Frustrated...singlehandler Autopilotless

[Franklin]

The lever on my st4000 broke. I've been trying different things like JB weld without luck. Last night I busted more things on the thrust bracket. I called RayMarine and they want $650 for it. The autopilot is 10 years old...I'm not paying that much for a part on a 10 year old autopilot that needs to be replaced in a few years anyway (need a better one for offshore).I've been looking at below decks but it seems my hunter 376 will not allow anything to be attached to the rudder as it only has room for the cast aluminum quadrant. I don't think the quadrant can take the force of a linear push on it so I think I'm stuck with a Rotary drive (that eliminates Simrad...they only have linear).I've been asking Raymarine questions and am a bit fed up with them. They keep asking me how much the boat weights. They tell me I need a sprocket but they don't make them and I should get that from the wheel maker...Edson who says they don't make them either. That doesn't work of course because the st4000 is rated strong enough for my boat via the weight but we all know it can be overpowered easily.All Raymarine pilots now need a rudder transducer. What the ****. How hard is it to know that if I am in the center and it is 20 clicks to the right for max and 20 to the left for max, to determine where the rudder is? And these are supposed to be "intelligent" computers in them? That's sad...it can't even do the math of a 3rd grader.I've been trying to compare the torch and they some list in lbs and others in NM. Nm is a measurement of distance, not force.Some manufactures only do hydraulic steering.I tell ya...just so damn frustrating to get anything done these days with a boat.

 

[Franklin]

I also don't like

that I'm going to pay Raymarine $3500 for an autopilot that takes 10 seconds to go from hard over to hard over. Simrad has a wheel autopilot for a 3rd of that which is almost a 3rd faster.

 

[RAD]

Franklin,

can you mount the linear outside the quadrant? I think the quadrant can take a linear drive, when I started to research for my boat I came across all kinds of ideas (still havn't installed one yet),hey check out Fred's website and see what he did.BTW hows the new iron jenny

 

[Franklin]

New iron Jenny

is wonderful. Wednesday night I finished all the connections and wiring (had other wiring to do not related to the engine) and started her up. She ran very quiet and no vibration. I love the location of the impeller (in the front) and that the stop cable is no longer needed (has been replaced by an electric kill button). I used to always trip on that damn cable as it was installed in a bad place.Tomorrow I'm taking her out for the first time to see how the prop does with it. I can sail without and autopilot...I guess ~ It's been a while since I've had to do that...I've gotten spoiled.It's sad though...I got the money to spend...just not sure what to spend it on. I'm afraid I'm going to get something and it not work right or up to my expectations.

 

[Les Blackwell]

I not sure I'm going to be much help here, but...

Okay, lets start with what I know. I have a Hunter 380 and you have the Hunter 376 and if I remember correctly they both weigh in around 18,000 lbs--maybe 19,000 with full tanks. And Edson made the wheel for both of our boats. I'm using a Raymarine Autopilot 5000+ unit at the helm but I connected it to a Whitlock Steering Systems from PYI who also sells Max props. The Whitlock motor is a geared down system hooked to a chain that goes to the wheel. It is a geared sproket made by Edson, I'm sure. My suggestion is to call PYI and ask to talk to the steering guy in the company. They are all engineers and are easy to talk to. No sales force. Their free phone is 800-523-755 My Raymarine 5000+ talks to the other instrucments (GPS, radar, etc) but the motor does the work. I've been happy with this system for almost seven years. Not a problem.Les

 

[RAD]

look at that, ask and you'll recieve

Thats what I love about this forum

 

[chuckwayne]

Nm is Newton-Meters in this usage,

and is a measure of force-in the metric system!I'd follow Les's advice

 

[Anchor Down]

Everyone Knows

…that NM is New Mexico, which is west from Franklin, so the boat should be pointing west when the unit is installed.Seriously, good luck.

 

[Rick9619]

You CAN rebuild it!

IF I understand what your problem is this may help. Here is what happened to mine. These terms may be slightly caveman, but I hope you get what I mean. On the clutch lever shaft, there are pins that go through the shaft and metal sleeve that rotates the cam. When you engage the clutch, the cam rotates and puts tension on the belt so the motor can move the helm. These pins all wore out and sheared, hence the cam would not hold tension on the belt... autopilot no worky So I took the autopilot apart. Just pry the two halves open gently. Then remove the cover over the motor and cam. If your pins are sheared (cam rotates freely) then you can pry it off. You now have a rubber roller, metal sleeve, and the shaft attached to the clutch lever. I got a small slightly oversized drill bit and drilled the pin pieces out of the shaft and metal sleeve. You want the holes slightly larger. Then I drilled the pin out of the clutch lever on the other end of the shaft ALL the way through the clutch lever arm. Get the clutch lever off the shaft (you have to do this) Now all holes are free and clear. Ya with me so far. Next, I got cotter pins at "special marine price" from WM. Take your parts with you so you can size them. They have like two sizes. Small and then the next size up. Got parts now, time to reassemble. You have to do it in this order because the rubber roller goes over the metal sleeve and you cant put the pins in the shaft and metal sleeve with it on. So... (1)Put the metal sleeve on, then measure the length of the two holes for the cam pins. Shaft+sleeve=length of cotter pin. Cut the cotter pin and stuff the two pieces in the holes. (2) Put the cam roller back on and stuff through housing hole. (3) Clutch lever on and cotter pin through to secure. That may sound tricky but its not. Take it apart and you will see what I mean. $5 dollars in parts. New life to old unit! Oh and if the roller cams on the drive housing break, I fixed those too.. better than new.CheersRicks/v Whiskey Chaser If you need more info.. PHXSnuffyF16@cs.com

 

[Franklin]

Roller cams

How did you fix the roller cams? They busted too.

 

[Rick]

Busted Roller Cams

Franklin, it was really a pretty easy fix. I went again to WM and got some phillips head bolts (stainless)long enough to go through the roller and out the back of the housing with some locking nuts for the bolts. Not sure on the size but just measure the thickness of the roller cam plus the housing plus the length of the locking nut. Then I drilled through the center of roller cam to include the piece of busted plastic and out the back of the housing. Now just push the bolt through and secure with washer and lock nut on the back. Dont make them too tight or cam wont rotate, hence the locking nuts. Worked great. One word of caution. If the roller cam that is right next to clutch lever breaks then you cant put a nut on back because the lever wont lock down. For this I just used a wood screw that was long enough to secure in the back of the housing and doesnt stick out.Cheers Ricks/v Whiskey ChaserFranklin if you want to talk landline email me at PHXSnuffyF16@cs.com and we can exchange #s

 

[Debra B]

below decks autopilot

look at other makers... Lewmar makes some really nice chain-drive autopilot motors that will connect nicely to Raymarine controls. All of you instruments will connect, and the motor will be sized correctly. (Of course you still need the rudder position sensor...)Several companies (like Edson) make pusher arms to go on the rudder post... assuming you have room... if you want to add a linear drive ...they need to be keyed to go on the post or drilled and tapped - depends on the application.I had all of this figured out, but never came up with the funds. Simrads autopilot is just so much cheaper! (I have a separate quadrant on my rudder post that is set up with a worm gear for a chain drive motor... I guess is was original equipment.)Failing all of that you could replace the quadrant you have. Are you sure it isn't strong enough for a linear drive?

 

[Steve Dion]

what type of pedestal?

Franklin:What type of pedestal do you have? Our Hunter Vision 36 has a "pod" type pedestal with the built in table/cooler.When we look inside there is a metal frame that everything attaches to. At the bottom of the frame are two large screws that are setup to accept the rotary drive for a Raymarine. I was told that I need a 57 & 15 tooth sprocket because our wheel makes 1.5 turns in total.These are suppose to be Stainless Steel. I have received a price of $2700 for the complete Raymarine system. On top of that I would need the sprockets, chain and a few other parts to complete the installation. PS: This is the same setup as the 40.5.