How to fit your own autopilot

Gilbert Park shows how he installed a new autopilot on his Trusty T23 motorboat

- Gilbert Park

My Trusty T23 was great for enjoying Chichester Harbour at 4-5 knots, but going any further was a bit of a strain. Every time you let go of the wheel she would quickly veer off course. If there's more than one crewmember this isn't such a problem, but I tend to cruise alone and make long voyages so help was going to be needed from an autopilot.

Initially, I had to find the size of the steering cylinder to work out which autopilot kit I needed. At a pinch, the smallest one might have worked for my Trusty T23, but there was certainty with the next size up, so I ordered one.

Autopilots are usually called 'George', probably after their inventor George DeBeeson, and can be a better helm in a motorboat than any human, saving on fuel as well as general wear and tear; they also tend to make turns smoother.

Installing 'George'

The Raymarine box arrived and, having read the instructions, it was clear that this was a major installation. Preparation and not getting confused were key.

As the boat had two steering positions I also checked with the manufacturers of the hydraulic helms that additional check valves were unnecessary to stop George from turning one or other of the wheels instead of the rudder.

Starting at the bow seemed logical. The heading sensor had to be installed 1m away from anything that might be magnetic and where its LED light can be seen for fault finding.

The arrow on the unit must point forward in line or parallel to the centreline. It must also be 2m away from the radar beam and fitted to be level in all directions.

Under the forward bunk seemed the best place to fit the bracket (it can be flush mounted), but it would be difficult to get at the stringer I decided to use for the mounting and it wasn't vertical. I therefore, screwed a piece of marine plywood to the stringer so that the heading sensor stayed vertical.