Photos of Autohelm ram/linear drive on Oceanis 37

[Rob Heath]

Hi
I am about to fit a Raymarine Type1 linear drive to my Oceanis 37. Has anyone got a photographs of a similar installation please? I am especially interested in the mounting of the ram/linear drive both on the boat and on the quadrant.
Regards Rob

 

[Davidasailor26]

Rob,

We have a Simrad autopilot with linear drive unit on our 37. I don't have any pictures now but will likely be going to the boat this weekend if you don't get any by then.

 

[Rob Heath]

Hi David
That would be really appreciated, thanks.

 

[Davidasailor26]

Hi David
That would be really appreciated, thanks.

Here you go:

First - pump mounted on a platform in the aft starboard locker. The stainless plate on the forward bulkhead is the backing plate for the linear drive mount.

Next: feedback sensor mounted next to the rudder post.

Linear drive mounted in the back of the starboard lazarette. The plastic fitting and hose are the cockpit scupper:

Other end of the ram:

You'll notice that the sensor and ram don't attach to the quadrant itself. There's a separate bracket bolted onto the rudder post for them. Here's what the bracket looks like from the stern:

Here's the whole bracket on the post, with ram furthest forward (right), then rudder sensor, then rudder post:

Finally, in case you're adding a compass and autopilot computer, this is where they are. The compass is on the aft side of the aft bulkhead in the aft cabin, just outboard of the opening for the transom window:

The computer is in that same opening but on the inboard bulkhead:

 

[Bob Mack]

Rob:
I have that exact factory install on my 2007 373, She's out and covered, but will try and get you pictures within the next few weeks when we get some good weather. The liner drive, linkage and controller are all original and function very well. Chartplotter has been updated to an E95.

 

[Bob Mack]

Rob:

I did find a few pics I took of a sister ship during building, that might help a bit. PS I would have preferred to locate the controller in a dryer location, e.g in the aft cabin, rather than the rear port lazaretto, although this has never been a problem.

 

[Ron20324]

DS26, those are great pictures. It would be good if everyone would have such good photos of ALL their installations- Myself included!

 

[Rob Heath]

That's really useful information.
Thank-you gentlemen! I'll try and post a bit about mine as it goes in.

 

[Rob Heath]

It's all in and running, so thanks for your thoughts and ideas.
The challenge was fitting the rod end to the pin on the mini-tiller. The Raymarine rod end is a different size to the Beneteau pin. We ended up buying a standard Beneteau female rod end, using a machined piece of studding, with different threads to attach that to the rod end.
Photo attached for reference.

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• Rob Heath
• Mar 1, 2017

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• Rob Heath
• Mar 1, 2017

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• Rob Heath
• Mar 1, 2017

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• Rob Heath
• Mar 1, 2017

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• Rob Heath
• Mar 1, 2017

 

[Davidasailor26]

Nicely done!

 

[Captpete12]

Interesting story about my autopilot ram on the Oceanis 40 I purchased used. Overall the boat was pristine and hardly used, however, the autopilot kept shutting down. In checking all aspects of the unit (electrical and mechanical) I found the fluid container to be almost empty. The area below the ram was wet with hydraulic fluid and a leak was occuring at the "O" ring on the ram. The was a small fabric bag attached to the ram with a vented plug in it - "remove plug from reservoir and replace with vented plug after delivery". This was never done and after installing the vented plug, refilling the unit and bleeding the system all worked well. the "O" ring stopped leaking as well and did not need to be replaced. Apparently the previous owner never used the autopilot!