Hunter 310 and EV-100 autopilot

Nov 8, 2014
2
Hunter 310 Santa Cruz
Recently purchased a 2000 Hunter 310, and had a Raymarine EV-100 wheel autopilot installed. The steering us a gear drive, not cable. After a short while, the nut of the Edson wheel fell off. I discovered that there is about 1 revolution of the nut so it's barely hanging on there. It's also super tight so that there is a lot of steering friction.

Anyone have any ideas on how this could be fixed? I'm thinking wheel shaft extensions but I can't seem to find any.

Any thoughts or ideas appreciated.
-K