Hello,
I am looking into a self steering mechanism. After reading the websites of Hydrovane (http://www.hydrovane.com) and Monitor wind vane (http://www.selfsteer.com), I would like to hear what OCC members use specially in heavy boats, over 20T.
I noticed that there are at least 5-10 products to consider so it would be nice to hear other self steering product opinions.
I appreciate any info (the good, the bad and the ugly).
Thanks,

We have a Windpilot self steering system. Hope this experience will be helpful to others with similar systems. All self steering systems that use lines to the wheel are designed for approximately two turns lock to lock. The rope drums on these systems are all very similar diameter and the servo pendulums swing through similar angles.
We had difficulty getting the Windpilot to put enough lock on the wheel to correct the course in waves. Our steering is 3.5 turns lock to lock. The Windpilot or any other wheel steering system could not generate the lock to correct the course. We tried everything to balance the boat but it simply could not create enough rudder movement. We did solve the problem though. By installing 1:2 pulleys on the steering lines we doubled the line movement so it turned the wheel twice as much. All of a sudden the Windpilot performs brilliantly in all conditions! We even have the adjustable attachment point on the pendulum arm at maximum and it still has enough power to give us all the steering we need. It is amazing to watch it in big waves just pour lock on to correct. Really please with this simple modification that has transformed our Self Steering performance. If you have similar issues give it a try