Raymarine EV 100 Wheel vs ST4000+

[Pizzazz]

There are always trade-offs. The newer Raymarine MkII wheel has a beefier motor and a simpler gearbox (cost savings) but it is capable of delivering decent performance most of the time. You need to pair it with a control unit that can provide the higher current, either an SPX series or an Evolution pilot. If you use the newer wheel with the ST4000+, you get worse performance than with the black wheel because the controller is current limited.

Now, is a below decks pilot better? Yes, but the current consumption is also higher. So, for most sailors who experience F7 and above rarely or in a fully crewed boat there is no need to go below decks pilot.

Regarding the gearbox, yep, you should expect the gears to strip under heavy use. Someone had mentioned that this is a design feature . A spare gearbox is $85, tiny and it takes about 15 min to replace. Carry one next to your spare belt for the autopilot.

Regarding current consumption, the wheel pilots consume 1.5-3 amps, max. 5A, no clutch. The mechanical drives consume 2-4A, another 1-2A for the clutch and it is beginning to add up. Your choice for the boat and sailing you do.

[Tenedos]

I wanted to follow-up to close this thread. I decided to go with EV-100 and replaced my autopilot. It was a self install and I learned some interesting things in the process, I wanted to share it for future reference:

• First and foremost, EV-100 is LIGHT YEARS ahead of ST4000+ in terms of performance. Independent of the power of the wheel drive which I will cover below, technology is clearly much more advanced. EV-1 sensor (compared to fluxgate compass for ST4000+) detects boat's movements much better and the corresponding helm movements are much closer to what an actual helmsman would do.
• Wheel Drive MK2 (the gray one, as opposed to black one for MK1) is sturdier and slightly bigger. Installation became a slight challenge because of this size difference, since available space was limited due to engine control panel. I solved this by extending the size of the "lock hole".
• I opened the unit and it appears to me that what is brass in MK1 is still brass in MK2 and what is plastic is still plastic. It feels sturdier though.
• I used the same cable for MK1 and MK2 wheel drives. That was already routed through the guard and it was a relief not to re-run it.
• Physical size of the clutch is larger on the MK2 wheel drive compared to MK1. I needed to install the clutch on the opposite side where there was more room.
• The autopilot did much better in quartering seas and also in following seas. The wheel drive was not strong enough when the wind was 20+ knots with following seas but the EV-1 sensor seemed to be doing the right steering, which was not the case with ST4000+.
• I will keep the MK1 as my spare and will also keep a spare belt as I have a feeling it will break at some point.
• All in all, I am happy with my choice, this was an easier migration, considering my boat is all Raymarine with a Raymarine Chartplotter which solves the upgrade problem.

As always, thank you all for your inputs.

[akopac]

I bought an EV100 to replace my 35-40 year old Benmar course setter our West Indies 38 ketch that I am currently sailing to Nuku Hiva from La Paz, MX ( on Starlink now). After 2 years the drive belt snapped, no spare, BUT I had rebuilt the old Benmar chain drive motor system and left it just in case under the deck fully attached and ready to swap the wires at the ACU. Took me like 15 min. to swap the wires. Seems to work pretty good, and it’s dead quiet.
I’m on with N’Djamena now going wing on with jib, and staysail with following seas about 600 miles out for the curios[emoji16]

My question is whether the Benmar drive unit is ok for the ACU-100 controller. Benmar drive unit specs are:

Cruise 1 amp

Heavy Seas 2 amps

Peak 6 amps