Question about Raymarine/Raytheon Sportpilot

[Sunbeam]

My 22 Cruiser came to me with a Raytheon Sportpilot. It looks to be in very good condition, and the boat has seen minimal use (engine has ~50 hours).

One issue I noticed when surveying the boat was that the steering wheel was "loose." It didn't seem like it was a wear issue, but rather likely one of something simply being loose or perhaps incorrectly installed/tightened. The part of the wheel slop that is annoying is that it can be rocked side-to-side quite a bit. In other words, if you put your hands on the wheel in the 9 o'clock and 3 o'clock positions, and then alternately push forward and pull aft, the wheel rocks from side-to-side. Ugh!

Today I took the wheel off, and then "excavated" until I figured out where the slop was coming from. It's the Sportpilot. Basically, when you install it, you remove the wheel, sandwich the Sportpilot in between the wheel and the boat, and then put the wheel back on. The "steering boss" screws into a mating brass ring that is built into the Sportpilot (see diagram). What is not shown in the diagram (which is from the Sportpilot manual) is that the brass ring in the Sportpilot (that the steering boss mates to) is actually like two rings that can rotate/slide around together - the outer one has slots not simple holes, whereas the inner one has simple holes. Well, the play that is allowing my wheel to be super-annoyingly sloppy is in between the two rings, so, essentially "built into" the tombstone-shaped part of the Sportpilot unit.



I'm wondering if all Sportpilots are like this - causing wheel slop - or if there is something wrong with mine. I did do a Google web search and didn't find the hordes of people complaining about it that I would have expected if it was just part of every Sportpilot (but then, maybe I'm just particular?). Does anyone here have a Sportpilot, and if so, is it like this? Does it make your wheel sloppy?

I'm not expecting any help from Raymarine if mine is "broken," given that the Sportpilot is obsolete, but I'm just wondering if this is "normal," and, if so, whether anyone has taken theirs apart and perhaps devised a fix.

Thanks,
Sunbeam

[BrentB]

I have a Sportpilot on a 94 Parker and it is tight.

The helm pump was leaking, we pulled the wheel easily but the Sportpilot was very difficult and spent a couple of hours pulling and prying it off gently to replace an O-ring.

see https://picasaweb.google.com/100677968492070397921/DropBox?authkey=Gv1sRgCJ-v_Pen9dH0GA#5771495920781290146

[c-ness]

We had a sport pilot and no such problem. We did just replace it with a s1000 that operates with a remote.

[Sunbeam]

Thanks for your responses. On the one hand, great, it's not how they all are. On the other hand, huh, I wonder why mine is that way, since it's hardly been used. I did think it would be pretty weird if they were all like that and people just accepted it.

I've copied in Brent's photo: The part where you can see a brass ring with slots and then holes behind it is where the slop is on mine. Mine looks the same in general. The boss that attaches to the four holes is tight and there is no slop on the boat's steering shaft at all. The problem seems to be within that brass ring/slots section.



On your Sportpilot(s) with no slop, does the part with the slots move independently (in a clock-like plane) from the part just behind it that has the holes? Mine seems to, but also it seems like something that may be supposed to happen when the pilot is working.

Perhaps I'll take mine apart (the tombstone shaped part) to see if there is something loose behind the brass ring with the slots.

Thanks,
Sunbeam

[Captains Cat]

Even though it's obsolete, Raymarine is usually pretty good at responding to tech questions. If you get the right tech, sometimes he'll take it on as a challenge...

Charlie

[c-ness]

Sunbeam, unfortunately I tossed the old sport pilot when we switched to the s1000.

[BrentB]

As best as I recall the brass ring/slots section was firm and no play.

As side note, our Sport handle is cracked and held together with heat shrink. If anyone has a non working Sportpilot with a good handle let me know

[Sunbeam]

Thanks again, everyone. Charlie, that's not a bad idea - I should at least give Raymarine a try. C-ness: You read my mind - I was thinking, "I wonder what they did with their old Sportpilot" Brent: If for some reason I give up on mine, I will think of you for the handle (although yours is a "+" and mine is just a "plain").

I don't think I could live with the wheel loose like it is, so it's either fix it, remove it, and/or get a different autopilot. I'll post back if/when I figure anything out. Of course if anyone else has comments, please feel free to keep them coming in the meantime.

Sunbeam

[416rigby]

Our boat came with a Sportpilot and has the same slop in the wheel. It's terrible. I had a look and can't figure out what the issue is so I've just lived with it all these years. I've been thinking of just removing the Sportpilot since I never use it anyway. If there's a simple fix I'd sure like to know about it, too.

Rick

[Sunbeam]

[416rigby]

No, I didn't split the unit open. I can't remember even what I found cuz it was so long ago. I'm thinking I may just remove it this winter.

[potter water]

So, if someone is considering tossing the thing anyway, then go ahead and crack 'er open. That is some of the most boating fun anyway. An adventure into the unknown. No, that was not sarcasm. I'm serous. I love those challenges and you get to understand marine hardware. But, only if you really are thinking about tossing it.

[BrentB]

I will take the control handle
No need to destory it.
It is like a crusie control handle in a car

[Sunbeam]

[BrentB]

thanks Sunbeam

Can the unit come apart?
It looked snapped together