[C320-list] autopilot

[Chris Holt]

Jeff,

I was wondering where do you find the snap in plastic button to plug the 
engine kill hole.
I never know where to look for things like that when doing a project.
Another one I was wondering where to get was those "rubber things" that you 
place in the hole that you have drilled in a tube to prevent the edges from 
slicing the wire.

Chris

----- Original Message -----
From: "Jeff Church" <jjemail at comcast.net>
To: "C320-List" <c320-list at catalina320.com>
Sent: Tuesday, November 21, 2006 12:50 PM
Subject: Re: [C320-list] autopilot

Koen,

I installed the MKII this spring, replacing a broken 4000+. I spoke to 
Raymarine about the S1. They said that the programming in the S1 control 
head might be a little better, something like 5% better in a following sea. 
That didn't seem to be worth the price, but I doubt that any of the usual 
boating outfits will have any 4000s in stock.

As to the installation, since the wires and compass were already in place 
some of the work was already done for me, but there still was a lot of 
tweaking to do.

The wheel drive did not fit without lowering the engine instrument pod. That 
wasn't very difficult. Remove 2 nuts inside the pod, scrape away the caulk 
on the aft tube, slide the pod down an inch, drill 2 new holes in the back 
of the pod, caulk the old holes and re-caulk the tube.

If you want the clutch lever in the 5 o'clock position where it always used 
to be located, you will need to drill a new locator hole in the forward ring 
of the drive unit, drill a hole in the pod to reposition the engine stop 
cable outboard about 3/4", and plug the old hole with a snap-in plastic 
button. It would be easier to just install the drive with the clutch in the 
10 o'clock position which is the way it is installed on all the newer boats. 
I think that position is less convenient to reach, and my wiring was already 
routed out the starboard binnacle tube. Another reason to consider the 5 
o'clock position is that you will need to drill a hole in a tube and fish 
out the wire to the drive unit. You might want to drill that hole into the 
empty tube on the starboard side instead of taking a chance of tearing up an 
existing wire in the port tube.

Room is tight in the binnacle tube, stuffing more wires up there is tough to 
do.

The biggest pain is fabricating a mount for the rudder sensor. I've seen a 
few good solutions. I can send some pictures of them  to your email address 
if you want.

Good luck.

Jeff
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Koen Bennebroek
  To: C320-List
  Sent: Tuesday, November 21, 2006 11:04 AM
  Subject: [C320-list] autopilot


  I'm considering adding an autopilot to Big Cat. Most Catalina's I've
  seen use the ST4000 or the MKII. It seems that both have been
  discontinued and replaced by the S1.
  Apart from the rudder transducer, is there a difference between the
  models? Is there a reason to choose the S1 over the older models?
  Also, how hard is the install? I assume all of this can be done while
  the boat is in the water?

  Thanks, Koen
  (Big Cat, 1995, #224)