Autopilot Drive Units.

DJE

DJE

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Joined
21 Jun 2004
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Fareham
www.casl.uk.com
What do you guys use for below-deck autopilots? The boat is a 1990s design 39-foot 6.6-tonne cruiser/racer with a balanced spade rudder.

I'm replacing all the instruments and the autopilot. The current electro-hydraulic drive unit needs about 12kg force to back-drive it with the pilot switched off and steering by hand. No great sweat as we have a big wheel, but the ram seriously damps the steering and takes all the feel out of it. I'm looking at a Raymarine electric linear drive unit but wondering if the Jeffa Steering products are significantly better in this regard. Or is there something else out there that I should be considering.
 
DJE said:
What do you guys use for below-deck autopilots? The boat is a 1990s design 39-foot 6.6-tonne cruiser/racer with a balanced spade rudder.

I'm replacing all the instruments and the autopilot. The current electro-hydraulic drive unit needs about 12kg force to back-drive it with the pilot switched off and steering by hand. No great sweat as we have a big wheel, but the ram seriously damps the steering and takes all the feel out of it. I'm looking at a Raymarine electric linear drive unit but wondering if the Jeffa Steering products are significantly better in this regard. Or is there something else out there that I should be considering.
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I've got a similar sounding boat, maybe a touch heavier now in mainly cruising mode, have a Raymarine electric linear Ram with ( now ) old SP1G / ST6002 AP, it's going well and 13 years old this year
 
DJE said:
What do you guys use for below-deck autopilots? The boat is a 1990s design 39-foot 6.6-tonne cruiser/racer with a balanced spade rudder.

I'm replacing all the instruments and the autopilot. The current electro-hydraulic drive unit needs about 12kg force to back-drive it with the pilot switched off and steering by hand. No great sweat as we have a big wheel, but the ram seriously damps the steering and takes all the feel out of it. I'm looking at a Raymarine electric linear drive unit but wondering if the Jeffa Steering products are significantly better in this regard. Or is there something else out there that I should be considering.
Click to expand...

I’ve put the Jeffa unit on my new trimaran and while the mileage to date is relatively low I have had no issues and steering remains light. It’s being driven by a B&G H5000 system.
 
I’ve got a Jefa drive installed in our Nic 35. Its the DD1, and controlled by the Simrad NAC-2 computer. Its superb, quiet, plenty of power and low battery usage.
 
Have you flushed the hydraulic system through and made sure it is all working correctly? Any restriction in the bypass valve could have a significant impact. Worth doing first as it could be a cheap fix!

Yoda
 
yoda said:
Have you flushed the hydraulic system through and made sure it is all working correctly? Any restriction in the bypass valve could have a significant impact. Worth doing first as it could be a cheap fix!

Yoda
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Yes, I was wondering about that, I looked at an Octopus Electro/hydraulic unit and it was easy to move when off.
 
I have just fitted a raymarine type 2 computer and 2 x P70 Control heads but have went with the Jeffa linear drive unit, as for as I am aware their own units are superior than those that they manufacture for the main brands , it is cheaper as well.
 
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