I have a Cape Horn windvane and an old Navico 5000 which we call Otto. It steered hundreds of miles offshore when I hit the frustrating calms, and it put up with swells and rolling and what not. It should only be used when motoring in calms, or in very docile sailing conditions, although it will drain your batteries if you don't have additional power supply such as solar panels, wind generator, etc.
The Ottopilot 
should be about 90 degrees from the tiller, attached to a wooden block or something similar on the aft deck. You put a pin on your tiller where you stick the arm of the pilot, et voila, you have your tiller slave. You usually have a button for a fixed course, then 2 others for adjusting the course one degree at a time, port and starboard.
This may be way too basic information for you, but there's nothing to it really, except that you need to connect the wires properly and have that right angle to the tiller.
Maybe the other guys can give you a more sophisticated answer here, for me it was a pretty straight forward deal.
1 2005-07-13 08:22:43
Topic: autopilot (4 replies, posted in Boat handling / Performance)
2 2005-07-05 14:02:08
Re: Halifax Bermuda and back (9 replies, posted in Boat handling / Performance)
:-) the gang plank was first attached off the pulpit, but was ripping my forestay out when it got bumpy so it ended up balancing on the pier. So, one person had to stand at the opposite end to counterbalance while the other jumped off it and onto the deck from 3 feet in the air. Spectacular boarding/diving, don't try that at home :-)
3 2005-07-04 12:28:03
Re: Halifax Bermuda and back (9 replies, posted in Boat handling / Performance)
Hello Contessa people,
just got back from a short ride down south to the pretty little island of Bermuda. My crew and I covered 1800 NM in 18 days at sea with the 750 mile return trip in only 8 days, not so bad for such a small boat. We encountered pretty much everything out there, from squalls, to gales, thunderstorms, lightning, calms, ships, whales, dolphins and sharks. The Gulf Stream was really bad on the way down, we added 200 miles towards Europe and 30 hours of fighting the strong current with a little nor'easter blowing against it as well.
No matter how much you read about these boats, only being out there on the ocean in a real "blow-me-down" will make you appreciate the genius of these little vessels.
So there we were, rubbing fenders with Swan 70s and Hinckley 65s at Captain Smokes Marina in St. George's, with professional delivery skippers of multi-million dollar yachts taking pictures of our little Contessa. Not too shabby, eh?
We filmed 8 video tapes and a film will be edited in the next few weeks with about 60 min of pure exhilarating sailing and breathtaking shots of Bermuda.
If you guys have questions about this voyage, please go ahead, I'll do my best to answer as many as I can.
Best,
Christian
4 2005-04-22 13:54:02
Topic: Pintles (28 replies, posted in Repairs/Modifications/Upgrades)
I have 4 on my rudder. I custom made 2 of them (stainless obviously) at a local metal shop and oversized them. I can't give you any dimensions but if you take the first gudgeon out and ask them to make a new one after that model it'll be easy. As for the pintle they made 2 "wings" with two bolts going through the rudder and a pintle to fit the gudgeon.
It's very easy for a metal shop to make them once you give them at least a drawing with some aproximate dimensions.
5 2005-04-22 12:03:55
Re: 1GM10 vibration (3 replies, posted in Technical)
thanks, it's good to know this.
I just installed the new shaft and cutlass bearing and it works very well now. There was also some play in the old cutless and the shaft was quite a lot thinner around the cutless and the packing gland so I guess some extra vibration happenned there.
thanks again for your input.
Christian
6 2005-04-13 07:36:43
Re: 1GM10 vibration (3 replies, posted in Technical)
Hi guys,
I'm replacing the prop shaft and the cutlass bearing and I noticed some increased vibration when I run the engine in idle. If I increase the revs it stabilizes but when idle the engine moves sideways quite a bit. Some people say this is normal.
Any comments?
7 2005-04-04 07:43:44
Topic: Contessa "milëages" (5 replies, posted in Cruising)
Contessas have been known to cover good offshore distances, sometimes as much as 140-150 NM per 24h. However, these are rare instances with strong, consistent winds over a relatively flat sea. Contessas have also been known to keep up with bigger yachts in the 30 foot range, sometimes beating these larger sisters to the next port. Because of their relatively narrow beam and their wine glass shaped hulls offering less resistance through the seas, Contessas sustain surprisingly good 24-hour speeds with minimal drift.
Last summer I covered 350 miles in 4 days, but one day was a 50 NM day as the winds were light or non-existent. The reality of offshore sailing will teach you that the wind comes rarely from the direction you want, and they're rarely of the the strength you would prefer. They usually drive you crazy with their absence, or surprise you in the middle of the night with a real blow-me-down.
That's why the "ideal sailing conditions" are so memorable.
8 2005-03-28 14:23:32
Re: Windvane for a Contessa 26 (28 replies, posted in Sails & Rigging)
I have a Cape Horn windvane made by the famous circumnavigator Yves Gelinas. It works flawlessly and it steered 400 miles non-stop across the Gulf of St. Lawrence. Highly recommended, and made by a guy that sailed alone, non-stop around the world.
9 2005-03-11 08:59:49
Re: Sailing Backward (2 replies, posted in Boat handling / Performance)
A Folkboat or a Contessa can be sailed backwards with a backed main, steering it while facing the stern, just as you do on a dinghy. I have seen Folkboats being parked that way in Sweden and Denmark, but I never tried it on my Contessa. However, this can be a useful technique if you anchor with your stern against a big rock or cliff when backing the main to come close to the wall and attach your lines to shore will help.
Practicing out in open water is highly recommendable.