Keep both units and mount a switch near the rotary/chain drive drive
unit as Amel does. Run the one in the galley(the rotary)at night so
the noise will not be under your bed .Run the linear drive that will
be under the aft cabin berth during the day when the noise will not
disturb you. Running each drive unit for a twelve hour on/off duty
cycle will greatly increase their lifespan as they won�t get very
�hot�. Heat is the big problem with autopilot drives that are on for
days and days.

Be sure to mount the end not attached to the rudder Quadrant on some
medium soft rubber padding to make it much more quiet. Through bolt it
as normal, just don�t fully tighten the fasteners and use Nyloc nuts
or double nut with Loc-Tite.

As always , this is from me as an Amel owner and not as the Amel guy
for North America.



All the best,

Joel F. Potter



Joel F. Potter - Cruising Yacht Specialist, LLC

Amel's Sole Associate for the Americas

401 East Las Olas Boulevard, #130-126

Fort Lauderdale, Florida 33301

Phone: (954) 462-5869 Fax: (954) 462-3923




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I dont think you read the post properly - the question was - should  i replace the present linear drive with a new one - and keep the old one as a spare?

At least this is how i read the post - and i would say sounds like a good idea to me.

I am  NOT convinced with your suggestion to mount the drive unit using a rubber mount though - that is going to introduce some free movement into what seems to me to be a big plus for the linear drive that is that it is directly coupled to the rudder stock and does not have the slop/free play of driving the rudder remotely using the steering mechanism - of course with the linear drive you have the additional advantage of in extremis being able to steer the boat should any part of the steering mechanism fail

previous post as below - bolding is mine

We plan to cross the atlantic next year. On our SM 227 we still run the

Autohelm ST 7000. I am thinking of buying a spare linear drive unit in

case of a problem during the passage. Since we are just the 2 of us on

the boat (my wife and myself)that might be worth to do.

One option I am thinking of, is to install a new lienar drive unit and

keep the old as spare part. Did anybody do this already and was it

difficult to install? According to Raymarine, the new unit should

perfectly work with the old Autohelm parts, e.g. the comptuer, compass

etc.?

Many thanks for your feedback

Paul

LunaBlu SM 227



re
gards

David

In 2005 installed a completely separate Autohelm 7000 linear drive connected to the rudder post. The setup is completely in accordance with Autohelm instructions. No rubber dampers, but strengthening (epoxy fiber-glassing) of the base to which the drive is attached seemed mandatory as the type 2 linear drive can exert more than a 1000 lb of pressure... Consider the effect when the drive oscillates.
 
On my boat the operation is not noisy.
 
During my crossing from Las Palmas to Martinique, in February 2007, i only used the pilot directly connected to the rudder as it required little electrical energy and produced a rapid response considering the huge swells mixing with the waves coming from another direction. During the crossing,  the two of us aboard only held the helm for a maximum of a few hours: when reducing sails or tacking and we could have used the autopilot for these purposes.
 
The other autopilot, my faithful NECO, is properly maintained, tested once in a while and is considered as a backup.
 
I do not agree with Mr Potter suggestion that daily switching from one pilot to the other would extend the life of both pilots. It might increase the total time before breakdown of one of them, but if a mechanical or electrical system has been in operation for a few hours, save for an exceptional situation, the temperature of the equipment is reached and maintained for the rest of the time. It does not require a rest or cooling down. 
I would be more fearful of the thermal shock resulting from a daily switching on of the equipment, particularly its effect on the electronic circuitry. For long crossings, my autopilot is not shut down during manual steering, it is kept on standby.   
 
I consider that a autopilot directly connected to the rudder post is a major security element.
Before the installation of the linear drive attached to the rudder post, while my boat was being crossed from the Caribbean to the Med, a breakdown of a steering cable required the use of the clumsy emergency tiller. Has anyone tried to use this tiller for a few days in a choppy sea?
 
As for spares: brushes for the electric motor are a must. The control unit is very sensitive to dampness, and i am considering having one as a spare, but i am not sure my first mate would not require that i may only get it if i depart from another of my precious spare part!
 
 
Serge Opera Mango#51 














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Nice to hear some real life experiences that support my view i also would support your view that regular switching on/off is a bad thing as failure will 99 times out of 100 occur at switch on time. Also a type 2 ram should not be getting into a thermal overload situation driving an Amel no matter what the sea state.

regards

David

You mention low power consumption, how many amps does it take? Or, in a 10 hour opeeration, how many amp-hours?

Thanks, Horst




________________________________
From: Serge Tremblay <laetitiaii@...>
To: amelyachtowners@...
Sent: Monday, 1 December, 2008 20:10:24
Subject: Re: [Amel] Autohelm ST 7000 linear unit drive




In 2005 installed a completely separate Autohelm 7000 linear drive connected to the rudder post. The setup is completely in accordance with Autohelm instructions. No rubber dampers, but strengthening (epoxy fiber-glassing) of the base to which the drive is attached seemed mandatory as the type 2 linear drive can exert more than a 1000 lb of pressure... Consider the effect when the drive oscillates.

On my boat the operation is not noisy.

During my crossing from Las Palmas to Martinique, in February 2007, i only used the pilot directly connected to the rudder as it required little electrical energy and produced a rapid response considering the huge swells mixing with the waves coming from another direction. During the crossing, the two of us aboard only held the helm for a maximum of a few hours: when reducing sails or tacking and we could have used the autopilot for these purposes.

The other autopilot, my faithful NECO, is properly maintained, tested once in a while and is considered as a backup.

I do not agree with Mr Potter suggestion that daily switching from one pilot to the other would extend the life of both pilots. It might increase the total time before breakdown of one of them, but if a mechanical or electrical system has been in operation for a few hours, save for an exceptional situation, the temperature of the equipment is reached and maintained for the rest of the time. It does not require a rest or cooling down.
I would be more fearful of the thermal shock resulting from a daily switching on of the equipment, particularly its effect on the electronic circuitry. For long crossings, my autopilot is not shut down during manual steering, it is kept on standby.

I consider that a autopilot directly connected to the rudder post is a major security element.
Before the installation of the linear drive attached to the rudder post, while my boat was being crossed from the Caribbean to the Med, a breakdown of a steering cable required the use of the clumsy emergency tiller. Has anyone tried to use this tiller for a few days in a choppy sea?

As for spares: brushes for the electric motor are a must. The control unit is very sensitive to dampness, and i am considering having one as a spare, but i am not sure my first mate would not require that i may only get it if i depart from another of my precious spare part!


Serge Opera Mango#51

Offrez un compte Flickr Pro à vos amis et à votre famille.
http://www.flickr. com/gift/

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[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Hi Horst,
 
I do not recall precisely if it was 2 or 4 amp/hr.
 
I know my "Link" meter showed a low consumption and, as i recollect, it was much less than my refrigeration systems in northern latitudes ( Gibraltar), and even twice less than my Neco autopilot when i made comparison trials.
 
Serge      
Opera

--- En date de : Lun, 1.12.08, Horst Pause <horst.puddleduck@...> a écrit :

De: Horst Pause <horst.puddleduck@...>
Objet: Re: [Amel] Autohelm ST 7000 linear unit drive
À: amelyachtowners@...
Date: lundi 1 Décembre 2008, 17 h 27

















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