Does anyone have a recommendation for a simple under the deck autopilot?
I have concluded that my Raymarine unit is beyond repair. Parts are no longer available and I don't want to be forced into upgrading all the other working electronics just to have compatibility with a new autopilot.
Although the old one was able to hold course based on wind direction and compass heading, I never used the wind direction feature. I only used it as a convenient second crew hand to hold the compass heading while I was furling/ unfurling or trimming the sails.
Mounting a wheel drive autopilot hinders cockpit mobility. A stand alone, under the deck mounted to the quadrant would be ideal.
Paul & Wendy Keyser
"First Light"
Rye NH
2005 C36 MKII #2257
Wing, M35B
The previous owner of #1925 installed the Type 1 linear drive directly to the quadrant. It was working itself loose and on inspection cracking the metal of the part of the wheel where it was bolted. Edson strongly recommends against bolting to the quadrant and sells a very beefy ( and $700 expensive) tiller arm for the purpose. The linear ram and the rudder produce and react to a lot of force. WIth the tiller arm installed it holds course better and I'm much more confident using it in any conditions I've encountered so far.
I updated the ST4000 to the EVO200 with the existing Type 1 ram and it works well. After updating the anenometer using steer to wind is a treat. The p70 mfd control panel comes with the EVO kit, the autopilot can also be controlled from an Axiom chartplotter.
The Raymarine type 1 linear drive combined with the Edson tiller arm and the EVO 200 control ends up being a simple and robust underdeck autopilot. It is much better than the wheel pilot for our boats.
It is expensive but used all the time and a worthwhile upgrade in my experience.
Denis
Brazen Article #1925
2001 Catalina 36 MKII
Thanks for the reply Denis.
Was the Raymarine evo200 compatible with your wind instrument? What model windex do you have? Hopefully as Raymarine develops new electronics, they make them compatible with older devices.
Good info about the concerns of attaching the autopilot arm to the quadrant. I would guess most our boats are constructed that way. A seperate tiller arm makes sense.
Paul
Paul & Wendy Keyser
"First Light"
Rye NH
2005 C36 MKII #2257
Wing, M35B
Hello Paul - The old wind anemometer works with the EVO but needs a Raymarine Seatalk to NG converter to work with nmea2000. One converter in the network will work with multiple older instruments if you have older depthfinder, speed or tri data displays.
I used the Raymarine rebuild kit to replace the cups, bearings and seals on the original wind transducer.
Denis
Brazen Article #1925
2001 Catalina 36 MKII
Good to know that they have a converter to connect older tri-data instruments and also about the wind instrument rebuild parts. I have a dead windex in the basement. Thanks.
For reasons unexplainable, my autopilot came back to life when I removed the new fluxgate core and replaced it with the old one. I can only guess the repeated plugging and unplugging of unit abraded some invisible corrosion from the Kapton printed circuit board connector. If this turns out to be a temporary fix, at least with your info, I can put together a permanent repair.
Paul & Wendy Keyser
"First Light"
Rye NH
2005 C36 MKII #2257
Wing, M35B
Autohelm ST4000 wheel Replacement
It is time, cant re glue internal wheels, belt is shot, clam shell ocassionally starts to open. Hey, u it is only 26 years old. Drive motor is fine. Suggestions for replacement, new or from salvage chandlery? What is your experience? Suggestions appreciated.
peter g
2000 C36, MK2, Hull. #1897
wonderful, wonderful, wonderful ! ! !. 5 th Catalina