Ray,
Use the K.I.S.S. principle . . .

The 'Age of Sail' types simply put the eye-spliced ends on lines over two of
the 'handles' around the wheel.

Today's sailor could use a couple of pieces of 'bungee cord' to do the same
thing. If you don't have handles, it's easy enough to set-up a toggle
system, or use a couple of padded hooks.

I use one length, stretched from the Port & Starboard aft docking cleats,
and make a twist {for a loop}to hold the stick at whatever slight angle I
need. Simple enough to slide a hook along and 'capture' it in the loop. {for
a wheel}

Regards & Good Luck,
Ron Magen
Backyard Boatshop

"ray lunder" wrote in message
...
Any pictures or ideas out there for a homemade autopilot for a medium
weight 23' sailboat? This has wheel steering. I'm thinking of when
there's no wind and you want to maintain a course for a few minutes to
hand sail or tidy up.
Did you know there's a band called autopilot? Isn't google great?

On Thu, 30 Mar 2006 10:10:54 GMT, ray lunder wrote:

an ingenious cluster of complex hidden
gears that was self correcting and only used a fraction of an amp,..
and made sandwiches and,..

Have you considered a wife or girl friend?

.....many, many complex hidden gears, and will sometimes make
sandwiches,... :-)