Problems with Raymarine SPX 5 Sport Pilot

[2BonC]

I had the SPX 5 Sportpilot installed. I was highly satisfied with it´s performance, especialy after a Raymarine Wind System was installed and the SPX 5 was working in conjunction with it. After using it for about 20 hours going down the river Havel and Oder to the Baltic Sea it developed unusual noise and did not follow the intended track. Checking the drive I noticed that the upper and lower shell of it started to separate and some parts of the shell were broken (see picture) .


For sure I didn´t use the autosteer anymore however I had to steer manually to get into the next marina. I was affraid the drive could lock the whole steering but it didn´t. In the marina I dismantalled the whole drive demaging the brass cone in the first attempt to get the wheel off .

I reported this to Raymarine and they send me their excuse for my inconvinience. They stated that they had identified a potential component problem with the SPX5 Sport Drive Pilot product which we have sold between February and July 2009 and they will exchange the drive when they have solved the problem.
I would have really needed the autosteering system right now as I´m sailing single handed for five weeks now through the baltic sea .

As all other parts are identically I will ask Raymarine to send me the drive of the S 1. Even the plastic tooth-wheel of the S1 is looking ugly I think it´s the better choice.
Beside the uncertanty concerning the stability of the Sport Pilot there are other disadvantages.
1. Now as I have it off I notice that it changed the rudder feel even when not engaged
2. It´s a bit "sluggy", little movement around the vertical axis could be noticed.
3. As it is mounted on top of the original steering cone it decreases the space between the steering wheel and the seat by about 4 inch.

Might be this can help somebody to make his decision for an autosteering system for a or
Rainer

[craiglaforce]

I installed a sport pilot on my boat and it worked reasonably well for about 7 years until the rubber control stalk rotted off.
You are right about the space it takes up, and changing the steering feel. It also made the steering kind of wiggly.

I have fixed the control stalk now (sort of ) but not sure if I will reinstall it . It also was unreliable and would just veer off course at times.
I think there was some connection problem at the back of the unit. Also seemed to go off course if a boat with radar operating came nearby. RF interference suppose.

[Rick Westlake]

I had the SPX 5 Sportpilot installed. After using it for about 20 hours it developed unusual noise and did not follow the intended track. Checking the drive I noticed that the upper and lower shell of it started to separate and some parts of the shell were broken ... In the marina I dismantalled the whole drive demaging the brass cone in the first attempt to get the wheel off . Beside the uncertanty concerning the stability of the Sport Pilot there are other disadvantages.

Might be this can help somebody to make his decision for an autosteering system for a or
Rainer

Rainer, thank you for your post! Your experience didn't get to me in time to choose the wheel pilot - I'd bought mine two weeks ago, and I'm finishing the installation today - but it confirms my choice, "ugly" drive ring and all.

The wheel pilot appears to be more trouble to install than the Sport Pilot. I've had to replace my starboard-side pedestal panel, to move the engine controls out of the way of the drive ring, and I had to upgrade my electrical system with heavier cables and a larger switch/fuse panel in the companionway. But the wheel pilot is rated to handle much heavier boats (16,000 lbs displacement compared to 4400 lbs for the Sport Pilot) - which means it won't have to work as hard on our boats.

I certainly wish you the best of luck with getting it repaired and completing your Baltic cruise. That's quite an adventure!

[Kelly Hanson East]

As another option - See my post on adapting a Tillerpilot to a - this was done to give a complete redundant steering mechanism independent of the weakest steering gear components, viz. the gearbox and cable

[Rick Westlake]

As another option - See my post on adapting a Tillerpilot to a - this was done to give a complete redundant steering mechanism independent of the weakest steering gear components, viz. the gearbox and cable

Tried this several times, several different ways - "Nothing matched your query" (or words to that effect).

"Too late for me," but others might still find it valuable. I might have done that myself - and probably should have. (I don't have an emergency tiller either - and haven't satisfied myself of a good way to rig one.)

By the way, my wheel-pilot installation is complete, all but the sea trials - four days of hard work, but worth it!

[Hamin' X]

Steph made the post under his old moniker, Catigale. Try this:

Tiller Pilot project for 2002 X

~Rich

[c130king]

"Too late for me," but others might still find it valuable. I might have done that myself - and probably should have. (I don't have an emergency tiller either - and haven't satisfied myself of a good way to rig one.)

Rick,

This will work.



My steering broke and I disconnected the steering linkage to the motor and then moved the motor manually with my foot and my boat pole/hook. No problems motoring the 3 miles or so back to the marina at 5 MPH. Then physically "hugged" the motor with my legs/knees to back into the slip...did have a friend running the throttle for the backing part. Could have pulled in forward if single-handing.

Cheers,
Jim

[craiglaforce]

I posted a mod a few years ago for an emergency tiller. Actually it is an entire second inside the cabin helm station. If the main steering ever fails, I just connect the other steering arm and can steer from just inside the cockpit.

Just tried to find the mod I posted about 6 years ago and gave up. That search function is really useless. Can't search for multiple words that I can tell, and can't search by author. Can't jump to a given year, and there are too many to scroll through.

So, I'll verbally describe it. simply bought a second helm with cable, gear and steering wheel. Got a second splashwell bracket from Macgregor and with some wood and determination installed the steering wheel just over the battery box on my 26X. You can sit or stand at the companionway and steer from inside.

I had read a book by Bernard Moitessiere where he described this arrangement he had rigged on one of his around the world cruisers, so he could steer while remaining protected in the cabin under stormy conditions.

[Rick Westlake]

Steph made the post under his old moniker, Catigale. Try this:

Tiller Pilot project for 2002 X

~Rich

Steph's tiller-pilot mod does look like a good one. A "powered" emergency tiller might be awkward, but it sure would be better than no backup at all! I wonder if the SPX-5 "Tiller Plus" ram drive would be compatible with the course computer I've already installed? (I may ask Raymarine.)

It's a little much for now. Maybe if I'd seen this mod before I bought the wheel pilot ....

(I'd have saved A LOT of money with the Simrad TP22: $447 plus $183 for wired remote, at Defender.com! )

[Hamin' X]

Just tried to find the mod I posted about 6 years ago and gave up. That search function is really useless. Can't search for multiple words that I can tell, and can't search by author. Can't jump to a given year, and there are too many to scroll through.

Except for the date filter being somewhat limited, these features and more, are found in the Advanced Search function. The search function has been much improved over the last few years and works very well now.

Example: I used the search terms "helm station" and used "craiglaforce" as the author. Without further filtering, it returned 4 matches. The third one down was this:

Emergency Tiller

~Rich

[craiglaforce]

Cool, how do you get to the advanced search feature? (other than the link you provided)

Also, when I clicked on the link to the mods to see the photos, it says not found.

Thank You

[Hamin' X]

There are two ways to get to Advanced search. Click on the link just below the Search box, located at the top-right of most pages, or hover your mouse pointer over Forum, located in the dark-blue navigation bar near the top of most pages and it will appear in the drop down box.

As far as the links in your original post, The format must have been changed in the MacMods database. I will consult with Heath on this. In the meantime try these links:

http://www.macgregorsailors.com/modt/index.php?view=308

http://www.macgregorsailors.com/modt/index.php?view=111

~Rich

[craiglaforce]

Thank You good Sir.

I was going to MacMods first and then the only search thing I could find was the non-advanced one.

[Rick Westlake]

Now for the hard question --- how can we get to the mod itself?
I clicked on both links in the forum article and got the classic "404 Not Found" reply.

Just tried to find the mod I posted about 6 years ago and gave up. That search function is really useless. Can't search for multiple words that I can tell, and can't search by author. Can't jump to a given year, and there are too many to scroll through.

Except for the date filter being somewhat limited, these features and more, are found in the Advanced Search function. The search function has been much improved over the last few years and works very well now.

Example: I used the search terms "helm station" and used "craiglaforce" as the author. Without further filtering, it returned 4 matches. The third one down was this:

Emergency Tiller

~Rich

Edit to answer my own question -- I put "helm station" in the mod search and came up with this:
http://www.macgregorsailors.com/modt/index.php?view=111
D'oh!

[Hamin' X]

If you click on the alternate links that I provided above, they will take you to both of Craig's steering mods.

~Rich