advice on autopilot for Mac26M

[innervations]

I have searched the discussion boards and everyone seems to go with the Raymarine SmartPilot X-5 for autopilot on a 26M. From the discussions most seem very happy with this system. Has anyone installed other brands and models? Are ther any successful alternatives to the wheel mounted servo?

Any and all advice greatly appreciated.
Cheers
Rob

[Matt19020]

I am not sure about other brands but I believe most people use the wheel pilot for ease of instalation and relative affortability compared to a rudder driven type that can run $2000+ easily not including the possibility of needing to customize many brackets.... and I believe those type of units are hydralic and would be overkill for our needs....I have the wheel pilot and love it ..yes it is a little bulky but you get used to it

[Catigale]

Search for tiller pilot on macx in repairs and mods....I put the simrad on my for both cost and steering redundancy reasons

[Divecoz]

I really want one of these too.. I have held off for two reasons.......One $$$$ and the other PITA or so read to install.. ?
I did find this http://www.defender.com/product.jsp?pat ... id=1610938
Remanufactured units at Defender.. How do you fellows feel about " Remanufactured" Items???? It / they offer a full as new warranty....
If I buy it today.. they have only ....a limited Number Of these units.. 1 or a 100 ? Who knows??? But by the time I get it installed and tested I could have very little warranty time left on a $900.00 unit???

[Wa2paa]

For Sure go for it, The Price is Just Super.. As the "6200" Control Head is $ 500.00 bucks alone The individual parts "Sold On Ebay Alone" would net You back What You Paid, If It doesn't Work Out.

Anyway, Defender is a class act, so Go For It ! Ya Need To do your part to stimulate the economy in 2011. Also You can always mount it on some plywood, and Play with it in the Bathroom over the Winter Frozen Months. It would be a real Great Project, to plan and implement for Spring Season.

Good Luck, and Happy New Year
Carptain Jack

[Terry]

I really want one of these too.. I have held off for two reasons.......One $$$$ and the other PITA or so read to install.. ?
I did find this http://www.defender.com/product.jsp?pat ... id=1610938
Remanufactured units at Defender.. How do you fellows feel about " Remanufactured" Items???? It / they offer a full as new warranty....
If I buy it today.. they have only ....a limited Number Of these units.. 1 or a 100 ? Who knows??? But by the time I get it installed and tested I could have very little warranty time left on a $900.00 unit???

For starters they are not a PITA to install Divecoz, if a monkey brain like me can do it, so can you.
Also don't be panicked into a decision by a limited number, think it through, I might be hesitant about "re-manufactured".
As far as the usefulness, well all I can say is "Don't leave home without one"
I bought a Raymarine ST4000+ MK II several years ago and it was $1100.00 well spent, my wife (the original helms person) loves it, we use it all the time and have yet to use all the features. I still have to learn how to use tracking and waypoints but I love to press auto while on a tack and then sit back. Mine has the rudder sensor and that was the only complicated part, I broke it during installation and Raymarine replaced it for me free, works fine now. The other tricky part is that fluxgate compass and where to locate it, there are not a lot of options. It must be located low to the cabin sole as possible and in the center of the beam, (pitch & roll center) it should also be between 1/3 and 1/2 the distance of the waterline starting from the transom. This pretty much suggests right at the foot of the companionway ladder down at the floor. You might step on it there when going below so put a thermostat cage over it. If you have a battery under the steps forget about it, I don't have a battery there. I also mounted mine on the aft side of the fiberglass panel that the steps are bolted to (so I wouldn't step on it) so I had to correct for 180 degrees when I did the sea trial for turning the compass. You can also try mounting it just behind the daggerboard trunk but down low and mid abeam, this is a tad too forward but will likely suffice. The rest is easy, even for a monkey. Just keep it away from other electro-magnetic equipment so as not to influence the compass readings.
The AutoPilot may be just the best investment you ever made, at least I thought so.

[c130king]

I ditto what Terry said.

I got my Raymarine S1 Wheel Pilot for $715 back in May 2009. I too consider myself a "Monkey Brain" as Terry so eloquently put it but I was able to pull it off without too much difficulty. The rudder sensor was the hardest part but I followed the advice of one of the Mac Masters on this site and it worked just like advertised.

Best mod ever. I am almost always solo and having the Wheel Pilot is awesome for solo sailors. I would recommend a second "house" battery if you use it much...I did the second battery at the same time as the autopilot. Also did the VHF, antenna and CD/Stereo at the same time.

I don't think the S1 is made anymore and I also think I read that the new version doesn't require a "rudder sensor" which is probably the hardest piece to install on a Mac...at least on an .

Good Luck.

Cheers,
Jim
Sailing on König
Sailing on König YouTube Channel

[Chinook]

I'm seriously considering an autopilot for our 26X. I'm wondering about installation of the control box. We currently mount our Garmin GPS centrally on top of the pedestal. Any recommendations on how to mount both the GPS and the autopilot control box?

[Jim Bunnell]

Sorry, Tanstaafl is closed up for the winter so the best photo I have is of the back side of the arrangement I made. I used a plastic cutting board and attached it to the pedestal front, leaving the existing instruments. The extra room gave me a place for the control unit (the round black unit on the right) and a mount for my handheld GPS. I've since replaced the handheld with a chart plotter mounted to the top of the pedestal. The added material is low enough it doesn't interfere with sight lines (the picture is misleading, Josh is only 9 here). I also used a piece to create a mounting point for the drive unit (just below Josh's hand), since it would not fit into the bottom of the pedestal cleanly.

[2BonC]

I have searched the discussion boards and everyone seems to go with the Raymarine SmartPilot X-5 for autopilot on a 26M. From the discussions most seem very happy with this system. Has anyone installed other brands and models? Are ther any successful alternatives to the wheel mounted servo?

Hallo Rob,
on my this Raymarine Sport Pilot was installed:

As long it was working it was very convinient to be used. Reason: no mechanical clutch, engagement by only one press at the controller. However due to a construction fault it dismentaled in service and I had to send it back to the manufacturer. Raymarine started a call back of this product and took it off the market for a longer period of time. I changed to the standard SPX 5 with the gear rim than. Raymarine and the involved Raymarine dealers were very helpfull.
It´s a little hard for me to get used to the new procedure, engaging the clutch firstand afterwards engage the controller (ore is it better the other way around, i´m not sure?).
The other SPX 5 might be on the maret again. I liked it mor but it´s disadvantage was that the distance between steering wheel and the steering seat was reduced by the depth of the gearing and it felt a little bit sluggish around the vertical axis.
I had a similar problem as Chinook. Because there was no space left at the steering column my controller is mounted at the starboard side, I think the second best choice.
Rainer

[bartmac]

I also fitted a second hand Sportpilot and even though they are described as a powerboat autopilot we found it to work really well both under power and sail....however we only have a 15 hp motor.Compact and able to be overriden at any time and return to auto mode makes it a very good compremise.Unfortunately now no longer made and superceeded by a much bulkier and expensive replacement......second hand appears to be the only way.....we paid $218 on Ebay....in Australia...I have seen them for sale in the US....fitting is childs play...wheel off fit sportpilot and refit wheel and fit compass

[Highlander]

Here's my set-up
http://s235.photobucket.com/albums/ee20 ... 010031.mp4

J

[c130king]

I'm seriously considering an autopilot for our 26X. I'm wondering about installation of the control box. We currently mount our Garmin GPS centrally on top of the pedestal. Any recommendations on how to mount both the GPS and the autopilot control box?

I have installed/mounted a cutting board on top of my pedastal. To the cutting board I have mounted my Chartplotter and a "box" I built to hold the control head for my S1.

The "box" is angled so that it can be viewed more easily from the Captain's Seat. It is made out of a 1/4" pressed wood type of product and spray painted white.

I did not want to drill such a large hole in the top of my pedastal so the hole is in the "box" and the box is mounted to the cutting board with small screws. The only holes in my pedastal are a 1" hole to route the S1 cable, a 1/2" hole for my chartplotter cables and two small holes that allow me to bolt the cutting board to the pedastal.

Got the idea from somebody here around 4 years ago...it was one of my very first mods and I have been very happy with it.



This photo is version 1. I made a newer version that is almost 1" shorter. Makes viewing the Chartplotter a little easier.

Cheers,
Jim
Sailing on König
Sailing on König YouTube Channel

[Oskar 26M]

I also made a 'navigation module' box out of marine ply. The box is slightly tapered to fit the pedestal profile and the face is angled to take to make the autopilot and fuel flow gauges more readable. My Seiwa chartplotter/depth sounder is mounted on top of the box so that it can be rotated for easy viewing from either side of the cockpit and a removable backing plate extends up far enough to protect the Seiwa's connection cable. The module sides are extended down the sides pedestal and are screwed into the fibreglass.

[innervations]

Thanks everyone for the excellent advice. I am going to go with the Raymarine SmartPilot X-5. Terry and Jim both report the system is relatively straight forward to install. My chartplotter is a Raymarine A50D which the technicians tell me will interface with the X-5 no worries.

It was certainly clear that autopilots really increase the sailing and motoring pleasure of the Mac. "Don't leave home without one"

Cheers
Rob