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Hydraulic 2nd Backup for linear Auto pilot drive

Jose Venegas
 

Thank you all for your comments.  I checked out the space and there may be enough to mount the drive in the opposite side of the electric one.  I also though that pump could be mounted on the starboard shelf of the  "garage", to isolate the noise.  My previous boat was a Beneteau and had a similar arrangement with the sound not different to that of the electric drive on Ipanema.  I also thought that it would be best to buy an independent computer too.
I will let you know how it works out.  

Jose
svperegrinus@yahoo.com
 

An interesting thing that either I forgot or was never told on our '55 visits, but which came up on this week's '55 demo to the Delos crew, is that Amel installs that boat's hydraulic autopilot pump on a separate, isolated mount to keep things quiet in the sleeping quarters.

Something to consider if you go the hydraulic route.

Peregrinus
SM2K No. 350
At anchor, Ortona, Italy
greatketch@...
 

Jose,

I have never put a hydraulic drive in a SM2K, but have installed and used them on other boats.  

They are easy to install, relatively.  The key being they need to have someplace VERY strong to push and pull against that works with the geometry of the ram.  They really should have their own tiller arm, and not attach to the existing quadrant, although many installations cheat on this.

Some of the pumps can be quite noisy compared to the linear drive, but they can be mounted somewhere other than under the berth. If you want to go with a remote mount, installing the pump in the engine room and then routing the hoses without compromising the engine room bulkhead integrity might take away the "easy to install" benefit! 

If you are interfacing to a Raymarine autopilot, check the voltage for the clutch.  Many (most? all?) of the 24V Raymarine AP units use 12 Volts to drive the clutch and 24V to drive the motor.

Another benefit of hydraulics is repairability.  On the ram side, parts are pretty standard all over the world in all kinds of industries, so seals and even whole rams are easy to get anywhere there is an industrial economy.  For long range cruising it would be easy to carry a spare pump for a drop in replacement.  So no matter what fails you don't need to find a Raymarine technician or parts depot to fix it. 

Bill Kinney
SM#160 Harmonie
Punta Montalva, Puerto Rico


---In amelyachtowners@..., <jvenegas@...> wrote :

I have two sets of questions:  

1) My rotary drive has failed.  I makes sounds as if it is receiving the signal but the wheel does not turn.  Is it a failing clutch? If that is the problem  can it be repaired without sending it to Raymarine?


2)  I am preparing the boat for the Marion Bermuda Cruising race taking place this year and would like to add a 2nd backup linear drive, preferably hydraulic.  I would prefer the hydraulic because it is more robust, it has less parts to fail and can handle stronger forces with less energy spent.  Has anybody added a hydraulic linear back up drive to a SM2K?

Any pros and cons arguments welcome.


Jose


IPANEMA

SM2K 278

Currently shrink rapped at Constitution Marina, Boston.

 
Ian Park
 

If it's a Raymarine rotary drive it is quick (on the Santorin) to remove - just two bolts, and then you can unbolt the casing and see the gear arrangement. You can then turn the motor or the gear train by hand to see the problem. It was so easy to change over - 10-15 minutes - I decided to buy a spare rotary. But there are several threads on the advantages of a second independent linear drive and perhaps it's own course computer.

Ian
Ocean Hobo SN96
Jose Venegas
 

I have two sets of questions:  

1) My rotary drive has failed.  I makes sounds as if it is receiving the signal but the wheel does not turn.  Is it a failing clutch? If that is the problem  can it be repaired without sending it to Raymarine?


2)  I am preparing the boat for the Marion Bermuda Cruising race taking place this year and would like to add a 2nd backup linear drive, preferably hydraulic.  I would prefer the hydraulic because it is more robust, it has less parts to fail and can handle stronger forces with less energy spent.  Has anybody added a hydraulic linear back up drive to a SM2K?

Any pros and cons arguments welcome.


Jose


IPANEMA

SM2K 278

Currently shrink rapped at Constitution Marina, Boston.

 
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