Raymarine EV-100 - wheel pilot

Way said:
Does anyone have the wheel pilot version and does it work well?

Looking for my new boat but it's right up to the maximum weight so I think might be pushing it.
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I have one, (had to replace a busted ST4000 wheel drive and it was cheaper to buy the whole caboodle than just the drive) I bought a drive first then found contrary to Raymarine USA advice it would not work with the existing ST4000 electronic controller etc.tried to buy the extra bits separately but they cost more than a complete new EV100 pack so I bought that instead and so have a spare unused drive too now. I Haven't had time to do much more than short local tests under motor, not a stern test, but it seems fine so far. Our boat is not super heavy and is very light on the wheel. So probably not too helpful I guess. Hopefully others will know more. Setting it up is easy as it does most of the calibration stuff itself within the new electronics. Wedid have problems getting it to talk succesfullyvia NMEA0183 to our new GARmin stuff which has both NMEA 0183 and 2000, but the guy we paid to do it persevered with Garmin and RM and now it does and the new smarter looking display head can display nav data stuff too as well as we can follow the apparent wind angle from the Garmin masthead wind transducer and we can set it to follow a route's ground 'track'.I will watch for other's replies with interest myaelf.
 
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I've never understood the reason for the suggested max displacement. My boat is well over their limit for the two Raymarine autopilots which I've had. They've always worked well. My boat, a 28ft 9ton Gaff Cutter, is light on the helm, tiller steered. If the sails are kept balanced then the pilot doesn't have to put on much standing helm which I can see is a limit but what the displacement of the boat has to do with it beats me. Perhaps it's different for wheel steering.
If I decide to replace the present S1 pilot it will be with an EV-100 tiller.
 
We have one on our 6-ton or so Westerly Storm. It works excellently in benign conditions, but requires more attention to sail balance as wind and waves increase. It doesn't like a quartering sea, and it struggled in a large beam sea. Haven't tried it in heavy weather. It steered us for 10 hours under motor twice last season. I haven't connected it to anything else. It lost it's mind once and had to be re-calibrated, a simple process: you sail around in a circle. We are very happy with it. It's possible to add a drive direct to the steering quadrant for another £1000 or so.
 
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The big weakness is the drive which can break without warning. Having fought with one on a boat at the limit with 3 new drives failing very quickly, could not recommend it. Better to pay the extra for below decks model. New boat has a Garmin which is easier to use and can be had with a Jefa drive for similar money to a Raymarine.
 
I too would strongly advise paying extra for a below-deck linear drive.

I have the Raymarine wheel drive on my boat, and it performs adequately in most conditions, but struggles in heavy weather which is when I need it most. However, the biggest drawback is the unpleasant noise it makes which is very annoying when sailing in light wind conditions. Also, the magnets in the motor have made my binnacle compass next to useless.

I am in the process of now installing a linear drive, which I should have done in the first place.
 
Tranona said:
The big weakness is the drive which can break without warning. Having fought with one on a boat at the limit with 3 new drives failing very quickly, could not recommend it. Better to pay the extra for below decks model. New boat has a Garmin which is easier to use and can be had with a Jefa drive for similar money to a Raymarine.
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I would be pleased if you were able to post full details and total cost of this complete system as I am in the research stage of buying one for my 45ft 10 1/2 ton yacht.
if not could you PM?

cheers bob
 
Google Garmin Autopilots. Plenty of suppliers. Core packs around £1300, drives £1500 plus installation. Mine was factory installed (with a Lewmar drive). Obviously installation costs will vary with the boat.
 
Tranona said:
Google Garmin Autopilots. Plenty of suppliers. Core packs around £1300, drives £1500 plus installation. Mine was factory installed (with a Lewmar drive). Obviously installation costs will vary with the boat.
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It would be useful if you could describe all the parts needed to complete a system as there is so much contradictory advice out there .
What works for you would be perfect for those like me trying to make decisions .
 
I have just purchased an EV100 (boat show bargain but I plan to use it with a Teleflex cable drive), it is worth noting that the 100 ECU is very basic and has no provision for a clutch if you decided to upgrade to a linear drive at any time, for my drive I have had to swap to the 200 black box. When I talked to the Raymarine techy. about this he said that the 200 ECU was much capable of dealing with higher loads (though my new boat is only a 27'mobo with a tiny rudder).
I notice that currently Raymarine are currently offering to extend the warranty to 3 years free on these pilots so they are obviously sensitive to their reliability issues. If I was looking at a linear drive for a yacht these days I think I might go for Jefa, their design and engineering is impressive; though the linear drive is probably the most reliable part of Raymarine's inventory.
 
rtboss1 said:
It would be useful if you could describe all the parts needed to complete a system as there is so much contradictory advice out there .
What works for you would be perfect for those like me trying to make decisions .
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I have been researching this for a few months. First thing to note is that nearly all drives will work with any control set up, as long as you are aware that a remote drive with a clutch requires something more sophisticated than the very basic set up like the EV 100. So first you select a drive to suit your steering, you have a choice of about four basic types (linear ram, hydraulic pump, rotary drive and rotary remote cable drive), each variable in power according to size of boat. Garmin, Simrad, Lowrance etc. tend just to rebadge drives made by Jefa, Octopus etc. though these can often be purchased separately more cheaply. The drive will have+ and- power cables plus clutch control cables all of which connect to the control box, sometimes there is a rudder feed back as well, this may be integrated in the drive or a separate device depending on the drive chosen. There is plenty of info. on wiring most drives to any box.
The choice of control set up is usually influenced by the instruments the boat is equipped with though with some knowledge different plotters and instruments can be made to talk to the pilot. I chose Raymarine because it is familiar, seemed competitively priced and I liked the P70r head with its rotary course changing mechanism and pretty coloured display. The EV 100 is on offer this month but I discovered that it is limited in function (and in power) to devices like the tillerdrive or wheel pilot that do not have an integral clutch.
Basically you are buying an electronic compass with a little computer to translate it and send power to the drive and a display head with control buttons and knobs, most need a rudder feed back as well.
I was taken aback to read that Raymarine want the display/ control head installed at least 800mm. from any magnet, awkward if you want it within reach near the binnacle. Some of the recent set ups claim not to need a rudder feedback which simplifies them a bit.
There is nothing to complex about installation of a basic system except for finding suitable locations for the different bits it becomes a bit more complicated if you are integrating with instruments from a different source. I only want the pilot to steer the boat to a set course while I do something else so I will probably not bother attempting to integrate with the SH plotter that is already there though it is possible.
 
rtboss1 said:
I have been offered these from Raymarine P70/P70r, EV1 fluxgate,ACU400 and type 1 12 volt linear drive, all as new for £1800

Would this equipment be all I needed
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You'll have to fit the linear drive to boat/quadrant which may or may not be difficult. The ACU 400 will however have the spare capacity to upgrade to a Type 2 drive if necessary and for a 45' this may indeed be required depending on vessel/sailing you do.

That said £1800 for all that is a very good deal, especially if it's VAT inc. Who is the supplier as a matter of interest?
 
rtboss1 said:
I have been offered these from Raymarine P70/P70r, EV1 fluxgate,ACU400 and type 1 12 volt linear drive, all as new for £1800

Would this equipment be all I needed
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Should be and the price is fantastic compared to what that kit would cost in the UK.
 
dom said:
You'll have to fit the linear drive to boat/quadrant which may or may not be difficult. The ACU 400 will however have the spare capacity to upgrade to a Type 2 drive if necessary and for a 45' this may indeed be required depending on vessel/sailing you do.

That said £1800 for all that is a very good deal, especially if it's VAT inc. Who is the supplier as a matter of interest?
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I am trying to negotiate with supplier to get a type 2 drive unit for the same price as above ,If I am able I will post suppliers details .
 
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