[C320-list] Raymarine Autopilot

[Greg Arnold]

I installed a below-deck drive, and have the old ST4000+ control head. 
The display is a bit faded, but otherwise seems to work fine.  Let me
know if you want it.

For my below-deck pilot, I went with the Raymarine Type 2 Long linear
drive.  Looking at the Defender website, I see the price premium over
the Type 1 is now close to $400 -- I could be misremembering, but I
thought the premium used to be a lot less.

Anyway, the extra length of the Type 2L drive let me bolt it underneath
the seat on the starboard swim platform, with the drive extending
forward above the fuel tank to the tiller arm on the starboard side of
the rudder shaft.

Advantages of this arrangement:

    The drive is attached to a very study fiberglass part of the boat
    Don't need to fabricate any plates
    Don't need to cut off the end of the tiller arm (at least for a
    rudder that swings 35 degrees to each side, don't know about the
    ones that swing to 55 degrees)
    Longer tiller arm means you can retain the 55 degree rudder swing if
    you have one of the boats with that feature
    Can get full range of rudder movement while connecting the drive
    toward the end of the tiller arm (9" out on the arm, beyond that
    would need to remove some of the vertical ridge on the inboard edge
    of the board above the fuel tank)

Greg Arnold
2005 C-320 #1054
Santa Barbara Harbor, CA



On 6/2/2023 12:48 PM, Paul Hetherington via C320-list wrote:
> Sorry to step on the tread Ken, I don't have any experience direct drive
> systems, other than a little research and some envy.
>
> Fixing my autopilots 'hallucinations' is high on my lust list.  With my 2
> younger kids and only mildly interested Admiral on board having a working
> autopilot was a quality of life improvement for sure.  Until the
> 'hard-a-port' episodes started.   Moved anything metal far from the gear
> with no results.
>
> At this point it seems I need another head unit to properly troubleshoot.
> If anyone has an old Raymarine St4000 or similar (ST6000 and some others
> compatible) in your discard pile let me know.
>
>
> ----------------------------------------------------------------
> Paul Hetherington
> Hull #155, 1994 C320 Seasun
>
> On Fri, Jun 2, 2023 at 12:13 PM Chris Burti via C320-list <
> c320-list at lists.catalina320.com> wrote:
>
>> When I did this Project on #867 I fabricated the backing plate out of a
>> scrap piece of 1/8"  316 stainless using home shop tools and polished it
>> myself. Definitely an easy  DIY project if you have a 4-1/2" angle grinder
>> with a cut off disk.
>>
>> Chris Burti
>> Farmville, NC
>>
>>
>>
>> On Fri, Jun 2, 2023 at 1:32 PM ptormey 4square.net via C320-list <
>> c320-list at lists.catalina320.com> wrote:
>>
>>> Jeff Hare has posted detailed info for that conversion and with his help,
>>> I completed it on Blue Skies #1037 2 years ago. VERY happy with the
>> result.
>>> BUT The only thing I could re-use was the rudder angle indicator, and you
>>> might not even have one of those.
>>>
>>> The new Powerhead is NMEA 2000 which is great BUT you might have to
>> update
>>> you existing stuff too.  The kit is complete from Raymarine but there is
>> a
>>> little an annoying Edson Tiller Arm that was surprisingly expensive and
>> had
>>> to be cut to fit. AND the backing plate needs custom machining. Jeff has
>>> posted a CAD file for that.
>>>
>>> While I do like the look of a finished backing plate, If I'm doing it
>>> again, I'd use aluminum for both pieces. You can only see it getting into
>>> the bunk headfirst.
>>>
>>> Pat
>>>
>>> Pat Tormey
>>> Blue Skies S/V
>>> Newport RI
>>> ________________________________
>>> From: C320-list<c320-list-bounces at lists.catalina320.com>  on behalf of
>>> Ken McCrimmon via C320-list<c320-list at lists.catalina320.com>
>>> Sent: Friday, June 2, 2023 1:11 PM
>>> To:c320-list at lists.catalina320.com  <c320-list at lists.catalina320.com>
>>> Cc: Ken McCrimmon<kenmccrimmon at hotmail.com>
>>> Subject: [C320-list] Raymarine Autopilot
>>>
>>> Hi Everyone
>>> I currently have a Raymarine Wheel Autopilot (EV100) installed on Kia
>> Ora.
>>> I am looking at having to replace the wheel section due to some
>>> malfunction.
>>> Instead, I was thinking about installing a direct drive system.  I am
>> just
>>> wondering if i can re-use any of the current components.
>>> They are only a couple of years old.
>>>
>>> Ken
>>>