[TomandKarens34]

Oh Boy, Hope I did the right thing. I've had luck with my Navman GPS and though I've heard of problems, it's been a trooper. Hope I have the same luck with this wheel pilot. I needed the whole rig... so I got it. I'm glad there are so many of you to help when it comes time to install it in a few months... Glad to buy it through Sailnet too. I feel like I supported the site here, though they probably only got about $0.12 profit at that price.... Anybody have any input on their experiences or their installation adventure ? Thanks !

 

[docbob5707]

The installation was pretty stright forward for me on my Chrysler 26. Threading the wires for everything was a pain (when is it not - LOL).
I used it all last season and am looking forward to this season.

 

[JohnRPollard]

Congrats on the purchase. I'm on the verge of buying either the S-1 or X-5 to replace our defunct unit.

Not to muddy your waters, but I have been going back and forth about which of the two above units to go for. The price of the S-1 package at Sailnet is hard to pass up. But the X-5 core pack has the built in rate gyro that is supposed to vastly improve performance, without the need for the rudder sensor.

So I called Raymarine last week. I learned one additional intriguing detail. For a few hundred dollars, they will swap your S-1 corepack for an S-1G corepack, which has the same rate gyro capability as X-5. The fellow with whom I spoke was a bit equivocal, but he did seem to concede that with the rudder sensor, you should get even better performance.

Another option, of course, is to purchase a separate rudder sensor to install with an X-5 package. But at this time -- pricewise -- it appears that purchasing an S-1 package, and upgrading to S-1G, comes out ahead of the X-5 + rudder sensor option.

 

[TSOJOURNER]

so how much we talking for the S1 upgrade

 

[CapnRon47]

S-1 upgrade

All,
I called Raymarine and got a price of $400 for the upgrade. This was last fall when the difference in price between the S-1 and X-5 was around $400. You might call and check again.

 

[PBzeer]

I installed the S-1 two years ago and have been pleased with it.

 

[rikhall]

I am in the process of installing my S1 on our Irwin Citation 34. What kind of boat are you installing it on? PM if you have specific questions you want to ask off line.

Rik

 

[JohnRPollard]

Okay,

After much back and forth, I just took the plunge and ordered the X-5 system from Sailnet.

I got a lot of good info from Rob Procter about the pros and cons of S-1 vs. X-5. They are both good systems. For me, it came down to the simpler installation of the X-5, recognizing that I have plenty of other boat projects to accomplish and only a limited amount of time.

The S-1 rudder sensor may or may not have been a big deal to install, but with my luck and knowing how my typical boat projects go, it more than likely would have been a headache. I can always add the rudder sensor down the road if I'm disappointed with the performance.

With the current 5% discount SailNet is offering on Raymarine electronics, the price spread was about $325.

I will post about the installation eventually. But I probably won't get to this project until after spring commissioning.

Maybe we could get an installation thread going for these Wheelpilot systems? The S-1 and X-5 are so similar that it would make sense to combine our efforts/knowledge into one thread.

 

[rikhall]

With the current 5% discount SailNet is offering on Raymarine electronics, the price spread was about $325.

Hey Seadog - maybe you and I could finance our next project by installing S1 rudder sensor's and charge $320.00 per installation.



Rik