Robin Benjamin goes on a one-man mission to eliminate unnecessary holes, starting with mounting his tiller pilot using an antenna bracket

I hate making holes in boats. Holes let in water and it’s better to keep the water on the outside of the boat. They are also hard to hide in the years to come when the essential (at the time) item you fitted is no longer working and its replacement has different mounting holes.
When I bought my new boat I was determined not to make holes, so came up with several ideas for alternative fixings around the boat.

For the autopilot I bought an aerial mount and simply bolted it to the pushpit. This has worked fine for 8,000 miles. It’s a much better option than the ugly mounting bracket that you can buy, it does not require making holes and can be easily removed.

Robin Benjamin

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