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I had a Solaris Sumbeam cat in the 90's with Hydraulic steering (Vetus) with an Autohelm 3000 wheel pilot using a belt. It worked very well. My Sunrise Sport has morse cable steering with a Navico 5000 wheel pilot, that's still working well after 10 summers. However as you have hydraulic steering I would replace it with a new hydrulic steering system. There are plenty on the market. Or you could use a tiller type auto pilot directly on the tiller bar at the rear of one of the aft cabins. My friend's Lagoon 380 uses this and  I am sure it's a factory fit by Lagoon (it seems to work well and would be cheap). Just some ideas.

It's the weather silly. Having said that, this summer has been a lot better than the last three summers. These 3 poor summers were the cause of me moving to Spain. There is plenty of marina space at reasonable prices and flights are cheap. What more do you want?

Yes, Morse hydraulics

I'm presuming that you also have a hydraulic steering system. Your experience confirms what I thought would be the best route forward.

Is it me, or are all the Sunrises migrating south?

Over the last year, I have seen one go from Scotland to Portugal, one from Scotland to Wales, and yourself moving further south into Spain from France.

We have an Autohelm using a conventional wheel/belt drive.

It steers the boat better than me 

Coppercat still has thee original (1989) CETREK 727 Autopilot. Over the years this has given falutless service. Recently however we have started having an intermitent issue which I believe is caused by the autopilot hydraulic pump sticking or failing to activate. Leaving the pilot off for a couple of hours tends to cure the issue and then we'll get several days/ weeks of trouble free operation.

Has anyone else still got or had a CETREK 727 autopilot and if so have they experienced any similar issues to those we are facing.

If the issue cannot be easily fixed, I'm thinking of getting a conventional wheel pilot connected to the main wheel. Has anyone any experience of using a wheelpilot on the wheel of the hydraulic steering. Are there any issues I need to be aware of. 

Just to let you all know that White Fin a Solaris Sunrise 36 Sport is now at Sant Carles Marina in Spain after making it  through the Canal du Midi via Cap d'Adge. An excellent trip!

I'm not sure that we'll get to Conway. The plan is to come straight across the Irish Sea to Porthmadog/ Pwllheli depending upon the tide when we arrive. Conway will be a visit for another time.

We don't have windows in the roof of the cover but we do in the roof of hte solid windscreen so that we can see the mainsail.

You won't be far from us in Conwy as the crow flies - but there are a few mountains or a peninsula in the way.

That cockpit cover is enormous. Are there windows in the top as well so you can see the mainsail?