Autopilot on a TC-255

[Alok]

I have been lurking on this site for more than a year. I live near Galveston, TX and had started thinking seriously about a C-Dory last summer. A couple of ladies named Katrina and Rita set my plans back a bit, but the boat is now close to becoming a reality.

The vessel in question is a TC-255, due in September. It will have a co-owner, my friend Charlie. And yes, so far we have managed to stay friends while working our way through the option list, starting with the accent color (blue…). We are having a lot of fun, and the wives seem to enjoy watching us have long and technical discussions about things that really do not need long and technical discussions.

My background is in trawlers and Charlie’s is in outboards, so between the two of us we most things covered. We do have one question- born out of inexperience- for the list:

Should we get an autopilot?

The considerations are as follows:

- The boat will NOT be used for low-speed trolling- that is not the style of fishing that we do in the Galveston area, so we do not need an autopilot for fishing.
- Most high-speed trips will be in the Houston Ship Channel or the Intracoastal waterway (the “ditch”), where we cannot use an autopilot anyway.
- Most trips in the open waters of the Galveston Bay system will be limited to 30-45 minutes because of the relatively high speed of the Tomcat.

That leaves trips on the “outside” – the Gulf of Mexico. These will 2-6 hour trips, either straight out from Galveston to oil rigs for bottom fishing, or parallel to the coast to go to Freeport, Corpus Christi, etc. Even with a good weather window, on many such trips we expect to encounter a chop of perhaps 2-3 feet, maybe a little more.

Neither of us has any experience with an autopilot in a small, fast boat. The question is, can an autopilot be used safely in a relatively light vessel like the Tomcat going at 25 knots in a 2 ft chop? Is it acceptable to use an appropriately sized autopilot at any speed and in any seas in which the craft can be comfortably hand-steered?

What says the list?

[JamesTXSD]

Hi Alok,
Congrats on the soon-to-be boat. The waiting is tough, huh? Here's an absolutely free opinion: go for the autopilot. Even if you will be hand steering most of the time, just being able to take your hand off the wheel to grab a snack, use the head, or check a chart will make the trip much easier.

I have plenty of experience in the Gulf, but not on a C-Dory...yet. An autopilot made our trips in the trimaran much easier (even in the ICW).

We sailed for years without an autopilot, never missing what we didn't have ("Hey, I bought this boat to sail it!"). Other than day-tripping, the mundane task of keeping the boat pointed in the general direction you intend is better left to the autopilot so you can attend to navigation and what's happening outside the boat.

My two pesos... the TomCat is a spectacular boat and will only be enhanced by the addition of an autopilot.

Best wishes,
Jim B. (at the other end of the Texas Gulf Coast)

[Alok]

Jim:

Thanks.

Hope to meet you half-way in Corpus Christi in a few months.

It is nice to be able to have a conversation about C-Dorys in Texas!

Alok

[Discovery]

Hi, Alok

I agree with Jim B. Go for the Autopilot. We have owned two TomCats, the TC24' (Cygnet) and the TC255 (Discovery). Have had Raymarine electronics on both, including Autopilots. Have a ST6002 S1G on the TC255, in conjunction with a C80. While we don't leave the Autopilot on for long periods of time, it is nice to have available. We plan to do a lot of trolling in the future, and we also have the remote control, for course changes from the cockpit. It's easier to plan for, and install these things during the iniital boat rigging, not try to fit them in later.

Brent

[Sealife]

I have the ST6001 and would not leave home without it. Works great in just about any sea condition. Where it really comes in handy, is in low visibility situations, where it is hard to steer a straight course without visual reference points. In fog, its a life saver. Most times out, I just pick the spot I want to go to on my C80, engage the autopilot, and away we go, hands free!!

[Dora~Jean]

Always has to be "another" opinion, but thought I'd throw mine out there. I too had a trimaran, 31 ft, just about same as yours, Jim. My autopilot was treasured. I could adjust sails, eat a sandwich with BOTH HANDS and generally relax when the going was slow. Most of the time I used it while motoring at 6-7 knots. If the wind kicked up and we began hitting 12-18 knots under sail, wild horses couldn't tear me away from steering, too much fun.

On a powerboat, especially one like the TC255 that likes 20+ knots, I'd be reluctant to use it at those speeds because I'd want to be able to quickly dodge debris or seaweed. Having an autopilot would be conducive to taking your eyes from what's ahead. I WOULD use it for trolling however, but that doesn't seem to be in your activity list. You can always add it later, but then again, maybe it's much cheaper done now, don't know. Just my 2c.

[gljjr]

After going out with StartcraftTom on his Raymarine equiped boat I know I would like to put an autopilot on the 27'. I'm actually thinking of getting the TR-1 Gladiator as it is designed from the get go with fishing in mind.

As for being able to quickly dodge to avoid debris, on Tom's Raymarine setup he just grabs the wheel and changes directions. The unit will then go back to heading toward the waypoint.

[lloyds]

I miss my autopilot that I had on the sailboat. I would even have one on my 16 if I could find a cheap one. But, autopilots have a mind of their own occasionally. I would never get up on plane and run with an autopilot if I was more than an armslength away from the wheel. Maybe not even then. But autopilots do give you time to do a lot of things you would otherwise have to wait to do, or have someone else do them for you. It opens up a whole new way of getting about on a boat. They are terrific tools.

[thataway]

We have sailed many thousands of miles with autopilots--and one of the first electronics I have put on our boats for over 40 years has been an autopilot...However, I have not have them on my faster runabouts and express cruisers, just on sailboats and trawlers.

We will probably put one on the Tom Cat 255--and most likely a Simrad.
However I do agree that when running at 15 to 30 mph, it is a full time job tending the helm, and I am a bit uncomfortable with a pilot. In our "home" waters of Perdido Bay and the ICW, I would not use a pilot much because of other boats, navigational hazards, debris and pot floats. For trolling or displacement speed running I would consider a pilot and we will probably put one in--but it will not be the first electronic item....

[journey on]

OK, here's my thoughts about an autopilot. We sailed across the Pacific with an autopilot, up the Inland Passage to Alaska, and in the Gulph of Mexico. The autopilot let us attend to navigating, watching out for debris, and steering the right course. Hand steering required intense concentration, as we found out when the !@#$ thing failed outside of the Marquises, and we hand steered for two days.

So naturally, when we got journey on, the second thing was an autopilot. It's a pain to install, actually not to install, but to bleed by hand. We've tried it out in Peter Puget's Sound, and it works better at 15 knts than at 6 knts, works great at both speeds. It also worked great in the ocean, down south. Please note that 15 knts is still not fast. Being on the pilot allows one to watch for debris, and fishermen (fisherpersons?) Changing course is just pushing a button. You can check the charts (all of Puget Sound looks the same, wooded shores,) check the wake, but certainly not have a beer.

First get radar, next get an autopilot. Third, have the factory bleed it for you. that's who's doing it for us now.

Boris