Easy to Add a Tillerpilot
The Hydrovane is designed to be connected to a tiller style autopilot for use when motoring or when sailing in very light winds with sloppy seas.
You can use any tiller pilot. The specs are irrelevant because the pilot is driving the semi balanced, leveraged Hydrovane rudder, which takes very little power to turn.
Simple Retrofit
A tiller is already in place on the Hydrovane Drive Unit. A ¾ in / 2 cm outer diameter extension must be made to extend this tiller and readily adapted to whichever connection is required by the tiller pilot manufacturer. The pilot itself needs to be fitted nearby, either on the deck or rail or attached to the stern pushpit.
Other self steering systems have variations on such a retrofit. Only Hydrovane comes complete with a tiller in place that directly steers its own rudder – makes for a very early tiller pilot installation… and most effective.
Autopilot Backup
Hydrovane owners who have installed such tillerpilots report strong preference for them over their expensive below deck autopilots, if they have such: less noise, not under a bunk, small electrical draw, saves the larger unit for a ‘rainy day’ – and a cheap way to have yet another back-up.
We used such a set up on our last boat which had a temperamental below deck autopilot that we never worried much about (or bothered to fix)!
Other Features
