Autohlem 5000 & rudder stops

john d · **Joined:** 25 Oct 2006 12:10 **Posts:** 10

I purchased hull #2 last year and in doing some mantiance I discovered that the Autohelm 5000 linear drive unit prevents the rudder from turning far enough to hit the glassed-in rudder stops. This in effect makes the Autohelm 5000 drive unit my rudder stop. Does anyone have anything like this on their boat. I don't know if the drive unit is strong enough to be the rudder stop, I would think it's not an ideal situation. And the drive unit is mounted to the plywood floor in the lazarette and that plywood floor flexes when the drive unit is fully extended or retracted. Any suggestions?

I'd also like to hear any imput about other autopilots. Ones that work well and ones that don't.

The Autohelm 5000 does not steer the boat well off the wind in any kind of seaway. I find the the boat without the AP steers itself easily. I suspect others also find the boat well behaved off the wind. So if anyone has any tips on "dialing in" the Autohelm 5000 please let me know. In fact if any one has any experience with the Autohelm 5000 please drop me a line, I'd love to ask some questions.

Thanks,

john d
hull #2 DEBRA

Down2TheC · **Posted:** 26 Oct 2006 15:40

Welcome to the forum. Nice hull number. You get the Senior hull award. Cool

We have a wheel mount autohelm (though the number eludes me I think it's 2k?). So I can't answer your primary question but I can say that our very old model (1995-ish) does pretty well. It's all in the sail trim. If we're on a close reach with a lot of weather helm, the AH does get overwhelmed and starts hunting back and forth. Same with a Beam reach in 20KT+ winds. But when it's important enough to get away from the wheel I've found that tweaking the sail trim and/or reefs can give it more balance. You may lose a couple tenths of a knot in speed but most days, we're not trying to get anywhere fast when the autohelm is in use.

That said... looking at your manual you seem to have plenty of adjustments to change it's personality. (section 3.1) Also the note on pg. 19 for the linear drive unit seems to guide against your setup...

Quote:

http://www.raymarine.com/raymarine/Subm ... Analog.pdf
I'll verify our model this weekend when I visit her (on the cradle Sad

)

Tortuga's Lie · **Joined:** 27 Oct 2006 10:32 **Posts:** 827

Hull #2? Wasn't that "Tigger"?

john d · **Joined:** 25 Oct 2006 12:10 **Posts:** 10

Thank you, glad to be on the forum and thankful to all those who made it possible.

Yes, I looked at the manual and followed it's suggestions, at least as far as steering. I've only just discovered the problem with the rudder stops. But I'm not suprised that they are suggesting the drive unit NOT be used as the stop.

Still, less than stellar steering off the wind. Big snake following the boat if you catch my drift. There are three adjustments, each with 8 different settings, so running through ALL the variations hasn't happend............yet. And I have tried of sail trim adjustments to help the AP steer.

Yes, this boat now named DEBRA is indeed the former TIGGER.

Once again anyone with suggestions on this model and any imput on which models do or don't work would be appreciated.

Thanks,

john d

jammin · **Joined:** 30 Oct 2006 15:40 **Posts:** 63

The autopilot should NOT drive the rudder to the stops. This would cause the actuator to continue to work against the stops. This is not good. Aircraft control surfaces are also designed for the actuator to reach the limit of travel before reaching the mechanical stops. This is a safety measure and should not be bypassed.

Jammin' #226

Sam · **Joined:** 31 Oct 2006 19:43 **Posts:** 37

I have a new Raymarine S1G with a type 1 linear drive on hull #52. The posts so far are not recognizing that the drive acts differently in Auto as opposed to Stanby in so far as the rudder stops are concerned. In stanby mode the drive should not run out of travel in either direction before the radial drive pinion hits the built in stops that are part of the hull. If the rudder travel is restricted by the linear drive, then the tiller arm is too long. When the auto pilot is engaged in Auto, the linear drive should be programed during installation to recognize when the end of travel is near and not drive onto the stops. The rudder reference transducer and the linear drive should be coordinated after installation and before sea trial to prove this range of motion.

jammin · **Joined:** 30 Oct 2006 15:40 **Posts:** 63

You are absolutely right in that the actuator should not act as a stop. Thanks for pointing out the difference in "auto" and "standby" mode. This must be checked during the installation as you said.

Down2TheC · **Posted:** 05 Nov 2006 17:05

Checked it out today... we have a 4000+ wheel mount.

john d · **Joined:** 25 Oct 2006 12:10 **Posts:** 10

Ok. Some good info. Thanks

As I understand it and I'll double check this later this week, my linear drive unit prevents the rudder (quadrant, radial drive) from hitting the stops when the AP is in standby mode.

I'll have to test at see if the rudder is driven to the stops when in auto mode, but I suspect not. And I now can see clearly why that isn't a good thing.

I think when I tested the range of motion it was not in the standby mode, but in the plain old "off" mode.

But I do...or don't...this is a question, want the rudder to be able to travel from stop to stop when in the standby mode? Does that make sense?

I don't think the Autohelm 5000 can be programed like the newer units to know how far to travel. Correct me if I'm wrong.

Does any body know ANYONE who has an AUTOHELM 5000? I would really like to talk to someone who has at least some experience with this particular unit.

Thanks again for all the tips.

john

windchime37 · **Joined:** 08 Jan 2007 14:30 **Posts:** 4

We used to have a 5000, and I believe we were able to program the range of movement. It failed on us 3 times while we were traversing the East Coast. Raymarine said it was undersized for the T37 and we upgraded to an ST6001. The 6001 performed flawlessly on a two year cruise of the Caribbean. We love it!

Tartan37.com

Autohlem 5000 & rudder stops

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