Ocean crossing by pedal power & autohelm advice

Hello: A quick update on my pedal powered ocean passage from Canada to Hawaii - photos from successful sea trials last week:

http://adventuresofgreg.com/blog/2010/02/23/inside-passage-trip-report/



I would like to install a Raymarine ST1000 Tiller Pilot and I need some advice. According to the documentation, I need 18" of tiller when I connect the push rod. My small tiller 'handle' is only about 5" long. Extending this to 18" will move the tiller way into the middle of the cockpit.

The rudder handle is the chrome handle on the right hand side of the cockpit in this photo:



Does anyone know something about these autohelms? Will it still work if I only have 5 or 6" of tiller radius? Is there an electronic setting that I can use to adjust for this?

Thanks,
Greg Kolodziejzyk

 

If it is shorter it will react too fast. You can adjust the gain down to compensate. Make sure you have enough movement for the throw of the autopilot. I believe it is 9" but check the manual.

 

What do you mean "enough movement for the throw" ? of 9"? My tiller handle is a radius of 5" and a total throw of around 5 inches or so.