Auto pilots

[Soulsailor]

Trying to decide on which auto pilot to go with. Irwin 37, standard steering system. Chain drive to cables to quadrant set up. I guess my question is :
Can I use a rotary drive on the gear in the steering console or linear drive mounted to the steering quadrant right at the rudder. Cost is a object in this project. I would like to keep the hardware under 2500, if possible. also my boat weighs 21000lbs so wheel pilot system ain't gonna work, am I wrong here?

Sent from my KYOCERA-E6560 using Cruisers Sailing Forum mobile app

[chris95040]

www.cptautopilot.com

No frills but powerful and silent wheel pilot. Installs in an afternoon. No connectivity, just holds a bearing.

Not a redundant steering system like a ram attached to your rudder post would be (in case a cable broke etc) but a whole lot cheaper!

[44'cruisingcat]

Originally Posted by Soulsailor

Trying to decide on which auto pilot to go with. Irwin 37, standard steering system. Chain drive to cables to quadrant set up. I guess my question is :
Can I use a rotary drive on the gear in the steering console or linear drive mounted to the steering quadrant right at the rudder.

With that type of steering you can do either. There are rotary drives with sprockets to engage on the chain. Linear drives are probably more popular though.

[GILow]

If you look under my CF profile in my "sundry pix" album, I just posted a few photo details of our setup for a fellow Swanson owner. Included in the photos is our chain drive autopilot. I suspect chain drives are considered a bit old fashioned these days but to the credit of the system it has been managing our 17 ton boat for 25 years or more, and 42000 miles, and is still going strong. It is not pretty compared to the ram type but I expect it would be a lot easier to repair under way.


Sent from my iPad using Cruisers Sailing Forum

[44'cruisingcat]

The linear drive direct to the quadrant does give some steering system redundancy. If a chain or cable were to break you could still steer via the A/P.