Before reading on, please take a moment to fill out our weekly survey so we can share your thoughts and experiences with the Cruising Compass family. Thanks.
Does your boat have a traveler for the main sheet?
Many thanks to all readers who took the time to reply to last week’s survey on autopilots. Of those who answered, 98% have an autopilot on their boats. Of those, 41% have a below decks hydraulic autopilot, 35% have a below decks electric autopilot, 19% have a cockpit mounted wheel pilot and 5% have a tiller pilot. From the 2% who do not have an autopilot, half said they are planning to add one.
We asked if those with autopilots had a backup steering system in case the primary pilot fails. 89% say they do and of those 85% say hand steering is their back system. 14% use a wind vane as a backup while 11% have a second backup below decks pilot, 3% have a tiller pilot and 1% have a cockpit wheel pilot.
