On Wed, 19 Nov 2003 15:42:00 GMT, "Daniel E. Best"
wrote (with possible editing):

Oops, sorry. Somehow I got the impression that we were talking about
some sort of large jet ski.

It seems to me though that this must be a solved problem. We sailors
can't be the only ones too lazy to stay at the helm all the time. Have
you tried contacting any dealers or marine stores that cater to the
power boater?

Take care - Dan

I'm sure somebody's solved this, I just haven't found them yet.
Autopilots tend to be expensive and are installed on larger yachts. I
think, therefore, that they might be out of reach of most of us
do-it-yourselfers. I.e., if you've got the money, you hire it all
out.

That never stopped me, however! I don't think it makes sense to spend
that kind of money on a boat which retails under $25k, yet I'd like to
solve the problem, so I'm willing to do a bit more research.

I live in northern NH and there are very few boat dealers up here.
What there are usually sell small, trailerable boats and there are no
boatyards. I've asked a few dealers, but no luck so far.

Thanks,
--

Larry
Email to rapp at lmr dot com


L. M. Rappaport wrote:

On Tue, 18 Nov 2003 17:58:39 GMT, Dan Best wrote
(with possible editing):



Larry, you described this as a jet ski. Does it have a wheel or handle
bars? I was envisioning more of a handle bar like arrangement and
rigging some way to connect the ram to one of the handle bars. Some of
the wheel pilots (like the one I have) afix a small rim to the inside of
a wheel that a belt goes around to actually turn the wheel.

Good luck - Dan



...snip

Dan,

Well, actually I said: "It is a jet boat powered by
a 200 hp Merc". At 18.5' it would be quite a personal watercraft!
Yes, it has a wheel. It seats 8 (6 comfortably) and looks like a
runabout for all intents and purposes. The only significant
difference is that it is powered by a jet with no lower unit or
anything below the keel to smash into rocks.

The wheel seems to be an enclosed unit with a cable or tube
coming out of it.

Thanks,
--

Larry
Email to rapp at lmr dot com