J/30 Class Association Forums J/30 Forum The Boat, Sails and Equipment Tiller Pilot for Heavy Air

Hi all!

I've been having a blast sailing Ananda (#140) out on San Francisco bay. I have a Raymarine ST-2000+ tiller pilot currently, which I had planned to use when I start singlehanding more often.

However, SF bay can be intense, and I really doubt the ST-2000 is up to the task of steering in 30 knots (it's seemed kind of iffy even in 15). I'm told local racers here often have autopilots which are rated for 2-3x the boat size.

Based partly on the other tiller pilot threads here, I've been looking at the SPX-5 instead, but I'd like to hear the opinion of someone who's actually used one on a J/30 in heavy air/moderate seas. I'm also considering the GP model which is rated for a slightly larger vessel.

I've even considered the X-10, but I have no idea how one would go about mounting a linear drive on a transom-hung rudder.

Any stories or advice you can give me would be greatly appreciated!

Cheers,
Alex

I have the X-5 which is the older version of the SPX-5. I think the only change is the display head. The ram, compass and computer appear to be the same. I also bought it with the S100 wireless remote. This was purchased as an upgrade to the ST1000+ I was using. There is no comparison really. I can trust the X-5 to control the boat in almost all conditions. The ST1000+ was severely underpowered for the J/30. There is more discussion you should read in this thread.

Hi Bill,

I've definitely read the original thread and think I'm going to do the upgrade.

Do you think it's worth going for the Grand Prix version (rated for ~20% greater displacement)?

How sensitive is the X-5 to weather helm, sail trim, etc?

I don't know that you need the Grand Prix version, but if it is a small incremental cost might be a good choice. I can say that the X5 takes less power than my old ST1000+ because it isn't trying to correct the heading as much and is more responsive.

I can push the piston on the ST1000+ using the tiller. The X5 on the other hand will practically take off your leg if you get in the way of it!

It's not - the GP version is a full $900 more than the regular.

What kind of conditions have you had your X5 in?

I'm not sure that the GP version would be worth he extra cost. The X5 on Rhapsody has been out in 25 kt winds with 5 foot seas. I single hand and fly the spinnaker using the remote to gybe the boat without any problems. The X5 tracks well in following seas.

Nice. Yeah, I don't think I'll be getting the GP version. I'm learning that the really important thing is having a gyro which can sense impending changes in direction.

Sailing across the slot on a beam or close reach on San Francisco bay, it's not uncommon to see 35 knots of apparent wind. That said, from what I can tell the SPX-5 will handle that without a problem.

Bill, I am still using the st2000+ because I have not had the time to complete the X5 installation, I have found the st2000+ to draw so much power that the vhf and chart plotter constantly switches on and off. This does not happen with the engine running or while steering by hand. Putting the battery selector on both does not help either. Have you had similar issues with autopilots? Thanks

Koos,

I do not have the problem with my X5 tiller pilot. I would suspect that you have a high resistance connection between the power panel and the battery. Try measuring the voltage at the power panel when you the problem. You could run an extra temporary 14 gauge wire pair (DC return and + 12 VDC) from the battery to the power panel to see if it fixes the problem. If it does, disconnect the extra 12V wire. If the problem returns you have isolated it to the 12V supply side wiring. If the problem occurs when you take just the extra DC return wire off, you have isolated the problem to the DC return wiring.

When I installed the new power panel, I reterminated all the connections at both ends and cleaned all connections.

Bill, thank you for the advice, I am sure rewiring the new panel will take care of the issue,