Mike did the install. Our original plan was to re-use as much of the original Sharp autopilot installation setup as possible. We had the original rusted carbon steel tiller arm custom replicated in stainless steel. Mike discovered that the Type 1 linear drive unit would not fit in the original mounting location with the new tiller arm. He ordered a Type 2 long linear drive and tried mounting it on the other side. That didn't work either due to interference with the fuel tank.. He rotated the tiller arm 90 degrees, switched back to the Type 1 linear drive, and moved the mount to under the propane locker. The new mounting location seemed to work. It's solid and accessible via the rear port locker in case it needs to be removed in an emergency. Of course, we now have three new holes in the cockpit floor that need to be sealed!
Our next complication was that the original rudder stop was set to about 70 degrees from center. The Raymarine autopilot requires no more than 35 degrees from center. It turns out that the ABYC standard is 35 degrees and more than that causes the rudder to stall. This explains why LeeAnne lost steering a couple of times when Spray was overpowered and she had the helm all the way over. I took Spray to the boatyard and had them modify the rudder stop to max out at 35 degrees from center. Unfortunately, they screwed up and it now stops at only 25 degrees from center which really limits our maneuverability in and out of the slip. Mike will try to grind down the starboard ends to get an extra 5 or 10 degrees.
We commissioned the autopilot last weekend and it seems to work great! I'm looking forward to being able to do other things like trim the sail, remove fenders, and get refreshments while underway. It'll be even better when we integrate the autopilot with a new GPS/Chartplotter and wind instrument.
