CP27 Autopilot Installation

[relamb]

I just bought a raymarine EV-100 wheel autopilot and will be installing it soon.
I noticed some people have the autopilot display mounted to the side in the coaming.
Does this work well for you, as opposed to putting it in a pod on the steering pedestal?
I notice most boats with pods have a taller pedestal and many have the top angled back.

Where are your sensor and controller box located?
Any installation or component location advice would be helpful,
Thanks,
Rick

[peterg]

I have always preferred my AP instrument mounted in a pod in front of me. I've had them mounted  off to the side of the cockpit (other owner's installation), as well as at the helm, and always found the helm mount to be more intuitive. Now that we have a tiller boat with a tiller pilot, I sometimes have to actually think for a second or two before hitting a button for a course correction. A decent Navpod at the helm of a wheel boat can contain your WS/WD, D/KM, and WS/WD.

[Allure2sail]

Hi:
I did mine on the side of the cockpit and it works out fine. The fluxgate compass is mounted ahead of the fuel take and on the centerline of the boat. The "brain" is on the wall that use to be where the holding tank was. Went to a larger plastic holding tank that mounts along the starboard inner hull (12 gallons). I also mounted my windless up and down switch just below the autopilot control....that was a mistake. Passengers sit near there and are always bumping the switch. Even if you turn off the circuit breaker below the relay keeps getting activated. I now take the fuse out for that until I intend to use it.
Bruce
Allure

[Shawn]

Rick,

I'm going to be installing an EV100 in my Sabre along with a Raymarine A97 MFD. If you have a Raymarine MFD you may not even need the display head as the MFD can control the autopilot. My current plan is to put the MFD on the pedestal guard and then put the autopilot display somewhere else probably near the companionway (maybe just inside hidden behind a hinged panel). That way I can control the autopilot at the helm with the MFD and also control it if I am under the dodger or if I am working the jib sheets singlehanded by using the small autopilot display.

Shawn

[relamb]

I was advised by somebody at the Chicago Boat show to mount the sensor unit on the centerline forward, like under the V-berth behind the water tank.  Any idea if it's better if far forward of the rudder, or does it matter as long as it's on the centerline?

[Patrick]

I was advised by somebody at the Chicago Boat show to mount the sensor unit on the centerline forward, like under the V-berth behind the water tank.  Any idea if it's better if far forward of the rudder, or does it matter as long as it's on the centerline?

Mine is mounted on the after portion of the port settee; near the galley.  It seems to do okay but could be more responsive and hold course better.  I don't have much experience with AP's to have any baseline as to performance of the individual unit.

[MomentSurf]

I mounted the controler inside the cabinet, underneth the sink on the engine room wall. 


The display is mounted on the pedistal. 


And the sensor is mounted underneth the foward bunk, port sode.  All works GREAT!

[relamb]

Update - after owning the autopilot for months, I finally got it installed.  I mounted the control head in a 6x6 plastic weatherproof electrical junction box, with a cord grip coming through the side and a 15' long seatalk cable.  I had bought a pod to mount on the pedestal but it would not fit without a taller stainless pedestal guard.
The junction box allows me to lay the control head on the seat next to me or move it around wherever I am on the boat.  No holes cut in the boat or pedestal, and I can remove the pod for storage inside.
It would be cool to have it wireless, but then I'd eventually drop it overboard and lose it.

[BobK]

If any of you replaced an Autohelm 3000 with your newer unit I am looking to buy one for spare parts since they don't make them anymore.
BobK

[deisher6]

Hey BobK:
I have a spare wheel unit (ST4000 MK2 Wheel Drive).  The controller unit on the original Autohelm was inoperative, and had to be replaced with the three part unit.  It was cheaper to buy the system than the parts hence the extra wheel unit.  It works, it has been used when the new unit had to be repaired because of a poor electric connection.

BTW the Autohelm input is installed on the starboard side of the cockpit where the PO had it, the compass is installed in front of the rudder quadrant, and the connection box on the inside of the starboard cockpit footwell, above the fuel thank.

regards charlie

[relamb]

One problem I did not have a chance to diagnose.   When I installed the unit it appeared to work fine out of the box, I did the dockside calibration/setup routine.  Then I went out of the marina and did a couple of 360 circles to calibrate the compass as recommended.  I think (but not positive) that the compass was relatively accurate before the calibration.  Now it's off by 40 degrees or so from my magetic compass and my phone and GPS compasses.
The heading sensor is installed in the cabin on the underneath side of the bottom step, which is directly in front of the battery compartment and pretty close to the front of the engine.   too close?  Any ideas?   Maybe I should read the install manual again.

[deisher6]

Hey Rick:
The GM angle around here is 10°.  Of the three compasses on the boat Magnetic, GPS and Autohelm,the magnetic and GPS are pretty close.  I have not swung the magnetic compass, in fact it is getting repaired at this time.  I do not recall whether the Autohelm is magnetic or true, or if it is even mentioned.

If I were you I would try the calibration again, talk to the techs, then if necessary move the compass sensor. 

I recall the calibration circles are supposed to be pretty slow.  Personally I had no lick in calibrating the Autohelm.

regards charlie

[relamb]

I'll try a recalibration next weekend.  my Delorme InReach and the Autopilot, and a phone app I use can show magnetic north, and of course so does the compass.
The electronics must have some magic software to translate to the magnetic heading based on location and time of year.  I have them set for that vs true heading, so they match the compass.  Everything matches within a degree or so except the autopilot heading.
I should probably check to see if the autopilot is using it's own sensor for direction or if it's getting the direction from the Raymarine GPS antenna that I added.
Obviously the SOG speed display is coming from the gps because the heading sensor doesn't know, and I don't have a paddlewheel sensor.

[Jon898]

The heading sensor is installed in the cabin on the underneath side of the bottom step, which is directly in front of the battery compartment and pretty close to the front of the engine.   too close?  Any ideas?   Maybe I should read the install manual again.

Sounds like the sensor is too close to both the engine and the charging system.

One of the drawbacks of the newer autopilots is the digital readout of the set course.  Previously, you used to just engage the autopilot and the course was maintained regardless of what the fluxgate "thought" the heading was (e.g. if you pointed the boat on a course of 090M on your main compass and engaged the AP, it would maintain the course even if the sensor "read" that as 050M...but you would not know as there was no readout from the sensor that you could see).  Now you're presented with the confusion between two or more "numbers".  Now you're into the wonderful world of swinging compasses and (potentially) correction tables.

I used to have a steel ketch and the choices for compass were between a (heavily corrected) Sestrel Moore mounted upside down from the (wooden) doghouse overhead and an electronic sensor mounted half way up the mizzen mast.  We went with the Sestrel...uncorrected it was off by almost 45-deg; after correction, the compass adjuster managed to flatten the correction chart to +/- 8-deg in a nice sine curve (unfortunately he plotted the curve with the signs reversed which we only discovered by trying to hit the sides of a dutch canal).

You'll probably find the results will be different depending on whether the engine is on or not as well, due to the magnetic fields that are generated in the charging system.  In your place, I'd move the sensor away from any iron masses or strong electronics (beware tin cans as well...fortunately beer and soda now come in aluminum cans), at least temporarily and try again to see if there is a different result.

[relamb]

Fortunately the sensor just connects via a SeaTalk cable/plug, with power and communications all going through one cord.
Easy enough to move the sensor someplace else temporarily with a longer patch cord and see what happens.  I'll try that, as well as seeing if the engine running or not has an effect.  Yet another thing on the list for next weekend!