Autohelm 1000 Manual

Installation and Operating Handbook

ANALOGUE

Autohelm 1000

The Autohelm 1000 is a highly developed autopilot built to operate reliably in exposed marine conditions. When correctly installed it will soon become a vital crew-member giving many years of invaluable service.

The system has been designed for owner installation and aided by the following installation guide, fitting should prove to be a straightforward and enjoyable job.

Cockpit and tiller configurations vary widely, and thus in some cases special attachments may be necessary to effect the neatest possible installation. The attachments available and their

applications are fully described					and are	stocked
for immediate supply when required.
In cases	where	special	advice is		needed you are
encouraged	to	contact	our	Technical		Sales

Department who will be pleased to assist.

INSTALLATION

The autopilot slots into the bronze mounting socket A provided, which should be permanantly fixed in position. The mounting socket should be positioned

19” (480mm) to starboard of the cockpit centreline to ensure that port and starboard tiller movements are equalised. It is also important to ensure that the unit is positioned horizontally and as near as possible to 90 degrees to the tiller when the tiller is centralised.

The basic actuator unit is a totally self-contained	The actuator pushrod attaches to the tiller via a
magnetic sensing automatic pilot. The autopilot is	ball-ended pin situated 18” (460mm) radially
mounted between the tiller and a single attachment	distant from the rudder stock or rudder pintle
point to the yacht's structure. After connection to	centreline.
the yacht's 12 volt electrical system the unit	If the rudder pivot axis is	sloping, the position
becomes operational.	of the ball-ended pin must	be positioned at a
	radius of l8” (460mm) at 90 degrees to the axis of
Since the autopilot incorporates a magnetic sensing	rudder rotation as shown on the accompanying
device, it is advisable to ensure that the yacht's	illustration.
steering compass is situated at least 2'6” (750mm)
away to avoid deviation.

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Porthand mounting							Extended pushrods
In certain instances it may be more convenient to							In some cases it may not be possible to provide a
mount the unit on the porthand side. The standard							convenient site for the mounting socket at the
unit is sensed to operate on the starboard side of							standard mounting distance of 19" (480mm). In such
the	tiller	and	where porthand	mounting is		required	cases the mounting distance can be increased in
a special porthand system must be ordered.							increments of 1" (25mm) to a maximum of 6" (l5Omm)
Porthand systems must be fitted with porthand wind							with the use of special pushrod extensions. The
vane attachments.							pushrod is extended by first unscrewing the pushrod
Basic installation method							end cap and then screwing the pushrod extension
							into position between the pushrod and the end cap.
When the tiller is positioned				low	in the	cockpit	This attachment is necessary, for example. When the
and is adjustable in height,				the	mounting socket		cockpit is unusually wide or when it is convenient
can	be	most	conveniently	positioned		on the	to mount the unit on the cockpit coaming.
starboard cockpit seat. The pushrod is attached to
the tiller via the standard ballpin provided which
is	inserted directly into the			top	of the	tiller.

The ballpin is installed by inserting it into a ¼” (6mm) drilled hole and securing with a good quality two pack epoxy adhesive such as Araldite. The shoulder of the ballpin should be positioned ½” (12.5mm) above the upper surface of the tiller to avoid fouling when the pushrod is fully retracted.

The autopilot mounting socket is installed by inserting it into a 1.2” (12.5mm) drilled hole and permanently bonded with Araldite. It is important to ensure that the mounting socket is securely installed. If the mounting site, for example, consists only of a single glass fibre skin of less thickness than the depth of the socket it will be necessary to provide reinforcement by bonding a plywood strengthening plate to the underside.

The autopilot is capable of generating very high pushrod loads and it must be stressed that in all cases the mounting socket should be very firmly bonded into position.

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Tiller attachments											The tiller crank attachments are bolted through the
When the tiller is not adjustable in height or is											centreline of the tiller, with ¼” (6mm) diameter
positioned appreciably higher than the most											bolts and since the bolts through the neutral
convenient site for the mounting socket. It is											bending axis, the bending strength of the tiller
often		convenient	to	lower		the ballpin			underneath		will not be significantly altered. The securing
the tiller. Standard tiller cranks are available in											bolts should be looked into the clearance holes
a range of sizes to lower the ballpin centre in											through the tiller with epoxy adhesive to ensure
increments of 1” (25mm) to a maximum of 5” (125mm)											that they do not work loose in operation.
below the underside of the tiller. Since the
pushrod centreline				is	positioned		2”	(62mm)		above
the	mounting socket,				these	attachments			can	cater
for a vertical distance between the mounting socket
and the underside of the tiller of up to a maximum
of	7"	(190mm).	This		attachment		is	particularly

usefulin the case of transom hung rudder configurations (such as the Folkboat) where the tiller passes over an extended counter. In such cases a tiller crank of suitable ballpin off-set will enable the unit to be neatly mounted directly on the surface of the counter or the rear coaming.

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