35-3 Raymarine EVO-100 Installation

[Disch]

I'm about to install a new EVO-100 autopilot on our 35-3 and wanted to get some feedback on locations of the EV-1 and ACU. I plan to put the p70s controller on either the port or starboard side, just to the side of the wheel.

Any thoughts on the best place (ease of installation) for these two components (EV-1 & ACU) for a 35-3?

 

[Christian Williams]

Here're my locations. Works fine. And the P70 on the binnacle.

...

 

[Geoff W.]

My white UFO is above my fridge in the galley area. The ACU is inside my starboard lazarette.

I still really don't like mine, it hunts left to right repeatedly. Which is fine(ish) when motoring, but when sailing it can mean the difference between being able to hold a stable point of sail and getting itself overpowered/turning up into irons repeatedly. Maybe I have a defective unit.

 

[Christian Williams]

Geoff, I figure you've probably heard me spout about sail trim and wheel pilots. But if the wheel pilot is getting overpowered, meaning it beeps and turns itself off, there is too much sail up or too much weather helm or too many waves tossing the boat around. They only work up to 15 knots or so. It is always necessary to trim the sails for nearly hands-off steering or no wheel pilot can handle it. The issue is almost always an overtrimmed mainsail.

Or of course, as you say, and more likely, you have a defective unit.

 

[Andante]

I installed the optional rudder position sensor. This improved the operation.

 

[Pat C.]

I just installed one of these this winter. Ditto on the rudder sensor. I had mine out in 25+ knots several weeks ago, it did fine. I was well reefed though for the weather, as Christian noted, too much sail will overpower anything. Even a helmsman.

My ACU is mounted high in forward area starboard lazarette. EV-1 is beneath starboard settee on aft side starboard bulkhead. The deviation from interference that it adjusted itself for was almost non existent, so I assume it likes it there.

Eric Aandreaa sailed the Norwegian sea for the first year or two with this autopilot. He eventually wore it out and replaced it with a linear drive unit. I figured if he could get that much mileage out of one, it should last me about three lifetimes on Lake Texoma. Check out his videos

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCUH6fLsV6J7WKEmf7vJKfAw

 

[Christian Williams]

Sailing Uma tried that. too--a couple of years and repeated repairs. Certainly not a heavy air device. But it's amazing what these little gizmos can do if you sail them like a wind vane.

 

[Hagar2sail]

We are also installing a EV-100 on our 35-3. I have put the p70s on our pedestal in a old gauge pod, along with a new B&g wind triton 2 display in a separate pod (I will be adding a new blog entry when I get done with this whole endeavor). The ACU-100 is in the small cubby under the nav seat, in front of the diesel tank. The EV-1 I mounted all the way forward under the v-berth seat because that was the only place where I could meet their criteria, on a surface that I only had to worry about roll and not heel as well, that was out of site and easy to get to the backbone.



I will say I have a love / hate with Raymarine. I appreciate the design choices they made with seatalk ng (we have both ng and n2k) but hate some of the other choices they make. The wheel drive is the same one that was on our st4000+ that we are replacing. That means I now have a spare wheel drive, but then that means they provided the cable with the drive that has 18 gauge wires on it, and connectors that have nothing to do with the ACU-100. Meanwhile the manual says the cable shouldn't be LESS than 14 gauge wire, and in our case 12 gauge. So yeah.... But having had the old ST4000+ which powered the drive from the head unit, it made sense, so what we have here is legacy happening, but they just throw the legacy parts in there and hope you figure it all out. Love that Seatalk NG makes sure you use heavier wires in the backbone vs. the spur cables, and the smaller end connectors, but there are no field seatalk connectors. Which means install headache and lots and lots of extra cable, since in their wisdom you can buy 400mm, 1m, or 3m, what happened the the 2m? That is the length I typically need.

OK, rant over. Hope your system is going together great!