2019-09-27, 02:44 AM
(This post was last modified: 2019-09-27, 02:47 AM by seandepagnier.)
Basically, it requires a more powerful motor in rougher conditions.
If you had a motor with a variable transmission or different speeds, it could work more efficiently and over a wider range of conditions, but for the most part, this is never used, and a motor is reduced in one or more stages to drive the main rudder with a single ratio.
If you can adjust the offset or add weather helm, you can get away with less travel, otherwise you need to be able to swing the rudder over a wider range and have a longer screw if that is how it is driven. It is also possible and maybe interesting to apply an opposing force using a bungee to cancel weather helm and help the drive motor, allowing a smaller motor to work even with a lot of helm.
A brushless motor would be more efficient and longer lasting, especially if it uses rare earth magnets, but in practice, the power consumption is small compared to what a few small solar panels produce because of gyro sensors. The brushless motors might be able to run more efficiently slowly which is quieter, but brushed motors are much simpler.
There are several ways of gearing a motor down to get more torque and then drive a lead screw. This can then attach to the tiller to move it, look for brushed dc motors that draw 1-2 amps without a load and gear it to move the rudder in and out at 4-8 degrees per second
If you had a motor with a variable transmission or different speeds, it could work more efficiently and over a wider range of conditions, but for the most part, this is never used, and a motor is reduced in one or more stages to drive the main rudder with a single ratio.
If you can adjust the offset or add weather helm, you can get away with less travel, otherwise you need to be able to swing the rudder over a wider range and have a longer screw if that is how it is driven. It is also possible and maybe interesting to apply an opposing force using a bungee to cancel weather helm and help the drive motor, allowing a smaller motor to work even with a lot of helm.
A brushless motor would be more efficient and longer lasting, especially if it uses rare earth magnets, but in practice, the power consumption is small compared to what a few small solar panels produce because of gyro sensors. The brushless motors might be able to run more efficiently slowly which is quieter, but brushed motors are much simpler.
There are several ways of gearing a motor down to get more torque and then drive a lead screw. This can then attach to the tiller to move it, look for brushed dc motors that draw 1-2 amps without a load and gear it to move the rudder in and out at 4-8 degrees per second