Placement of tiler pilot arm EV-100

[Baraka]

I am looking to add a tiller pilot to my 30 foot Choey Lee ketch rigged sailboat. I would like to use the EV-100 tiller pilot but I have a problem where the arm needs to be located per the specifications. The boat's tiller is mounted on the transom with a severe angle. The deck area at the stern of the vessel is quite limited and has a number of existing elements, several of which can not be moved. I have attached a marked up photo of the stern showing the specified location of the tiller pilot arm (in red), the Missen sheet attachment point (in blue), and dock line through a fairlead to cleat (green). While the cleat could be moved (or even rotated 90 degrees), there is limited clearance under the rail mounted propane tank, but more importantly if the arm is located per the specifications, it will likely interfere with the blocks for the missen sheet. The layout of missen sheet attachment points, cleats and propane tank is identical port and starboard.

The Question is, Can the arm be located back a couple of inches back? It would seem that if there was a rigid right angle piece off the end of the hydraulic arm that went to a pin on the tiller at the 18" dimension off the hinge point of the tiller, the pilot would maintained the required dimensions and provide the steering necessary. Please advise.

Please note that I have been unable to attach a pdf or jpeg of the situation.

[Chuck - Raymarine - Moderator]

Welcome to the Raymarine Forum Baraka,

Please note that the drive mechanism of the EV-100 Tiller is a worm gear drive rather than a hydraulic piston. The geometry and dimensions specified for the drive's installation are critical to permit the drive to perform properly and to additionally not be subjected to excessive load. The marked up .jpeg file which you have mentioned may be helpful in clarifying whether this drive is suited for the sailing vessel. It is recommended that the size of the .jpg file be reduced to less than 500kb and then attached as response to this post.

[Baraka]

Chuck,
Thank you for your reply and explanation about the drive arm being worm driven. I believe that I have attached 2 pdf to use in this discussion (at least I tried inserting the pdf's into the post). As I mentioned earlier, There are some conflicts with mounting the drive arm at 18" off the rudder. I would like to mount the arm approximately 4 inches further back by incorporating a rigid right angle at the end of the drive arm which would then connect at the tiller at the required 18". Would this work?
As Raymarine has arm extensions, do you have a "right angle" extension like I am looking for? I could likely have fabricated the necessary rigid right angle attachment to screw on like a extension, but would prefer that it was a Raymarine product.
By the way, the sketch of the tiller drive arm shows the existing tiller and a proposed tiller (dash lines) which would be closer to the deck.
Thank you

[Chuck - Raymarine - Moderator]

Baraka,

I have reviewed your attachments. The geometry of the drive unit must be maintained to install the drive unit 18" from the rudder post at a 90 degree angle to the tiller. If going forward with the EV-100 Tiller Pilot, it is recommended that you consider relocating the cleat and any other deck fittings which may interfere with the operation of the drive unit.