when i bought the boat it came with a navico 1600 autotiller. pretty old, but it got the job done. we needed something more up to date, with more torque. i chose the Simrad TP22. we could have gotten the lower model for cheaper. but i’ve found with boating that you need to know when to splurge. the TP22 is good for boats up to 34ft. so we’re on the small side of it’s capabilities, which is good because we’re going to be beating the shit out of it. i also was interested in this model because it has the ability to connect with our chartplotter (gps) via NMEA. i haven’t taken the time to set this up yet. but once i do we can choose a GPS location on the chartplotter and then hit the navigate button on the auto tiller, and it will automatically steer us to that location! pretty futuristic and bad ass. we’ve been warned though not to fully trust this option for navigation, due to the fact that it’s a robot and can not see obstacles, wave movements, etc.
wiring the Simrad tp22 was actually pretty easy to do because of our former Navico model. both companies have combined over time, and their products are quite similar. all i had to do was re-trace the wiring that was already in place, and tap into it’s power source.
This is the old plug.
simple removal. 4 screws and 2 wires to snip.
inside under the cockpit. we tapped into the former power supply.
while i was busy wiring and figuring out the instruction manual. claire took the time to freshen up the wooden panel for our new outlet.
here’s the new plug mounted on the fresh wood.
pretty clean looking inside the cockpit.
to the right is the old mount. the new auto tiller sits farther back.
wooden brace for the mount. old one on the right.
here’s the new mount for the tiller. it has a pin on the back bottom side. this is for it to pivot on as it holds and steers the tiller for us.
here’s the construction zone. the new auto tiller in the center. see how it rests on the tiller? theres a pin on the tiller for that metal rod to sit on. normally our hand would be on the tiller moving it left and right to steer us. but with the auto tiller that metal rod moves in and out, maneuvering the boat for us. it has quite a few settings. manual, auto, GPS compatible, and can even be set up to read the wind. we can even tell it when we want to tack!
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