Notice:
The advice given on this site is based upon individual or quoted experience, yours may differ.
The Officers, Staff and members of this site only provide information based upon the concept that anyone utilizing this information does so at their own risk and holds harmless all contributors to this site.
I took our new autopilot down to the boat yesterday to do some measurements. If I mount the pivot pin at the required 18" from the gudgeons, the point at where the autopilot *should* be mounted is the starboard catbird seat's inboard support leg. Raymarine's instruction book states that it's "critical" that the mounting be at 90° to the tiller, and at the specified dimension. I'm having a hard time believing it's "critical", and an inch or two off, either ahead or behind the leg doesn't seem like it would severely affect the performance.
Where have you guys mounted yours? I seem to remember a discussion a while back about this and how when pressed Raymarine admitted that it wasn't so critical, but I couldn't find the thread.
It would seem that mounting it forward decreases sensitivity because you have to push the tiller further to move it the required distance to make a given turn, and vice-versa if you mount it behind the leg, the sensitivity goes up, it moves the tiller faster for a given turn. I'm not sure which is more desirable, so the mount I'm envisioning will allow me to test in either position by simply rotating it about the leg so the pilot can be on either side.
David C-250 Mainsheet Editor
Sirius Lepak 1997 C-250 WK TR #271 --Seattle area Port Captain --
I did almost the same as tompotter except I used a ratcheting SS antenna mount and positioned it so that the TP is just forward of the seat leg. When not in use the connector swiviles up behind the leg and out of the way. The biggest problem was getting the proper size SS awning fitting to fit securely on the 7/8" antenna mount, and then drilling the exact size hole for a tight fit of the brass cup.
Notice: The advice given on this site is based upon individual or quoted experience, yours may differ. The Officers, Staff and members of this site only provide information based upon the concept that anyone utilizing this information does so at their own risk and holds harmless all contributors to this site.