How do I build an autopilot shelf?

[Tessellate]

Originally Posted by Joe500

.... We ultimately went with a Raymarine wheelpilot, which of course is much easier to install. For a 38 foot boat, it cannot handle sailing with winds above 20 knots; however, for the coastal cruising we do, which involves a lot of motoring, it works 95% of the time.

Funny, that's the reason I switched from the wheel pilot to a below-decks pilot. We need an autopilot that can handle the 5% conditions, not the 95% conditions. For our purposes, a pilot that could handle the steering when it's easy is not very useful - we need something to handle the steering when it's the worst it could possibly be.

It's true the wheel pilot is a much easier install (the below-decks system took me 60+ hours - half of that due to a very tight install space and custom parts required that might not be typical for all boats). For what it's worth, I suspect you could've installed a below-decks drive on your boat, but you hadn't measured the distance to where the drive base would be, so it's hard to say anything for sure. It looks to me like none of those bulkheads are 2 1/2 feet from the rudder stock.

Measuring for a tiller arm is the first step in the planning process, and measuring the distance / angles from that possible tiller arm to the possible base locations is the second step.

[seahaul]

Hello, would like to revive this post again. Wondering if anyone has had success with a base plate for the linear drive. I would prefer not to through bolt my cockpit sole but wonder if its possible to encapsulate a mounting plate with tons of fibreglass?

[Tessellate]

Originally Posted by seahaul

Hello, would like to revive this post again. Wondering if anyone has had success with a base plate for the linear drive. I would prefer not to through bolt my cockpit sole but wonder if its possible to encapsulate a mounting plate with tons of fibreglass?

Yes, I documented it on our blog:
https://svviolethour.com/2019/05/29/...8-part-3-of-3/

and also started a cruisersforum thread on it in 2019, which received a lot of helpful advice:
https://www.cruisersforum.com/forums...lf-217315.html

Think of it like a stringer or chainplate knee.