[C320-list] Raymarine EV100 Wheel Autopilot/B&G Vulcan

[Jack Brennan]

I think the key to the wheel pilot vs. below-deck autopilot debate is how you sail.

If you’re a hard-charging sailor who is not afraid of big seas, you definitely need below decks. Winds of more than 25 knots and 6- to 8-foot seas will overwhelm a wheel pilot. Likewise, carrying too much sail or having it improperly set will do the same.

I do a 600-mile round trip through the Keys and eventually to Key West every spring. The wheel pilot is fine for my purposes. At 15 to 20 knots with seas up to 5 feet, I sail with jib only and average more than 5 knots. With the sail properly set, the wheel is never far off center line.

We always manage to catch some winds up to 30 knots and short, steep seas of up to 7 or 8 feet in the Gulf of Mexico. I want to be at the wheel in those conditions, mostly because there is so much shallow water about, so the wheel pilot is turned off. 

My biggest problem with the wheel pilot was, when I first installed it, it would shut down on occasion when winds neared 15 knots. The problem turned out to be the cheap connector Raymarine installed where the power cable reached the motor. I replaced it, and it worked fine after that.

Oh, and the factory didn’t assemble the round part that fits on the wheel correctly. So it came apart and scattered ball bearings all over the cockpit and into the harbor. I sure wasn’t happy about that. Luckily, ball bearings are cheap.

Jack Brennan
Sonas, 1998 Catalina 320
Tierra Verde, Fl.









Sent from Mail for Windows