Raymarine X5 & Honda BF50

[Fxwg80hd]

I'm in the process of installing the Raymarine X5 Autopilot on 26m and ran into a slight problem with the steering wheel. Seems that the X5 wheel gear ring hits the Honda shifter. I thought about rotating the shifter 90 degrees, but the neutral lockout is in a fixed position which prevents me rotating the shifter 90 degrees.

Thought about installing spacers behind the control box to move it out a bit, but hoping there is a better idea. Here are a couple pictures of my issue. Let me know if you have an idea.

[Keel_Hauled]

My came with a Raymarine Autohelm installed. Use the spacers, it's what the previous owner did and it works OK and you never really notice it. It doesn't look like you can move yours much but if possible you could move it up a little ? I want to change the location of the controls to make it easier to use while standing as I am always standing when motoring, but I have much more room to play with on the pedestal (or is that Pedal Stool )

~Phillip

[Tomfoolery]

I'm in the process of moving my BF50 control up, forward, and rotating it so the handle motion is fore/aft instead of up/down. I've also put the handle on the other side, so the trim/tilt button is on the thumb, where it's supposed to be, since that control is really intended for gunwale mounting. i'll let everyone know how I make out when it's done.

[Phil M]

I posted my wheel pilot installation two years ago in the mod section with a Honda BF50. Pictures included too!

[Fxwg80hd]

I posted my wheel pilot installation two years ago in the mod section with a Honda BF50. Pictures included too!

Phil - I looked at your pictures and but it is not real clear as to how you angled it. Did you have to make a new mounting plate for the unit in order to angle it? Also, it looks like the wheel gear for the pilot still might be an issue for you when you are in reverse. Do you have problems with reverse?

I was thinking of making a new backing plate so I could move the unit up and away by a couple inches. Might use an old cutting board for the backing plate. Looking through mods, a cutting board is almost like duck tape, 1001 uses.

[Phil M]

You are correct. It is not clear how I made a moounting plate out of wood, stained and applied a protective coat. Or how it was mounted at an angle so reverse would work without hitting the wheel. Maybe I will take a few pictures.