[C320-list] Raymarine Autopilot failure

[Jeff Church]

Ben,

I installed the new wheel drive this Spring. Lowering the pod is no problem. 
Remove the front panel, unscrew the 2 screws that attach the pod to the 
binnacle, remove the caulk that seals the aft binnacle post to the pod so 
that the pod will slide down the post, drill 2 holes through the back of the 
pod, bolt and seal the pod back to the binnacle.

You might want to install the wheel drive so that the clutch and motor are 
in the 5:00 o'clock position like the original unit was. The 2 positioning 
holes that are provided will only allow the unit to be mounted so that the 
motor is in the 11:00 o'clock position. If you mount it there you will have 
to deal with moving or extending the wires that connect to the unit, as well 
as the aesthetic differences. Repositioning requires drilling a new locator 
hole in the forward ring of the wheel drive. You will also need to drill a 
hole in the pod to move the engine-stop handle outboard about an inch so 
that it does not hit the motor. Fill the old hole with a white plastic 
snap-in button that you can get at Ace.

Good luck.

JeffC

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Ben Waltuck" <benw at sun.com>
To: "C320-List" <C320-List at catalina320.com>
Sent: Friday, July 21, 2006 1:14 PM
Subject: Re: [C320-list] Raymarine Autopilot failure


> Has anyone replaced their raymarine ST4000 with the newer MKII wheel 
> drive?
>
> I send my unit in to raymarine for repair, and they said that both the 
> control unit and drive unit were broken.. and that it would be $299 to 
> replace my old drive unit or $439 to get the newer MKII drive unit (on top 
> of $199 to repair the control head). I decided to go ahead for the newer 
> MKII unit, but I seem to recall a post sometime back where someone 
> mentioned that they were not able to fit the MKII unit without moving the 
> engine control pod down.. So my question is.. has anyone successfully 
> replaced the ST4000 with the newer MKII wheel drive?
> AND, did you have to lower your engine control panel?  Is that as 
> difficult as it looks?
>
> My fear is that lowering the control panel might be a bit of a project if 
> I have to drill a new screw hole because I'd first need to get all of the 
> wires out of the pedestal.. and that could be a bit of a pain.
>
> Thanks!
>