EV-100 Auto Pilot

[davera20023]

I just installed an EV-100 autopilot on my 26X. I would highly recommend this. I do mostly solo sailing and have always struggled with raising and lowering the main sail. With the EV-100, I put the motor in gear and head straight into the wind.

Also, during a long sail, I could not leave the wheel. Now, I sail for hours and never touch the wheel.

I could not believe how well it worked and the ease of installation. The only thing that was painful was the cost.

[Starscream]

Hi Davera, I'm in the (winter) process of doing the same thing. You wouldn't happen to have a photo of how you mounted the pedestal bracket, would you?

[rsvpasap]

Here are some photos. Hope this helps. I installed mine about 5 years ago and things were great at first, but it gradually became less accurate at holding a course. I replaced the (apparently stretched) steering cable and it's back to perfect again. I did 20 miles in a straight line yesterday and it never wavered.

[Starscream]

Thanks RSVP, exactly what I'm looking for.

I suppose it was too much to ask that the autopilot just mounts right up to the pedestal without extra work.

Every youtube video about the EV100 shows the boat owner making all kinds of jury rigs to get the pedestal mount done properly.

My tach looks like it's in exactly the wrong place, but I'll have to wait until the wheel puller gets here to find out.

[March]

Yeah, the "doughnut" mounted behind the wheel has to be propped against something, so that the motor may have purchasing power (not a good idea to keep it propped only against the tubular actuator). I loved the elegant solution with the axle coming right through the steering column!

What I did on mine was, I found a stainless steel drawer handle and mounted it parallel to the tubular motor. Sorry, the boat is under a foot of snow so I can't post pics. It came out all right. It's not in the way, being parallel to the motor, and attached quite solidly to the lateral panel of the steering column,with a piece of plywood on the inside, for extra rigidity

[Spector]

I made a pin out of a Stainless bolt. Cut the head off and bend to suit. I opted to go with a slightly larger wheel. It doesn't get in the way in my opinion

[ris]

We just drilled a hole the size of the motor in the console and stuck the motor through the hole. Half the motor is inside the console as are the motor connections. Worked for about 6500 miles so far. Will post pics tomorrow. The hole has to be a tight fit or the motor would most likely slam against the sides of the hole. Might be bad for the motor.
Richard

[kurz]

By the way: Does anybody know if the ev-100 will improve if it gets GPS informations?