A tiller pilot is an automatic steering system specially designed for boats whose rudder movement is controlled by a handheld tiller. The system is made up of two electronically connected parts: an electrically-operated hydraulic ram, which generally has one end bolted onto the side of the cockpit area and the other end fixed to the tiller, and a central control unit. By extending and retracting the hydraulic ram, the tiller pilot moves the tiller from side to side to maintain the course programmed by the navigator into the central control unit.
Tiller pilots are generally found on smaller sailing boats, especially when being sailed single-handed or with a minimal number of crew, because it frees up a crewmember from continuous tiller duty. In fact, the right tiller pilot correctly installed soon becomes a valued extra crew member.
The smaller tiller pilot systems are completely self-contained, with the electronics and compass housed inside the hydraulic ram. These more basic versions will only maintain a pre-set heading while higher specification systems can be interfaced with GPS in order to steer to a pre-defined waypoint. All tiller pilots are tested in a variety of conditions and manufactured to be watertight and storm-proof.
More expensive models have many useful extra features. For example, an auto-tacking system automatically turns the vessel at a predetermined angle, while a wind vane mode can maintain the boat's course relative to given wind data. Most modern tiller pilots can also be integrated with other navigation systems, such as chartplotters, to provide a seamless navigation capability.
For many sailors, a tiller pilot is not an optional extra but an essential piece of equipment which can be extensive used in almost all conditions, and which frees up manpower from endless hours spent hands-on at the tiller.
Please read more about Autopilots
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