Raymarine Wheel Autopilot Rudder Sensor Installation

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Nov 28, 2004
209
Hunter 310 San Pedro
Rudder sensor installation

Tony, Do you have the steering arm on the top of the rudder post? If so the installation is easyW when you remove the cockpit floor aft of the pedestal the sensor is attached to the deck below, and the rod is through bolted to the bottom of the steering arm. A small amount of T&E will help you position it the proper distance from the rudder post. Dennis W. S/V FullSailed
 
Nov 28, 2004
209
Hunter 310 San Pedro
Rudder sensor installation

Tony, Do you have the steering arm on the top of the rudder post? If so the installation is easyW when you remove the cockpit floor aft of the pedestal the sensor is attached to the deck below, and the rod is through bolted to the bottom of the steering arm. A small amount of T&E will help you position it the proper distance from the rudder post. Dennis W. S/V FullSailed
 
S

Steve

Rudder Sensor

Dennis is correct about location/installation of rudder position sensor. However, are you sure that you need it? If the problem is autopilot performance then you may not need it. I had a really bad experience with the performance of the autopilot on my 2003 H356 (wandered all over the place). The PO had not mentioned anything about this so I calibrated it according to the manual and it was still unacceptable. All of the local electronics shops told me to install a rudder position indicator but I was not sure about details so I called Raymarine. After I described the problem they gave me a set of calibration values that do not appear in the manual. Once I plugged them in the autopilot performed perfectly. The problem, according to Raymarine has something to do with large rudder and small number of turns lock-to-lock on the wheel. I am not anywhere near my boat today so I can't give you the settings but a quick call to Raymarine should solve the problem. If I remember correctly the non-standard settings were called the "Catalina Cocktail".
 
S

Steve

Rudder Sensor

Dennis is correct about location/installation of rudder position sensor. However, are you sure that you need it? If the problem is autopilot performance then you may not need it. I had a really bad experience with the performance of the autopilot on my 2003 H356 (wandered all over the place). The PO had not mentioned anything about this so I calibrated it according to the manual and it was still unacceptable. All of the local electronics shops told me to install a rudder position indicator but I was not sure about details so I called Raymarine. After I described the problem they gave me a set of calibration values that do not appear in the manual. Once I plugged them in the autopilot performed perfectly. The problem, according to Raymarine has something to do with large rudder and small number of turns lock-to-lock on the wheel. I am not anywhere near my boat today so I can't give you the settings but a quick call to Raymarine should solve the problem. If I remember correctly the non-standard settings were called the "Catalina Cocktail".
 
Dec 3, 2003
2,101
Hunter Legend 37 Portsmouth, RI
Manuals Online...

...at Raymarine.com! See if this helps. (Search "wheel autopilot").
 
Dec 3, 2003
2,101
Hunter Legend 37 Portsmouth, RI
Manuals Online...

...at Raymarine.com! See if this helps. (Search "wheel autopilot").
 
Aug 19, 2004
239
Hunter 35 Vancouver, BC
Limited Space

Steve Dion has the right basic arrangement. Remember to think and plan in three dimensions. If you use spacers to lift the sensor device (the link rod must be close to horizontal) there is no reason why the end of the sensor arm should not be directly over the cable running to the wheel.
 
Aug 19, 2004
239
Hunter 35 Vancouver, BC
Limited Space

Steve Dion has the right basic arrangement. Remember to think and plan in three dimensions. If you use spacers to lift the sensor device (the link rod must be close to horizontal) there is no reason why the end of the sensor arm should not be directly over the cable running to the wheel.
 
Nov 10, 2004
68
Hunter Vision-32, Vision 32 Punta Gorda Isles, Fl
I installed

the rudder sensor in my V32, very similar to the space you have. I used a block of 1/2" Starboard to raise the arm to the proper height. I made a mounting bracket for the rudder post from a galvanized electrical box cover. Remember to keep all of your angles as square as possible or in a parallelogram, so that your sensor reads correctly as the rudder moves. I don't have pictures, but if you need them I can easily take some for you. Just think everything through as you set it up.
 
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