WARNING ABOUT INSTALLING A RAYMAR ST4000+ AUTOPILOT ON A 26M

[tidalwave]

The pedestal bracket required to mount the ST4000+ MK2 wheel autopilot is 2 inches TOO SHORT, to connect with the wheel motor drive!
The ST4000+ wheel autopilot will NOT fit a 26M without a longer pedestal bracket!
The ST4000+ wheel drive installed on my 18inch wheel without a problem.
The wheel drive has a slot on the bottom of its ring housing. A Pedestal Bracket is to be installed on the pedestal and it has a round post which
sticks out and is supposed to be slid into the wheel drive housing. This post gives the wheel drive something to shove against when it tries to
spin the wheel.
Unfortunately the small 26 pedestal is about 2 inches too far away from the wheel drive housing (as RayMarine built it).

I have tried to contact RayMarine about the avaiability of a longer
pedestal bracket but they have not returned my email.

In fact, the installation booklet talks about possibly having to cut the post
shorter rather than needing a longer one.

So, if you are thinking about buying an ST4000+, you might want to wait
until RayMarine explains what we should do, if we are going to put
such a unit on our 26 's

[Moe]

You didn't want to screw that pedestal bracket into your pedestal post anyway, and have the screws inside it chafing on the steering cable, wiring, and motor cables. Get a couple of u-bolts that fit around your pedestal post and use them to mount a 2" thick block on the aft side of the Mac post. You can shape the block to fit the Raymarine Pedestal Bracket which was designed for a larger diameter post anyway.

--
Moe

[DLT]

I can't help but wonder how rigid that will end up being...

What you're trying to secure is the motor that turns the wheel, right? Seems like trying to secure it all the way back to the stainless column could put a lot of torque on that u-bolt...

What is the possibility of securing it to the fiberglass housing of the pedestal? It seems like you could fabricate a bracket for this that would be VERY rigid. For example, how about a piece of angle aluminum extending from the bottom front edge of the housing, either to port or starboard. Then, U-bolt the motor to the angle... You'd want to be sure and round off any corners good, so it doesn't catch on stuff...

A U-bolt around the column may very well work, I'm just suggesting an alternative...

[tidalwave]

I think that the aluminum block anchored to the bottom of the pedestal housing but also u-bolted around the pedestal pipe might be the only
fix.

I found out that even if the pedestal bracket post were the extra two inches longer...the pedestal bracket still would not fit!

There is a slot in the wheel drive housing into which the bracket post is supposed to fit...but the Mac Pedestal housing won't allow the tubular
wheel drive motor to be rotated out enough to the starboard to fit the post and slot. The slot in the wheel drive when lined up with a correctly positioned bracket post would put the drive motor about one inch inside the Mac pedestal housing...which would be impossible. And there is no adjustment possible on the drive housing.

So...I have to have a bracket post which can extend about two inches farther aft than RayMarine built it...and to fit the Mac pedestal housing
the bracket post has to be shifted about two inches to the left of the
center of the pedestal pipe.

The only way it seems to be able to do both...is to put an aluminum
block below the pedestal housing and position the post out an additional
two inches and to the left two inches!

Thanks for the great suggestions...I have needed and appreciated all that
have been given over the last several months!

[Moe]

If you don't think the u-bolts will stop the rotation you could drill the block and the pedestal pipe and put a pin through it. The pin wouldn't have to be sharp or have threads on it.

--
Moe

[Jim Bunnell]

tidalwave - take a look at this mod, which shows a different solution to the problem. I put the 4000+ on my M (with a larger wheel) using much the same method. I avoided some of the precision cutting and fitting by making an arm that bolts to the face of the pedestal and sticks out to the side for the motor mount. By cutting and fitting the hole for the motor first, I got a nice fit, and THEN aligned and drilled the bolts to secure to the face of the pedestal.

[Sea Dragon]

I installed an ST 4000 on my 26M by bolting a hardwood block to the underside of the fiberglass box on top of the pedestal and attached the bracket to the block with SS screws. I had to shorten the post slightly but otherwise it fit perfectly. Can't provide photos right now as I am in Missouri and my boat is in Florida. John L

[tidalwave]

Thanks for the suggestions...
I have ordered an HDPE plastic block which I will bolt
to the underside of the pedestal console...
I will be able to extend the pedestal bracket post
outward enough to reach the wheel drive slot and
also be able to shift the position of the post so that
it will line up correctly with the slot.
I chose to go with the HDPE block rather than hardwood
because it is totally weather resistant...I won't have
to worry about varnishing and re-protecting the wood.
I decided that there will not be enough torque to need to
use u-bolts around the pedestal pipe (the bracket post
extends into a plastic slot on the wheel drive...so there
can't be too much torque when running or the post would
tear itself out of the plastic housing)

[Chip Hindes]

My mod for the ST4000 on the X is posted. I believe my custom torque arm bracket would work on the M as well; just extend the arm length by whatever is required to reach the ring.

My bracket has thru bolts with washers and nuts on the relatively thin fiberglass of the X pedestal; if I were mounting to a steel tube pedestal I might try drilling and tapping for machine screws.