Challenge: Autopilot Drive Wrecks Compass Direction

[TomandAnitas34]

Sorry if this has been addressed before. I searched for several hours trying to find a thread that addressed this problem. My awesome Raymarine Wheel Pilot motor, mounted on the pedestal, throws my pedestal compass off by 11 degrees. I can't rely on my fluxgate compass, that would require having the auto pilot system on all the time, a heavy load on my feeble battery capacity. As this effect is there with the system on or off, my options seem to be relocate the compass or shielding the motor somehow. There is an additional option to adjust the compass but that is something, for me, that poses many questions: Though the magnetic interference source would be fixed and stable, would adjusting the compass to compensate mess with it as the boat turned ? The shielding would be an ugly mess, the relocation to the bulkhead would be a new hole, new wires, and inconvenient location, and the hole in the pedestal. All bad solutions. Help me sort this one out guys...

[perchance]

Install a new compass away from all the bad influences.

[zeehag]

can you place a protective plate of some kind between the autohelm and the compass or place a spacer there to relocate your compass farther from the autohelm drive????

[FSMike]

Get a professional to swing the compass. They will compensate for all degrees of the compass. Or, if that's not possible for some reason, they will at least know what to try.

[TomandAnitas34]

Hi Zee, Nice to see you ! As I'm in the middle of rebuilding the whole boat I guess I could do just about anything. I know there are about 10,000 boats out there with the same drive I have, that also have a compass on the pedestal. Someone, somewhere, has addressed this problem. I just cannot believe all those guys and gals just IGNORE the fact that their compass is completely twisted by the magnets in the drive ! I have not "tried" anything yet as I'm busy installing the new cabin interior. I just was hoping someone who has dealt with this would stop by and comment something like " Yeah, you fix it this way... or Nope, gotta move the compass..." The compass seems to have a two foot distance to eliminate the magnetic interference. I guess the next thing is to bend up some sheet metal to see if it helps. It would be a lot better to have the compass on the pedestal where I can see it, rather than 8 feet away on the bulkhead. My best to you Zee, and enjoy your adventure out there !

[TomandAnitas34]

Hi Mike, so it can be adjusted for...