Want To Buy: Pivoting helm adapter for Raymarine wheel autopilot

[George_SD]

Martin - you are the man, this is EXCITING ! Looks great too

You know I'm very thankful for your help and this community.

Happy Thanksgiving!

[Celestialsailor]

Originally Posted by Allied39

Slacker.....where's the holes to bolt through to the pedestal??

Only joking, Looks good. And very nice of you to do for materials and shipping, I must say.

There's a fellow on CF looking for some 3 inch bases......you could get pretty busy!

Happy thanksgiving!

Thank you for the kind words. George_SD and I discussed the holes and we decided to do a trial run first. I think when he is comfortable with everything he might have them done where his boat is...we'll see.

The hardest thing about the part was cutting 1/4" 304 stainless. It's not so hard as it is tough. But I don't have to tell that to a DIY boat owner...lol

[Celestialsailor]

Originally Posted by George_SD

Martin - you are the man, this is EXCITING ! Looks great too

You know I'm very thankful for your help and this community.

Happy Thanksgiving!

You are very welcome...I have had people help me along the way when I needed it most. That should be how everything works.

[George_SD]

Hey Everyone - just wanted to update this thread - Martin (Celestialsailor) did an excellent work on making this part from very unscientifically obtained measurements. It fit perfectly and is a quality piece that will outlast the boat. This was a huge help considering that the manufacturer could not provide the part, drawings or needed dimensions.

If you need custom metal work - reach out to Martin, he does quality work!

Thank you again for the help

Here is a drawing I've made for the part, in case anyone else needs it fabricated. I did not have right locations for the two screw holes for attaching it to the pedestal due to my caliper not being able to fit around the boss.

[Celestialsailor]

Thank you for the kind words George. It was a fun project. Makes me happy knowing you didn't have to start from the beginning with a completely new autopilot. I'm in the middle of refitting for a new 40 gallon fuel tank out of aluminum. I save a lot of money having a Machine shop.

[frazzydee]

Originally Posted by George_SD

Hey Everyone - just wanted to update this thread - Martin (Celestialsailor) did an excellent work on making this part from very unscientifically obtained measurements. It fit perfectly and is a quality piece that will outlast the boat. This was a huge help considering that the manufacturer could not provide the part, drawings or needed dimensions.

If you need custom metal work - reach out to Martin, he does quality work!

Thank you again for the help

Here is a drawing I've made for the part, in case anyone else needs it fabricated. I did not have right locations for the two screw holes for attaching it to the pedestal due to my caliper not being able to fit around the boss.

Hi George,


Thank you so much for posting this detailed drawing, and sharing the process on this thread in such detail.


I'm reviving this thread after a few years because I am working with Martin to get another piece made for myself.



Martin asked me to reach out to you to find out if there are any changes you would suggest, now having the benefit of installing it.


I'm not clear on how it bolts to the pedestal. Did you need to drill extra holes to do that after the piece was made, and if so could we incorporate those holes into the design?

[George_SD]

Hi
Thanks for pinging me on this. I don't really have any changes to recommend at this time, but please do note the following points :

1) the rod/locating pin going from the adapter into the wheel pilot was longer than needed, which was intentional since I did not know how long it should be. I ended up cutting off the end to make it shorter and fit my particular setup after I was able to mount the adapter itself.

2) the rod/locating pin is slightly smaller than the opening on the back of the wheel pilot, so I initially put a few wraps of electrical tape on it to remove any space/plat, but at the end that didn't really mater

3) In my install I had to make 4 counter-sunk holes for the screws in order to attach the part to the wheel mount. I didn't ask Martin to do that because I had to find the exact angle and position once I had the part in hand. At least for me, it's not at nice round number like 90* or 180*, but something like 168*. This is because otherwise the cable going to the motor would interfere with binnacle structure since my wheel rotates to move out of the way.

5) On my pedestal wheel mount I have 4 holes at 0, 90, 180 and 270*. I think they are ~ 1 5/8 apart center to center and that's what I had to drill after finding the correct mounting angle for the adapter.

The adapter worked out great and is still in use with the autopilot.

I don't have any pictures of the unit installed, but may be able to do it next time I'm at the boat.

Good luck!

[Celestialsailor]

I am always pleasantly surprise when a long distant part can be made by imagineering. As you pointed out George, it's not a plug and play item. But rather a 90% done bracket with a little customizing to make it fit your application. It was nice of you to answer "Frazztdee's" inquiry. Hopefully I can get him going also.