ST 1000 Installation

[Jeremy Apted]

I love my BC23 and I am buying her a Tiller Pilot as a gift.

The topic has been addressed previously however the posts are a bit dated.

It seems that there are two choices. To sit the TP on a mounting socket (photo 2) thereby raising the TP above the deck. Alternatively, to bolt a bracket with the tiller pin to the underside of the s/s tiller and the TP sits flat to the deck (Bolted onto ss photo).

I am at a bit of a quandary and prefer the later option as I would not be drilling holes into the deck.

I would appreciate any advice before I start drilling holes!!

[Baycruiser23]

Interested to hear how you got on with this? I have started to install the same but have been unable to work out how to reach underneath the deck to successfully install the mounting pin (arms are not long enough!)
I have gone for installing the pin on top of the tiller so that it can be quickly disconnected… but summer sailing then took over!

[Jeremy Apted]

Rob Bailey gave me the confidence to install the Raymarine part number D030 (89mm) extension to the starboard side of the deck. This is the pedestal assembly which effectively raises the tiller pilot arm to a horizontal position when aligned with the nipple which has been attached to the stainless steel tiller.

There are three holes which need to be drilled into the deck and as you mention it is very difficult placing the washers and nuts under the deck into which the bolts are secured.

Firstly, I glued a washer onto each nut making sure that I did not compromise the thread. This eliminated one of the challenges!

The instructions suggested where to place the assembly and nipple however they were not appropriate for the BC23. I plugged the unit in and tried it out with temporary holding tape on the deck and tiller before deciding where to drill the holes. It is important to ensure that the functionality of the TP is not impaired by being too close to the transom.

I then tried everything from putting blue tack onto the end of a piece of timber only to then need a vacuum cleaner to retrieve a fallen nut with it's accompanying washer. The nuts are stainless steel so the use of a magnet was not an option.

In the end I removed the fenders and every other object from the starboard side locker and laid down with my back to the floor of the locker and legs dangling over the end. I temporarily held the nut on the spanner with blue tack (also tried sticking tape). I held the spanner and maneuvered my arm into the space where each of the three bolts extended through the deck. My wife held a Phillips head driver over the other end of the bolt while I tightened the nuts below. Don't worry as the bruises on the arms will fade after a couple of days!

Be careful where you drill the holes into the deck. There is a timber strengthening member under the deck. You need to drill the holes just enough forward of the member otherwise you won't be able to attach the respective nuts. This is also a buoyancy airtight area and you need to silicone seal the bottom of the pedestal  assembly as it sits on the deck. I didn't place a timber backing plate under the deck as I felt that the deck was strong enough to hold the assembly particularly as the force on it would be horizontal rather than vertical.

With my reluctance to drill holes I have not installed the electrical connection to the deck. I run an electrical lead with fuse from my battery directly to the TP. The lead has a connection making an easy disconnection from the battery.

I hope the foregoing assists you. Please let me know if you would like me to post photos.

Regards,
Whistling Kite BC23