h36 Autopilot Upgrade Thoughts

[Dan_Y]

Our '08 h36 has the latest Raymarine mkIIwheel pilot/ev1 course computer and the ACU100 controller. The wheel pilot works a lot in lighter air, even on the leisure setting, is a little noisy, but works well. I'm considering going to an ACU 200 with raymarine electric linear drive actuator. it is really quiet. However, it is quiet big at 27 inches long. The Lewmar direct drive is compact and nice, but at twice the price. Plus the 1/8 HP drive that is sized for an h36 seems to be difficult to find if you are outside of a dealer state like Florida.
One interesting OEM feature from Hunter Marine was the tandem rudder stock lever. It appears hunter may have offered a Lewmar a/p option in '08 and fitted the boats with the tandem lever shown below. I cant find this part number on the Lewmar site, so it may have been an oem option for Hunter.
Any thoughts on an a/p upgrade or insight into hunters a/p plan for this rudder stock configuration would be helpful.
TIA
Dan

 

[jssailem]

Dan, Sorry I can not help with specifics, but your plan and the concepts make sense.

How much use do you put the AP under. My wheel is used primarily when under power. Under sail the EV 100 needs to have the boat balanced with the sails. Then it moves very little.

 

[Dan_Y]

We like to engage the a/p 95% of the time. I only hand steer if it really gets light, maybe 3-6 knots. That’s when the a/p works. I agree that on a 10-12 knot day, once the sails are trimmed, the a/p doesn’t move much. Most of our day sailing on the Chesapeake Bay is where we just head in a good boat speed direction. I use wind vane mode a lot to keep the sails in trim (call me lazy). It’s interesting though to analyze the gps track afterward to see how the wind shifts. If in auto mode, the EV1 course computer looks like the track was drawn with a straight edge. The a/p display has a nice rudder angle indicator that I use to tell if my sails are reasonably well trimmed.