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pearson 26 autopilot

3K views 9 replies 3 participants last post by  manateee_gene 
#1 ·
I bought a simrod autopilot and plan to use it this summer on my Pearson 26. The problem is that it needs to be attached 18 inches from the axis of the rudder post and link to the seat. At this point it is 6 inches below the seat. The manufacturer only allow 4 3/4 inches for this. Has anyone built a bracket that has worked.
Thank you ted
 
#2 ·
I have seen two particularly nice installations where a autopilot bracket had to extend out from the face of the seat. The first was a beautifully fabricated aluminum bracket that a fellow had made himself from a piece of 3/16" aluminum angle and plate. In plan it was a triangle with the socket at the point of the triangle and the base of the triangle against the seat face. There was a trianglar ''knee''at the centerline of the socket that was welded to the top and vertical face of the bracket as well as the socket.

The other really neat installation that I have seen was one that looked like a little teak gate leg table. Again the top was approximately triangular and had a hole for the bushing for the autopilot to pass through. The bushing was actually installed in the gateleg and passed up through the top locking it in place. The whole assembly proturded less than 3/4" into the cockpit when folded.

Jeff
 
#3 ·
I liked you thoughtful answer but the width of the cockpit below the seats is 24" and the pilot is at least 30" when extended. I have a call into Simrod but am yet to reach them. I thought about making a hole in the area below the seat but I think that that kind of an alteration is unsound. I looked in the Simrod catalog and there seems to be no answer there. Any other ideas would be appreciated.
Thank you Ted
 
#6 ·
I will take a photo and post it as soon as i get to the boat (may be a week or two). By the way it is a tiller that pivits on the rudder post in the very base of the cockpit and reaches almost to the cabin entrance. A real knee banger but great leverage and protection from the cabin when it gets rough.
Ted
 
#8 ·
The Pearson 26 has an ''S'' shaped tiller that emerges from a short rudder tube (maybe 3-4 inches above the cockpit sole) and curves up and then horizontal again. As I understand this, the problem is that the autopilot needs to install on the part that curves up and which is below the height of the seat. What I gather is that the piston is too long to fit into the footwell without hitting the side of the cockpit.

The answer, of course, is to install an offset bracket on the side of the tiller that extends toward the opposite side of the cockpit from the side where the tiller pilot is mounted. Its not too hard to build an offset bracket in a sturdy wood like white oak or to laminate one or get one welded up in aluminum.

Jeff
 
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