Anyone know the Simrad TP32 Tillerpilot???

[djn]

I need a second mate when I am soloing and have looked at the Simrad TP32 TillerPilot and the Raytheon. The Raytheon is more than twice as much then the Simad for the lbs of my boat. I sail exclusivly in the Great Lakes. Any thoughts or advice is welcome. Cheers.

[Sven Heesterman]

I'm no fan of these electronics but if I were forced to buy a tillerpilot I'd only buy one with a "ballbearing spindle" (not sure if this is the correct name in english) instead of a screw spindle. A ballbearing spindle is able to take bigger forces with less friction but is more expensive.

[Dale Genther]

I have a Navico TP300 tillerpilot. Simrad is part of Navico (or maybe the other way around). Several years ago the Simrad tillerpilots were sold under the Navico name. My TP300 is almost the same thing as the TP32. Anyway, we've had it for at least 10 years and it always did and still does work fine. Very happy with it. One of the reasons we bought is was because it was quite a bit cheaper than the competition. As I remember the Navico unit didn't have an LCD display, just LED lights, while the competition (Raymarine?) had an LCD display

[djn]

Hi Dale, the display seems to be the only difference. How does your unit work when on a hard beat or hard broad reach? Cheers.

[Dale Genther]

djn, I don't know, we only use it for motoring or raising the sails. Sailing is too much fun to let an autopilot enjoy it!! It suspect it may do only ok, but not good, as it only steers to a bearing not to the wind or any changes in the wind direction and/or velocity.