Dear friends,
Thank you for your comments.
Richard; I counted seven linkage points on the stock steering system counting the cable connection to the starboard tiller as number one, till the actual linkage to the motor. A little bit of play in every linkage amounts to a lot of play in the end; it is cumulative. I, personally could not live with it. Believe me, it makes a HUGE difference.
They Theirs; I am not sure if it is fortunate or unfortunate that I have already purchased the old Sportpilot Plus and in fact installed it last weekend. I say so, because if I had not been able to buy one (there are not many available anymore) then I would have been forced to consider the new option with the autopilot motor within the console. I cannot say if there is enough room for it or not because I do not know the size of the next generation Raymarine autopilot. Sorry, I cannot help here for now.
Sea Pony; you have a very valid point. And for this reason I use the console compass only to keep a course, not to navigate. What I mean is that I use a high quality handheld compass, outside everything that may affect it, to set my bow on the compass course, then take a reading off the console compass and stick to it. It doesnt matter if there is a degree of deviation between one compass and the other, as long as you set the course with the handheld.
The reason why I put the compass on the console and not on the bulkhead is simply because a) I wanted everything concentrated on the console and b) I dont like opening holes as they are always a serious potential threat to ingress of water. And I like my interior DRY!
Stay tuned for Steering upgrade part 3 . . . . coming up soon!
Happy sailing !
Octaman
