advice on autopilot for Mac26M

[c130king]

Actually the hardest part for me was getting the dang-burned steering wheel off. Broke one wheel puller and nearly a couple of fingers.

Good Luck.

Jim

[Catigale]

I pulled mine off with a C130...truly a hurculean effort

[bartmac]

DITTO here...the combination of dissimilar metals and a taper......I was worried I would break something trying to get the wheel OFF

[Currie]

FWIW RE: Pulling the wheel - I took the advice of others on this forum and sprayed it with penetrating oil first. After an hour of letting it seep in, the wheel pulled off by hand.

~Bob

[Oskar 26M]

I've had the wheel off a few times now. The first time was a nightmare. Penetrating oil had no effect and it was very difficult to get any kind of wheel puller in there I eventually got a couple of puller arms jammed in behind the wheel and after applying a scary amount of force the wheel suddenly released with a very loud bang. The problem was that the taper was very poorly machined. It had deep concentric grooves which seem to have locked the wheel in place. I smoothed it as best I could with a file and emery paper and applied a liberal mount of marine grease to the taper before refitting the wheel. Subsequent removal was still difficult because of the puller issue, but a lot easier than that first time.

[Chinook]

When I ordered a replacement steering linkage from BWY a couple of years ago, Todd sent some installation instructions along with it. They included recommendation on how to remove the wheel. This technique involves sitting in front of the wheel, propping your knees under the wheel while grabbing the top of the wheel with one hand. While applying pressure to the wheel, top and bottom with knees and one hand, whack the wheel hub sharply with a heavy hammer. I followed those instructions, and the wheel popped right off.

[bartmac]

Wheel removal using knees and hand pulling followed by a sharp blow to the hub or shaft is a tried and proven automotive wheel removal method although i've heard some stories re collapsable steering columns.Of course the thread on the shaft need to be protected.I tried this method to no avail on my 26x and was worried about the amount of force I could use to an obviously lightly constructed steering mechanism and steering station

[Hamin' X]

Reminds me of what happened to me back in the 70's. I was driving west on I-80 through Joliet, IL in my '69 Kenworth and crossed a bridge across a major river (The Des Plaines River, IIRC). Coming off the bridge on the east side, the engineers must have missed the elevations, because there was a tremendous bump. When I hit it, my air seat bottomed out and on the rebound, my knees hit the bottom rim of the steering wheel, while I had a firm grip on the top rim. The wheel came off in my hands at 55 MPH! I managed to get it replaced before a crash occurred and now know what that strange rattle was that I had been hearing for the previous couple of days. The nut had come loose under the horn button!

~Rich

[Rick Westlake]

I pulled mine off with a C130...truly a hurculean effort

Speaking of C-130s ... and bacon ... did you know that the Brazilian nickname for the C-130 is "o cerdo volante"? Translates to "the flying pig"!

By the way, you could use a little fresh hot bacon grease if you don't have penetrating oil. It won't help, but it smells yummy....

[c130king]

I pulled mine off with a C130...truly a hurculean effort

Speaking of C-130s ... and bacon ... did you know that the Brazilian nickname for the C-130 is "o cerdo volante"? Translates to "the flying pig"!

I resemble that remark...

[Chinook]

I went ahead and ordered a factory rebuilt Raymarine Smart Pilot X5 from Defender. I've learned that, when this unit first came out, there was a problem with a component, a drive gear I think. A factory recall notice went out, which may explain the availability of the rebuilt units. They looked like good deals to me. I'm getting ready to install. The drive wheel looks awfully large in comparision with my stock steering wheel. The outside diameter of the drive wheel is 14", and the inside edge of my wheel rim is 13.4" across. Until I pull the wheel I can't tell whether the drive wheel will interfere with ability to grasp the steering wheel. I'd be interested in comments regarding installation on a stock steering wheel like mine. Also, what is that bracket pin for? It's supposed to mount on the pedestal, with the end of the pin just below the rim of the drive wheel. The mounting base is curved for a round pedestal, and the surface I will need to mount it on is flat. If anyone has had the same installation problem, how did you deal with that issue? Make a shim? All other installation tips will be appreciated.

[markh1f]

Chinook,
This is what I ended up doing, had to add a spacer(the white starboard) as it was not long enough.



The part is available from Defender for $25 or so.
http://www.defender.com/product.jsp?pat ... &id=857862

Mark

[gianpaolo]

I'd have a question, hope this is the right place, I own a Garmin 12 XL GPS handheld, and I'm wondering if it could interface and be of any use with a Raymarine X5 AP, I'm clueless about its 4 pins socket, I guess for external power, exchange data also?
Thanks in advance, Good Wind to all
Gianpaolo

[Highlander]

here's my set-up I also installed the K/H 20" steering wheel
http://i844.photobucket.com/albums/ab1/ ... 010021.jpg

http://i844.photobucket.com/albums/ab1/ ... 010018.jpg

brkt painted & installed
http://i844.photobucket.com/albums/ab1/ ... 0017-1.jpg

the electric motor is hidden inside the pedestal
http://i844.photobucket.com/albums/ab1/ ... 0017-1.jpg

Short vid of my instalation
http://s844.photobucket.com/albums/ab1/ ... 010007.mp4

J

[Catigale]

That Garmin four pin output is for 12VDC +, Ground, NEMA in, NEMA out.

Usually the Garmins only push data out, and you use the Ground both the 12 VDC power and NEMA out ground (you DONT use the NEMA in for this, BTDT)

If you are going to the trouble to run a cable to your Garmin, you might as well run 4 wires and power the GPS from your battery. Almost no power draw by the way.

Garmin documentation is all available on the web btw