Mounting the Raymarine ST1000+

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Art

I have read many postings on the joys of this addition, and have sprung for one, currently enroute from Sailnet. My question: which of the installation options to choose and why? 1) pedestal mount on top of coaming, with pushrod extension (how long?); 2) Top of coaming with wooden homemade cantilever (courtesy of Aldo); 3) Raymarine's accessory cantilever mount to sidewall of cockpit (about $50, I think), attached by accessory bracket to underside of tiller; 4) "inside mount" (as seen on C25-250 website http://c25c250.best.vwh.net/restricted/sunris.html)? Any other suggestions? I think I can manage the wiring, and appreciate Aldo's pictures showing use of the coaming pocket. Thanks, Art (1989 C-22 "Namastay")
 
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Trevor

Depends on boat set up

Hi Art - You'll love your tiller mounted autopilot! How and where it mounts in the cockpit is dictated on where the body of the unit sits in relation to the tille (90 degrees, just above the tiller when set in the pin you'll install). Once you get the unit, install pin and see where the other end needs to be. If it's over a coaming, you'll just need to mount a pad there; if it doesn't reach the coaming or is below it, you'll need the installation "arm". It'll become evident once you get it on the boat. Best of luck - have fun! Trevor
 
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Trevor

Depends on boat set up

Hi Art - You'll love your tiller mounted autopilot! How and where it mounts in the cockpit is dictated on where the body of the unit sits in relation to the tille (90 degrees, just above the tiller when set in the pin you'll install). Once you get the unit, install pin and see where the other end needs to be. If it's over a coaming, you'll just need to mount a pad there; if it doesn't reach the coaming or is below it, you'll need the installation "arm". It'll become evident once you get it on the boat. Best of luck - have fun! Trevor
 
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Aldo

Autopilot Rambling

Art: The other day I said to a sailing friend of ours that I would sell our boat if I couldn't have the autopilot on it (because that's how attached I've become to it). That probably isn't exactly true, but my wife did not appreciate hearing that at all, but then I've never seen her steer the boat for 35 miles when there is no wind. We really do use the autopilot all the time, and even though our friend said that she considered that "wimpy sailing", I have sailed the boat for enough years that I don't have anything to prove to anyone anymore, including myself. After you get yours installed, spend a little time getting used to it and knowing it. They are very good, but they aren't perfect. We were in Havre de Grace, at the top of the Chesapeake Bay a few weeks ago, and were talking to some "Old Salts" who take their boats to the Bahamas and beyond every winter. We mentioned the 2 problems that we are currently having with our autopilot to them. Keep in mind that their's are also made by Raymarine, but cost $1000s of dollars more than ours. Our first problem is that the autopilot will go into the "Standby" mode for no reason. This only happens about once or twice per 6 hours, but it does happen. They said that they knew this problem well and referred to it as the autopilot "taking a sh..". (You can fill in the missing letters). The other problem that we have occurs when we connect the autopilot to the GPS and let the GPS control it. We have had this working in the past, but not this season. We're still working on this but it's not too big a deal to me, but it is driving my son crazy. So anyway, when you use your new autopilot, and you are sitting against the mast, keep in mind that it isn't perfect, and may have to make a quick visit back to the cockpit. (Also, there are a few places on the water that just seem to confuse it, maybe there's something under the water like high voltage power lines, or something coming from airport radar). These places are few and far between, but they also do exist. By the way, I recommend keeping the remote out of the rain. Ours got very wet a few years ago in a thunderstorm, and we had to return it to Raymarine who quickly fixed it, but one of the buttons has never quite been perfect after that. I don't know if it was the rain or the lightning, but as I said, one of the buttons just isn't perfect. The remote is a wonderful thing too, and you will be able to steer your boat from other places than the cockpit. Relative to your mounting questions, I didn't mount mine the way that I showed in the photos because I was cheap, although I certainly have had my cheap moments. My design objectives were to have the autopilot look good when it was being used, and also to not have the boat look like there was an autopilot installed on it, when it was not being used, (like when we are not on the boat). When mine is taken off, the only thing that remains on the coaming is the stainless steel threaded button. If you need dimensions on that piece, or help making one like it, let me know. If you want me to measure anything shown in my photos, let me know that too. Also, if you want me to take a photo of my current panel that I revised since my previous photos were taken, please reply and I'll take a new photo for you. I think that the wooden piece that I added is about 10 inches long, and there is a maximum recommended length of the rod extension by Raymarine. Mounting it on the coaming would seem to have it out of the boat, instead of in the boat. This would be especially noticable when the boat is heeling toward starboard. I wouldn't even consider mounting it on a pedestal on the seat. The seat hinges aren't strong enough to take the power that the autopilot can easily exert. Do a good job on the wiring, it will be worth your time if you do it right. If you can use the electrical grease on your terminations that would be worthwhile in my opinion. Just ask if you have any more questions. You will be able to enjoy sailing much further soon. We do cruise much further now that we have the autopilot. Aldo
 
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Dave

Raymarine Tillerpilot

Aldo, Where can I find the pictures you mentioned of your tillerpilot installation? By the way, how are things back in MD? I grew up in Dundalk. I want to get back there with my boat sometime and cruise the bay. Thanks, Dave
 
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Aldo

Photos of Autopilot Installation

Dave: I don't know exactly where Trevor found the photos of my installation. My life is just one e-mail message after another. Send your e-mail address to me at aa.camacci@comcast.net, and I will send you all the photos. I'll try to attach one here. I still enjoy sailing on the Chesapeake after 23 years. Last Saturday we had a nice sail from Middle River, to Rock Creek, on the Patapsco, so we were near to Dundalk. We actually live near Hershey, PA, so it's nice to get away in the summer to MD. Aldo
 

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Art

I appreciate the input

Thank you for your responses; especially Aldo in Maryland. Very helpful. It will help me justify the expense to my first officer. The unit has arrived, and I hope to start drilling holes this weekend. Query (Aldo): Was there any specific reason for the sub-panel installation as opposed to either tapping directly into the starboard side wires (enroute from the battery to the main panel) with an in-line fuse, or alternatively tapping into the main panel at the accessory toggle? Admittedly it looks great, and the on-off switch is a handy backup. As to the mounting, I did some measuring and found I needed 8" of extension to do a standard coaming mount. Since Ray doesn't make an 8" rod, I ordered two 4-inchers. Hopefully I won't heel enough to dunk it . . . Art
 
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Aldo

The reason ...

Art: The reason that I put a panel inside the coaming compartment was because I didn't want to drill a lot of holes into the boat. This also protects the connector even more than the cap that it comes with, because I have naugahyde covers that cover my coaming compartments when we are not on the boat. (I actually did this to protect the teak. All my teak is covered except the dinghy motor mount, and that looks terrible right now). You can certainly connect right to the battery with an in-line fuse, or, to the Accessory switch. The reason that I didn't do that was because there were getting to be too many things on the accessory switch. I have since added a depth sounder to a new version of the panel, and also a connector for the GPS that feeds signals back to the autopilot, and there is also a connector for the power cord for the GPS. To put it another way, there is starting to be a lot of wires on my boat. I am not known for doing everything the easy way, but one of the nice things about a boat is you can get it the way YOU want it. I have since changed the wiring so that the Master switch does turn off the panel to all of the autopilot connectors. I was trying to find out if the photos that were mentioned were already loaded by searching the archives. I never did find them, however, I did read a response that someone sent to me and they also mentioned, what I wrote to you in a previous message, and that is that the autopilot seems to be sensitive to bad power connections. I actually have considered adding some capacitors to address this problem, but havn't done that yet. Anyhow, you don't really need the on-off switch, you can just switch the autopilot to Standby, or just unplug it. Let me know how you like you autopilot once you get it installed and start using it. I will try to load the photos that I have either as responses to this question or on the Photo Fourm. It is challenging to get them to upload, but I really want to do this so that in the future, someone can just check the archives to find them. Aldo
 
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Aldo

Photo of SS Insert

Here's a photo of the stainless steel insert that I made from a carrige bolt. I removed the square portion and threaded it with 1/4-20 threads. I also made it lower and polished it on my lathe. I then inserted it into a 1/2 inch hole in the coaming, using silicone sealer, and flat washers on the inside, and a self-locking nut.
 

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Dave

Thanks

Aldo, Thanks a bunch for posting the pics. Nice job on your installation. I really like the electrical box in the coaming compartment. I may copy you on that. Dave
 
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Aldo

Dave, Hold off until next week

Dave: Thanks for the complement. I made a new panel this year, which also holds a depthsounder. I'll take a photo of it this weekend, and post it next week. Aldo
 
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Aldo

Photo of New Autopilot Electrical Panel

Dave: As I promised you last week, here is a photo of the current panel that I made this spring. I put a depth sounder in this one. (We have found this especially useful for our sailing at night, which is nice because it is cooler). Anyhow, please remember that one of my main objectives for mounting the electronics this way is to avoid putting holes in the boat. Actually, there are several new screw holes in the boat, but they are all covered up by the teak trim ring. This isn't one of my best photos, I had to adjust the brightness and contrast, because the whiteness of the boat faked out the camera. Just reply if you have any questions. Aldo
 

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A

Art

Raymarine Tillerpilot: I'm up and running

I've installed, tweaked and commissioned the autopilot and very happy with it. As you longtime users have said, it will surely change the way I can utilize my boat, particularly longer hauls and singlehanding. I mounted directly to the top of the coaming, which had 1" of thickness and didn't require backing. Two, 4" extensions (D006) accomodate the stretch to the tiller perfectly. There's a very slight down-slope to the tiller, which I'll have to test-drive in hard conditions to be sure it's OK. (manual stresses a level run here). I used Aldo's plan for the panel, utilizing wood-grained synthetic flooring material and mounting in the starboard coaming pocket. I pulled juice off the accessory bus on the main panel. I left a little room on the subpanel in case I go to a remote in the future (mine didn't come with one - I'll see if I need it over time . . .) Thanks for the help!
 
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Aldo

Art...

Art: I think the issue of keeping the autopilot level is that the "internal compass" within the autopilot is gimbaled. It is connected with flexible film wiring. If the autopilot is leaning too much, it might not have as much swing one way as it was designed to have. Did you use the brass socket that came with the autopilot? For my application, I didn't find it deep enough, so I made another one exactly like it but about an inch deeper. Did you already epoxy your socket in? If not, I could make a deeper socket for you. The other thing that you could possibly do is just raise the tiller. Since you had previously said that you were getting your autopilot from Sailnet, I assumed that you were getting the remote for free. They used to give them away with the purchase of the autopilot. I recommend that you call them and see if they can make a deal with them. Normally they cost about $140 if I remember correctly. I never single hand my boat, and still find the remote useful. I think that if you single hand your boat it would be great, but not $140 great. You could be forward as far as the bow and still be able to steer your boat. It couldn't hurt to call and ask. Aldo
 
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Dave

Control Panel...

Aldo, Awesome job on the panel design. Do you worry at all about it getting wet? You mentioned SailNet giving away remotes with the tillerpilot purchase. Are you referring to the Raymarine ST1000? I know the Simrads come with a free remote, but I'm going for the Raymarine because I like the other products that can network with it. Namely the wind instrument. Thanks, Dave
 
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