Raymarine Type 1 Linear Drive mounting position

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ex-Gladys

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I'm going round the below deck autopilot circuit again for installation this winter on Gladys (she has a Whitlock Mamba steering system) with very limited space ... BUT... I've come up with a possibility of using a Raymarine EV 200 with a Type 1 drive, which works only if the drive can be mounted "upside down" - i.e. I can strengthen and bolt upwards through the bottom of the gas locker (and seal), but unlike Jefa etc, Raymarine say nothing about mounting the drive upside down, sideways or whatever...

Thanks in advance
 
The linear drive needs to push against something pretty solid. Although the unit itself can be mounted anyway up,the fixing plate/ bracket need to be more or less in the orientation of the ram itself, otherwise the joint between the fixing plate and the ram wont have the neccessary movement and the force will be at 90 degrees to the fixings......... I think based on having taken mine out and replaced.
Google will identify many photo's of typical set-ups and Raymarine help desk will help, the LInear Drive has been virtually unaltered in design for at least 15 years
 
I dont think the drive has any idea what way up it is mounted, nor can I see why it would care. I cant think of anything inside it that might be affected by orientation.
 
Can certainly mount any way up.

I'm not sure about Rafiki's point; mine is mounted to a bulkhead running parallel to the long axis of the ram and the foot looks well designed to take that force. Possibly there are two different foot designs. There is information about this part in the manual.

Pete
 
Thanks all, I've got a lot of options for reinforcement and appreciate the hundreds of kgf that these things deliver, and having gone round the loop several times, this looks the best option, even though I'm not a Raymarine fan. There are lots of was of spreading the load, as I can brace inside the transom as well.
 
If your boat was not too big and heavy ( <35' 8 tons I think, but would need to check) I could let you have a good as new ( less than two weeks use) Teleflex autopilot motor drive with cable that can be fitted anywhere, for very little money, the drive incorporates a rudder position indicator and clutch and is compatible with Raymarine electronics, which is what I had installed it with.
 
Quandary said:
If your boat was not too big and heavy ( <35' 8 tons I think, but would need to check) I could let you have a good as new ( less than two weeks use) Teleflex autopilot motor drive with cable that can be fitted anywhere, for very little money, the drive incorporates a rudder position indicator and clutch and is compatible with Raymarine electronics, which is what I had installed it with.
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I'm at the upper limit of that, and I'd prefer to be not so close to limits. Having had a Navico WP5000 which was worse than useless, I want to be easily inside the specs.
 
Gladys said:
I'm at the upper limit of that, and I'd prefer to be not so close to limits. Having had a Navico WP5000 which was worse than useless, I want to be easily inside the specs.
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Fair enough, you are right to be conservative in these things, particularly if your steering is at all on the heavy side, I will get round to sticking it on Ebay soon.
 
prv said:
Can certainly mount any way up.

I'm not sure about Rafiki's point; mine is mounted to a bulkhead running parallel to the long axis of the ram and the foot looks well designed to take that force. Possibly there are two different foot designs. There is information about this part in the manual.

Pete
Click to expand...

The point is that you need to look carefully at the way the joint in the foot works. My recollection ( and I'm not at the boat right now) is that it is not a universal joint, but instead is only able to cope with significant movement in one plane. Therefore you need to be very careful in mounting it that it can cope with the movement to the left and right as the steering quadrant is pulled and pushed. By mounting it in the wrong plane you could end up with the joint only able to cope with up and down movement which of course is not required.

Regards
 
Mine has been mounted upside down for 20 years and has been used a lot. I'm running on the second pair of brushes. Last month the pin connecting base and drive fell out. Off course in pitch dark, rain and busy traffic. Grrrr. The pin is pressed in, and not secured.
 
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