[C320-list] Autopilot upgrade
Scott Thompson
surprise at thompson87.com
Fri Apr 19 11:17:57 PDT 2013
Time to replace my old, tired, non-functional autopilot, and possibly
other instruments not working at the same time. I'm toying with the idea
of switching to a below-decks linear drive instead of the wheel pilot I
have now. It would be more powerful than the wheel drive, include rudder
sensor, and be more protected from the elements. Also, it would clean up
the helm station and would not require moving the engine instruments
pod, which otherwise would be necessary with a new wheel drive. The
installer I'm talking to says that he would anchor the linear drive to
the swim platform, through-bolted with a stainless backing plate (which
would thus be on the top of the swim platform).
Some questions for you...
1. Does anyone know whether that part of the swim platform is sold glass
or cored? This is on a 1999 model year boat. The installer says he has
done similar installations on a 350 and that the swim platform is sturdy
enough to take the forces involved. I'm sure that is true for normal
sailing but what happens in a hard grounding?
2. Thoughts on whether this is a crazy idea? Has anyone else made that
change? The only real downside I've discovered is the cost, which is
substantially more than a wheel pilot. But I'm tired of dealing with the
old ST4000+ which seems to be broken more often than not, and never did
steer a straight line at its best, even when I followed all of the
tweaks and recommendations coming from this list.
Scott Thompson
Catalina 320 "Surprise," hull #653 (1999)
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