Autohelm for sailing boat

[jamiepyoung]

We have an old Raymarine ST3000 wheel autohelm.

The control unit stopped working a little while ago (the compass seemed to stick). We've changed the fluxgate compass but that hasn't resolved it and I think I may have killed it now due to excessive fiddling with it.

We really can't afford a whole new system - can anyone help with ideas?

Questions:

Do any of the current control units operate our old motor (connected via a belt to the wheel)

Does anyone have an old ST3000 control unit we can buy (that works...)

Any other options?

Thanks!

 

[jamiepyoung]

Not much response to the above.....

It looks like we'll get a raymarine ev-100 wheel evolution. Any experience of these?

Thanks!

 

[Cantata]

We have an old Raymarine ST3000 wheel autohelm.
The control unit stopped working a little while ago (the compass seemed to stick). We've changed the fluxgate compass but that hasn't resolved it and I think I may have killed it now due to excessive fiddling with it.
We really can't afford a whole new system - can anyone help with ideas?
Questions:
Do any of the current control units operate our old motor (connected via a belt to the wheel)
Does anyone have an old ST3000 control unit we can buy (that works...)
Any other options?
Thanks!

Might be worth a call to the Raymarine service dept to see if they'd look at it for you.

 

[Quandary]

Not much response to the above.....

It looks like we'll get a raymarine ev-100 wheel evolution. Any experience of these?

Thanks!

I bought an EV100 kit in January when the very keen Raymarine boat show promotional offers were on (I then had to upgrade to the 200 ACU because my type of drive has a clutch), at the time Hudson Marine were splitting the kits at the same discounted rates which my local chandlery matched. The four main components (head, ACU, course sensor and drive) can be mixed and matched with older drives or heads so you should not need to replace components that are still OK. Stacks of info on backward compatability on Raymarines website though it took me quite a while to understand it. I know that Ardfern brought in a complete kit including a hydraulic drive as the deal was cheaper for the kit than for the three remaining components without a drive, the drive went in to stock, I suspect some of the bigger on line suppliers may have done the same. The cabling is different, Seatalk ng? (a cabling spine and connectors comes with the Acu but you have to buy a cable to integrate with older Seatalk instruments) The course sensor is very fancy (and much bigger) than the old fluxgate but can be mounted above or below decks and upside down if necessary and the P70 head has a versatile colour display. I did not like the way the display has to come apart for mounting which looks as if it might compromise water resistance.

 

[dom]

I've recently researched APs in some depth, but have a general bias towards B&G. However in the end I went for an Ev-400 (just a heavier per output) as I've heard great things about this kit from friends and also on here. I've also heard positive comments re compatibility, etc from marine engineers here in the UK, but unfortunately the exact opposite for B&G.

 

[Foolish Muse]

Raymarine has always been very good at repairing or replacing my old units at a very good price. I'd suggest that you send it to your nearest Raymarine repair shop and have them look at it. They've repaired several of my items (including rams, rudder sensor, and computer. In one case I got a refurbished unit at a great price. I've done this a number of times and always been very happy with the result - really!

 

[NealB]

These people sorted out my old autohelm wheel pilot a couple of years ago:

http://www.marineelectronicservice.com/

They were quick, straightforward to deal with and reasonably priced.

Worth giving them a call, in my view.

 

[Ric]

I advise you to be wary of the newer Raymarine wheel pilot drives as a direct replacement for you existing wheel drive (even with an updated control unit). The newer versions have more powerful electric motors with stronger field magnets which play havoc with any compass mounted near the helm. Also, they are horrible plasticky things which make an ugly irritating noise.

I made the mistake a few years ago of replacing my Raymarine Mk1 wheel drive (the black metal with internal belt) with the MkII (grey plastic) and had to immediately get used to a helm compass which cannot be compensated, then after a season of putting up with its infuriating noise I had to buy an under-deck linear drive.