Hello all, I saw the comment about wheel vs. under-deck autopilots, and have a rather funny story. It turns out our new boat neighbors had taken their 42 ft. Catalina out for a relatively long sail (a couple hundred miles). As they were coming back, the steering failed. They attached their emergency rudder, and as was mentioned by another poster, it was a pretty miserable way to steer the boat. The emergency rudder stock was short, and they fought with it for 12 hours or more. Coming into the harbor, they were exhausted. Later, the owner was talking with his son about the experience, and his son asked "Did you turn on the autopilot - why didn't it work?" Turns out, it never occurred to them that the autopilot was unaffected by the cable failure... :) It's still a source of ribbing and laughter to this day. I love the fact that our autopilot is driven under deck by a hydraulic ram. Kindest Regards, Bruce Whitmore 1994 C&C 37/40+Madiera Beach, FL (847) 404-5092 (mobile) bwhitm...@sbcglobal.net
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