[C38] Autohelm / Raymarine Type 1 linear drive installation

[tdtron at earthlink.net]

I personally prefer the above deck steering for a Catalina 38 for ease of service and installation but regardless of the steering you choose, you can save electrical power and possibly the life of the servo motor by neutralizing the helm with bungee cords.

With this procedure, the servo will then only have to make slight steering corrections instead of having to fight weather helm too.

Bungee cords reduced my battery demands enough that my solar panels could run my steering, refrigerator, lighting and VHF indefinitely if we were careful.

I sold our 38 but we ran everything on 75 watts of solar panel once underway.  We cooled our refrigerator to almost freezing before we cut loose from shore power so the well insulated refrigerator used little power underway.

Tom Troncalli



----- Original Message ----- 
From: David Epstein 
To: Catalina 38 Listserve
Sent: 11/29/2011 3:55:59 PM 
Subject: Re: [C38] Autohelm / Raymarine Type 1 linear drive installation


Max,

Do you know if it is a Type 1 (12 in stroke) or a Type1L (16 in stroke)?  If it is a Type 1, my notes indicate that it rated for up to a 22,000 lb boat, requires a 10" tiller arm, and it has a maximum of +/-35 degrees of rudder travel.   The 1L is good up to 33,000 lbs, requires a 16" tiller arm as is also limited to +/-35 degrees.

SuperStar's rudder has about 90 degrees of travel (+/-45), so if your boat has similar range, you may have to modify your stops on each side so that you don't have a problem when the linear drive is in bypass.  I would think you could be able to make the Raymarine unit work on a 38.

When I did my research, I concluded that the absolute best solution for SuperStar would be the Nexus/ComNav HP-40 integrated linear drive (or the AP-23 with a separate pump), as it is fast, powerful and has up to +/-50 degrees of travel with the specified tiller arm length.  I have not yet purchased a Nexus drive unit, so I can't tell you about any firsthand results...

David Epstein
SuperStar, #122
Marina del Rey, CA



At 12:23 PM 11/29/2011, you wrote:

I got a new one of this for free, and according to Raymarine Support,  it can be installed with my ST400+ wheel pilot display.

Does anyone has installed one of this below deck drives on a C38 ?? If so, any installation pics or recommendations will be appreciated!

Regards, 

-- 
Max Soto
C38 #198 ESTANCIA
Puntarenas, Costa Rica
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