Auto Pilot

[Kim Schoedel]

Hopefully, by the time Spring rolls around I will have an auto pilot. Have a few questions from you auto pilot Guru's out there. My only experience has been with an Autohelm 2000 (belt drive) on our previous boat. We sail on a lake and normally only used it when having to motor back 30-40 miles to the slip on a hot, no wind Summer afternoon. So.....Our E is without one and my wife is missing the old one.

I know I want the new style (no belt). Hydralic not nessesary.

No need for below deck controls other than a power switch.

Wondering about stepping way up ($$$$) to the wireless control in the cockpit. Is it worth the big bucks?

Installation? Any do it yourselfers that have been there dun that? If I can install a ice box/refer conversion kit (which I did), can I install the new autopilot?

 

[tramp]

I have an Autohelm 4000 on my E34. As with everything on a boat, it will fail from time to time as mine has. I installed it 10 years ago, I use it when I motor or single hand. Install was fairly easy and so is operation. There is a host of gripes on the internet about this hardware but I have had good luck with it. Internal belt and shear pin is what you can count on replacing. If you don't tax Auto with heavy weather you should be OK.

Tramp
Dana Point Ca.

 

[Kim Schoedel]

Tramp, just learning here, I take it that your 4000 still has a belt, but not the old exposed belt that I had on the 2000? Do I understand correctly that the new 4000's (ST?) is gear driven at the helm?

 

[Loren Beach]

Belts...

Wheel pilot trivia: AutoHelm (Raymarine) 3000 series has the belt exposed. The 4000 series model has it enclosed and out of sight.

Loren

 

[windjunkee]

I bought the Simrad WP 320 (I think thats the number). I was thinking of going below decks but there is such limited space back there in my 32 that the wheel pilot was the best way to go. Its about $800 new without seriously shopping for a deal on it. Installation was fairly easy, though it took a while to shim the thing so that it was perfectly aligned with the wheel. Once installed, we hooked in a wired remote plug on the bulkhead with out other instruments, with a cord long enough that I can sit on the bow and control it. The controls are interfaced with our instruments so we can steer to compass, steer to gps waypoints or steer to wind angle. It works flawlessly.

Jim McCone
Voice of Reason E-32-2 hull #134
Redondo Beach, CA

 

[Kim Schoedel]

Jim, I hadn't thought about the Simrad. Sounds like your setup is just what I need. We sail on a lake. No need for any kind of communication between instruments. Windfall is probably our last sail boat and will keep her for many years. Where we really miss an autopilot is when we have to motor back to the marina long distance on a no wind Sunday afternoon. However, I kinda like gadgets. I would play with it sailing solo from time to time.

Did you install a power supply switch at the Nav station, then run it aft to the unit?

 

[Jack Loekken]

I recently installed the Autohelm S1 (Raymarine's replacement for the 4000) on my Ericsom 30+. It consists of 5 different components:

1. Course computer (the "brain"). This is a box, approx 11" x 8" x 2".
2. Fluxgate compass
3. Display head
4. Rudder position sensor
5. Drive unit

Everything except the drive unit and the display head goes below deck. I spent less than a day installing everything except the rudder position sensor.

The rudder position sensor took an additional 2 days. This was because I had to have brackets fabricated to install it, and access was a PITA.

All components are wired to the course computer, which in turn is wired to a power switch. Pulling the wire from the drive unit may be tricky, since you typically want to drill a hole in the pedestal and have the wire go inside the pedestal.

I have never installed a refrigeration unit, but my guess is that this auto pilot is simpler to install than a refrigerator. If you want to check for yourself, I think that Raymarine has installation instructions available online on their web site.

Btw, I paid $ 1100 for the unit at pyacht.com.

 

[soup1438]

What of an Otto Pilot?

Sorry, this thread triggered a recall from the movie "Airplane!".

It is possible that this Otto Pilot may not be an approved flotation aid.

 

[Mindscape]

Any feedback on how the new S1?

I recently installed the Autohelm S1 (Raymarine's replacement for the 4000) on my Ericsom 30+. It consists of 5 different components:

1. Course computer (the "brain"). This is a box, approx 11" x 8" x 2".
2. Fluxgate compass
3. Display head
4. Rudder position sensor
5. Drive unit

Jack - any feedback on the S1? I'm looking at it for my 32.

 

[Jack Loekken]

Jack - any feedback on the S1? I'm looking at it for my 32.

I finished the installation yesterday evening and haven't had time to test it yet. I have next week off from work and if the weather is cooperative, I will do some sailing and come back with a test report by the end of next week.

But I do like the fact that all the electronics is installed below, protected from the elements. My old Autohelm 3000 died after seawater found its way into the electronics.

 

[mohawkelly]

S1 Autopilot

I installed an S1 at the end of the season. I got to check it out for one day. It seemed to work quite well with the wind instrument, the GPS, and doing an auto tack. It would, however, lose heading when powered off. I sent the computer back to Raymarine and it checked out ok. So next season I'll do some troubleshooting.

 

[msc1212]

Other than the expense is there a good reason not to install the hydraulic drive unit on the tiller arm below deck?

 

[soup1438]

Hydraulics "out of the weather"

"Other than the expense is there a good reason not to install the hydraulic drive unit on the tiller arm below deck?"

Actually, you want to protect the piston-- which will be exposed above decks-- from any kind of corrosion, simply because it's part of the seal. You do not want the o-rings to be abraded. This means, also, that you need to make this whole assembly easy to inspect, clean and keep dry (yeah, right) too.

As if I'm any expert...

 

[windjunkee]

Kim,

Sorry it took so long to get back to you. The Simrad WP32 is wired below decks and is not switched, except through the instruments. So the power is connected through a fused line into the same bus bar that the instruments are powered up from and the controls are wired directly into the universal interface with the B&G system. So, we have an instrument switch on the electrical panel and then a second set of switches in the compartment to port of the companionway, by which we can separately power up the GPS, B&G/autopilot and the sniffers. When in standby, the autopilot draws virtually nothing thus, I saw no problem having the Simrad on in standby mode when the instruments are on.

By the way, a guy down the dock from us bought a used, but never installed, WP32 for less than $200 at the same time I paid $800 for ours. DOH

Jim McCone
Voice of Reason E-32-2 hull #134
Redondo Beach, CA

 

[Kim Schoedel]

Thanks Frank and Jim.

Any one out there have any experience with the wireless controller (Raymarine) for the S1 or 4000? When I replaced may VHF I purchased the wireless mic/controller and I really like it.

 

[Bob Robertson]

Wireless hand held Remote for the S1

Hi Kim,

I installed the S1 with the wireless held remote last summer. I mounted the antennae, for the remote, high in the cockpit locker against the forward bulkhead. The remote works from everywhere on the boat, including the cockpit, the nav station and the fore deck.<O<O

I have a hammock that I can hang from the fore stay to the mast. It feels a little decadent, but I kind of like being able to steer the boat while I'm relaxing in the hammock and sailing across the lake.


Let me know how else I can be of help.


Enjoy,
Bob

 

[Kim Schoedel]

Thanks Bob,

If I remember correctly, on your 38, the cockpit locker is starboard and so is your Nav station. Wondering how large this antenae is. My cock pit locker (starboard) is getting a bit full with the Espar, Fridge unit, charger, extra mooring lines and the fenders when not in use. My nav is on the port so would have to run wire over to the locker but shouldn't be a big problem. The biggest job will be the wireing from the main switch at the nav back and up the pedestal for the drive unit. Do you still have a fixed mount controler at the helm?

If the antenae is small, then I should be able to mount it somewhere high over to the port of the garbage can.

The ability to control Otto from the fore deck would be great. It seems that the Captain (my wife) gets to lounge on the deck while I get to steer.

How about the rudder position sensor? For my purposes (lake sailing) I wonder if I even need it. Did you install it? Will Otto work without it?

Sorry for all the questions and thanks for your help here.

 

[Richard Elliott]

Autopilot

You may have seen my earlier posts regarding very disappointing warranty service from Simrad. My belt failed in just over a year, just beyond the labor warranty. Simrad refused to ship a belt under warranty, requiring that the unit be sent to them for installation at my cost for shipping and labor. I reluctantly spent $80 for a new belt and installed it myself. Since, I have found that I can extend belt life substantially by disconnecting the autopilot when a blankety blank Bayliner passes close aboard (Don't they always pass close aboard?!!!).

 

[Kim Schoedel]

Rich, thanks for the FYI. Just learning here. Does Simrad make a wheel pilot that is direct drive, without a belt? I have been searching for more info about the Simrad but haven't had any luck finding details on their system.

 

[Jack Loekken]

Hi Kim,
I have a hammock that I can hang from the fore stay to the mast. It feels a little decadent, but I kind of like being able to steer the boat while I'm relaxing in the hammock and sailing across the lake.


Let me know how else I can be of help.


Enjoy,
Bob

Have you tried the autotack function while relaxing in the hammock :lol3: :lol3: