (Simrad PRE 150) got the tiller pilot level and intersecting with the tiller at the right distance from the top pintle. WaveInn were the cheapest supplier of these bits and pieces at the time I ordered them late last year - but they are not cheap.

My outboard is a 4hp Johnston which does not have an output to charge the battery, so I am hoping it's dynamo may have less effect on the tiller pilot compass than other types of outboard - but time will tell. Deciding to fit this thing has of course also required consequential mods - I have had to put a solar panel on the foredeck as previously I had no way of charging the battery other than shore power.

Hope that helps.