Evanston: cheapskates
Evanston: cheapskates
When I opened the box in which a Simrad TP10 tiller pilot had been shipped, I concluded a part was missing. The power cord ended in two bare wires. No plug.
Simrad makes three sizes of tiller pilots.
I have the most powerful, a TP32, on THE HAWKE OF TUONELA. It came with a plug.
The smallest, the TP10, is more than enough for GANNET, whose inventory when I bought her included an Autohelm tiller pilot that has worked well but is somewhat noisy. I’ve been planning to buy at least one back-up; so when I noticed last weekend that Defender had the TP10 on sale, I placed an order.
After double checking to be certain there was no plug, I assumed that I would have to make a call to Defender.
Fortunately before doing so I checked the installation instructions in the owner’s manual, which covers all three Simard tiller pilots, and to my surprise and wonder found the following:
The TP10 Tiller Pilot operates from a 12V DC supply and is connected to the supply by two wires. (Fig. 5.7) Although the cable is supplied with bare ends, it is recommended that a good waterproof plug and socket is fitted for maximum reliability. A suitable plug and socket is available as an optional accessory (part no. SKT100; see section 6.4)
Out of curiosity I went online and found part. no. SKT100 priced at $65.67, 16% the cost of the tiller pilot itself. I have no intention of buying it and will fit an AquaSignal plug such as I use on THE HAWKE OF TUONELA instead.
The TP10 is roughly a $400 item. I paid a bit less on sale.
Can you imagine purchasing a television, or any other $400 appliance, and being asked, “Now, do you want a plug with that?”
Only in the boat business. Because all boat owners are rich. And fools. Or so some manufacturers obviously believe.
Thursday, December 8, 2011