Raymarine Smartpilot x5 wheel

[Regbook]

Just purchased Smartpilot x5 wheel does anyone have any experience with them. Ease of installation, ease of setup, and ease of use

[bouncingyellow]

Hi, I have no personal experience with them but did a lot of research on them as I am in the market to update my auto-pilot
Pros- cheap off the shelf and ease of installation .
Cons- not as durable & reliable as a below deck installation , plus my biggest turn off is do you really want to listen to the whiring of the motor while sailing along, I am in the market for a raymarine spx-30, the ten's don't pump out enough amps to power my motor. Good luck cheers.

[bouncingyellow]

Sorry mate, my thoughts got in front of me , I didn't realise you bought one, anyway congrats let us know what u think cause the spx-30 are so damn exspensive , I think there is already a tread or two dedicated too this just type it into the CF search bar. Good luck.

[rebel heart]

I have the model from before that (st-2000, I think?). Worked great until it broke all of a sudden. We use it when we're motoring or in super light air. When motoring it's loud, and in super light air the boat is banging around anyway.

They're the standard model in our charter fleet as well. Haven't heard anything specifically wrong with them other than the "you'll get a few years out of them, probably" type of thing. Regarding displacement, you can go heavier provided you don't use it for nasty conditions. Steering a 15 ton boat that's motoring along on glass conditions uses less power than a 10 ton that's sailing in swells.

[Sweet Chariot]

Hi Regbook,
I have just purchased a SPX-5 and was wondering how you are finding yours. Any complaints?

[norsearayder]

they work ok until they break,mine lasted 2 years and the drive motor gearing died,igot another one ,fill out the warrenty and good luck.the large waves seemed to stress it out

[Cap Erict3]

I bought an SPX-5 and a P70 control head as a set a week ago from West. The documentation notes menu options that are not available on the P70.

I am waiting for web approval on the Raymarine web site. I assume that is required to quiet dissatisfied customers.

So far it hasn't been a pleasant installation.

[TheOffice]

I installed one in the fall. The P70 manual was separate because the main manual was out of date. Hardest part was getting wires through the binnacle guard. I also connected it to my E7.

[Cap Erict3]

Installation is complete and the autopilot works well. I ended up having to fabricate a rudder reference in order to get it operating.

[Cap Erict3]

BTW. I hope to convert the wheel drive to a hydraulic motor sometime in the future.