gtuson
New member
Does anyone know of/ have experience of a wheel pilot that can cope with a 9 ton(20000lb) boat - with rotating rod steering? Plenty of below decks systems will - but 2 to 3 times the cost plus more complex fitting. Any hope?
wheel pilots
- Thread starter gtuson
- Start date
castaway
New member
I asked the same question a while back as the jump from wheelsteering to direct is around 1000 pounds.
Unfortunatly came to the conclusion that you either fit a w/s system and have it overloaded the whole time or bite the bullet.
I request info from both Simrad and Raymarine via their websites... got info from Simrad after a month and nothing at all from Raymarine...pathetic.
There is also a Canadian company I found on a search ..they have an agent in the UK, they replied by return and sounded interesting.. I cant remember the details right now but could dig em out it yr interested.
Regds Nick
Unfortunatly came to the conclusion that you either fit a w/s system and have it overloaded the whole time or bite the bullet.
I request info from both Simrad and Raymarine via their websites... got info from Simrad after a month and nothing at all from Raymarine...pathetic.
There is also a Canadian company I found on a search ..they have an agent in the UK, they replied by return and sounded interesting.. I cant remember the details right now but could dig em out it yr interested.
Regds Nick
RacePassage
New member
Had the same problem on my Nich 38, bought with defunct Neco autopilot. After looking at all alternatives decided on Simrad AP21. Expensive but it works. As it ties in with NMEA also use it as repeater for Simrad GPS and when the old B&G Log and Depth finally dies will install similar NMEA compatible instrumentation
gtuson
New member
Thanks for reply. I'd be interested to know what system you got in the end, and if not impertinent, what it cost. Realise that that i may have to get yet different system - eg have steel hull soi need remote compass....I'd be interested in details of Canadian company if they might produce a wheel pilot which can cope...
SteveA
Active member
I had the same problem, 10 ton boat and knackered Neco pilot.
I ended up with a Raymarine St 6001+ system expensive - but I'm very pleased with it.
I was able to keep the drive motor from the Neco ( with modification) and the cost was about £1700 - I found that Greenham Marine were very helpful and as cheap as any
SteveA.
I ended up with a Raymarine St 6001+ system expensive - but I'm very pleased with it.
I was able to keep the drive motor from the Neco ( with modification) and the cost was about £1700 - I found that Greenham Marine were very helpful and as cheap as any
SteveA.
AlanPound
Member
The boat I sail, the previous owner had a similar (knackered) Neco pilot, so he replaced the controller with a Cetrek unit, and retained the hydraulic drive unit. Turns out the Neco drive unit was made by Hydraulic Projects, who currently seem to supply similar for use with B&G and several other makes.
It is a below-decks unit, consisting of a ram, with an electic motor, reservoir, and solonoid operated valve mounted on top, all making up a very powerful self-contained system (the hydraulics seem to be there simply to provide bullet-proof mechanical advantage).
So the Cetrek is currently a bit dubious (although I am getting on top of it, and it might turn out ok), but in investigating, it looks like the ram is a keeper. It is tough as old boots, and although it seems to have needed rebuilding every three or four years, it is very simple, and a seal kit is simply a set of different sized 'O' rings costing around £30.
In addition, it (the ram) really looks as if it would be compatible with almost any pilot capable of powering a below-decks ram. The more recent pilots have rate gyros in addition to flux-gate compasses, and should perform rather better than flux-gate only devices (like my Cetrek).
Although, in trying to get on top of the Cetrek, the trick seems to be (apart from adjusting the response settings to suit the seas) to set the response to the slowest acceptable level, otherwise the pilot is sawing back and forth and (presumably) using lots of amps (and creating a real racket in the aft cabin, making it difficult to sleep below...)
...but the more of this stuff you have, the more time you will spend fiddling with it...
It is a below-decks unit, consisting of a ram, with an electic motor, reservoir, and solonoid operated valve mounted on top, all making up a very powerful self-contained system (the hydraulics seem to be there simply to provide bullet-proof mechanical advantage).
So the Cetrek is currently a bit dubious (although I am getting on top of it, and it might turn out ok), but in investigating, it looks like the ram is a keeper. It is tough as old boots, and although it seems to have needed rebuilding every three or four years, it is very simple, and a seal kit is simply a set of different sized 'O' rings costing around £30.
In addition, it (the ram) really looks as if it would be compatible with almost any pilot capable of powering a below-decks ram. The more recent pilots have rate gyros in addition to flux-gate compasses, and should perform rather better than flux-gate only devices (like my Cetrek).
Although, in trying to get on top of the Cetrek, the trick seems to be (apart from adjusting the response settings to suit the seas) to set the response to the slowest acceptable level, otherwise the pilot is sawing back and forth and (presumably) using lots of amps (and creating a real racket in the aft cabin, making it difficult to sleep below...)
...but the more of this stuff you have, the more time you will spend fiddling with it...
