soxknots33
Newbie
- Joined
- Jun 29, 2013
- Messages
- 4
- Location
- usa
- Vessel Name
- reel lucky
- Vessel Make
- marine trader trawler 34 ft
I have a Marine Trader 34' trawler. My question is can a wheel mounted auto pilot work on this vessel?
I have a Marine Trader 34' trawler. My question is can a wheel mounted auto pilot work on this vessel?
A wheel driven AP may not work at all well.
The problem is turning left and right the hyd pump behind the wheel will leak differently internally in either direction.
The AP expects the boat to go straight (mostly) when the wheel is centered.
As the center may shift as the wheel is exercised there comes a point where the AP looses it.
This can be a few min , or a few hours , depending on the internal leakage of the wheel hydraulics.
If you mark the "center" of the wheel before an outing (masking tape), you should be able to see how long it takes for center to be lost.
If the system is fairly tight , simply turning off and on the AP every half hour might be better than a std pump and cylinder style installation.
Many modern electronics don't go too crazy as the wheel position on a sail boat will change on course with sail loading.
Really depends on what you can live with.
However, discussion with Raymarine re putting a wheel pilot on mine, in the end convinced me it would be best ...
Been there done that... it will work, sort of, in most circumstances but it will be noisy and jerky and just plain irritating, why not just do it right.
Rick, they didn't quote an exact price, because it would be a system made up fo rotary motor (that's the most expensive part for some reason), then coupled to a choice of head units of varying sophistication, and then whether one wanted remotes etc, but it added up to well in excess of $A5000, whereas the wheel pilot version was ~ $2000.Just out of curiousity, which unit did Raymarine suggest and what is the price?
I have a Marine Trader 34' trawler. My question is can a wheel mounted auto pilot work on this vessel?
If you are starting from scratch, and want to invest $$$$ in an autopilot, I'd agree that a networked, super-sophisticated system might be warranted. But for us MT 34 guys with 30-40 year old boats....putting $10k into a steering system probably ain't gonna happen. Whatever works ...works!
I got a Raymarine ST6002 on Ebay for $400.00 and an Octopus hydraulic pump for $600.00, another $50 for hose and fittings, took about 4 hours to install ..... works perfectly. No need to spend 10k
I just posted this on the other AP thread, I think the same applies here.
I really think the AP is an item that you want to buy the best you can afford. It might save your life. Let's say your injured or limited and in rough weather. The AP's ability to steer your boat might be critical to your safety/comfort. You need to consider the AP to be a mate on board and choose accordingly. If your strictly inland then this consideration might not apply however.
I've been very pleased with my Raymarine X30 corepack, ST70 control head and Smart Controller. This setup steers my 60,000lbs in following seas better then I can if I have the gain set at 7 or higher.
Am I missing something here? If the OP has hydraulic steering, why would he want a belt drive autopilot? If it is a cost thing, Comnavs are bulletproof and relatively inexpensive. Idea of prices here (no affiliation with Comnav or WMJ)