Autopilot

[newinlet]

I think it is about time I install autopilot on my 37C, I will most likley go with Raymarine, considering the radar & chartplotter are Raymarine. My questions are where does the pump get installed aft by the steering ram ?. Second, where do you think would be the best place for the gyro compass Mid ship low point of the boat is the engine room , could I get away with an easier spot to install this ?
Any suggestions would be appreciated
Thanks Jim Stone
1978 37C

 

[Banshee36]

Jim,
You can put any autopilot and NEMA it to any equipment you may have, nema is an Industry Standard, I have a Simrad Auto pilot that talks to my 1850, my radar and my fish finder wihich are all Furuno.
As far as the Pump Placement I would put it in the engine room out of the weather so to speak, you do not want to replace those.
As far as the Gyro, I have mine in the rear Lazertte, mounted tot he rudderboard.
With the new rudder's I just added, I need to get my AP dialed in, but it does work.

 

[jim rosenthal]

Since you have hydraulic steering, and the pump is electrical, you would mount it with the following in mind: close to hydraulic lines, close to the current source, out of the weather or spray and away from heat, and in a place where you can service it. That, unfortunately, will end up narrowing things down quite a bit. Given a choice between the engine room and the area under deck, I would prefer the engine room. Electrical items in the aft under-deck area don't seem to fare too well.

 

[Nick]

I have the 37 C with an older Autohelm (RaytheonRaymarine ST 7000) mounted at the bridge. The course computer is mounted below the console to port. The hydraulic pump is cut into the hydraulic lines at the bridge and the pump is mounted in the same cabinet as the course computer below the console. The electrical connections are provided at the bridge. The gyro compass is mounted to the bulkhead in the steps to the cabin below, Not in the engine room. Check the manual for the Raymarine system you are considering. The new system has a "heading sensor/compass" unit that provides a faster signal to the course computer. It may not fit below the steps.

I recently purchased the C series chart plotter/radar. The system is still being installed by the tech... ughhh, delays, delays, but should have it hooked to the autopilot soon!

 

[ADaily3224]

I have a 36 Sedan, I recently installed a Ray Marine ST6000, it works perfect. It is true that Nema will connect to any other electronic component but Ray Marine does have some proprietary soft ware that allows additional functions and features. It does matter how old your existing Ray Marine (Raytheon) equipment is.
As far as the pump goes, the closer you can mount it to the hydraulic ram the better. It's easy to splice into the ram and on my boat there was plenty of room to mount the pump on the rudder board. You can down load any of the manuals from the Ray Marine site if you want to check installation particulars before making a buying decision. The course computer is under the steering console, the compass is not in the engine room, it's mid ship, forward of the engine room and on my boat in a dry cabinet down a couple steps from the main salon.

Good luck,
Tony D

 

[newinlet]

Thanks for the advice, I bought the Raymarine st6001- I am going to mount the pump on the bridge thanks once again

 

[34Hatt]

newinlet
Did you get the Raymarine st6001 S1 or S1G. Also very Interested how you like it after its up and going or anyone else with a raymarine!

 

[newinlet]

I got the s2g core-pac