Patrick, As you can imagine, I thought about this a bit, and while I choose to use a radial rudder stop mount for my connections for several reasons. But there are options one may consider which would utilize a traditional autopilot tiller arms. Edson makes tiller arms in both Aluminum and Bronze. To me, it makes no sense to opt for the Aluminum arm as I doubt it's structurally as strong as using the radial rudder stop mount. A Bronze arm (or even a custom stainless) is a good choice.
* Edson sells a different radial drive which has a shorter height. Replacing an existing with one of these would be costly but it could free up shaft space for the tiller arm. One needs to check the specs for the shorter radials and see if that option is feasible. * Alternatively, one may consider flipping the existing radial drive upside down. It would be a challenging to reinstall and adjust the cables, and who knows, it may actually make the reinstall easier. The rudder stop can be installed either on top or below on a radial drive, so in principle that can be mounted back on top, but since the radial plane would be higher than existing, one may need to go with smaller steering idler sheaves. While I though about this, I never actually measured for a fit. * A third option, and one I thought of after the fact, is to have a tiller arm custom made so that it bolts onto the radial at the shaft using the radial shaft bolts. One would need slightly longer bolts, but it would be very robust. (inspired by the custom bracket mount for my rudder indicator). Finally, with regards to radial/mount failures, I have heard of one where someone drilled holes in the radial for installing a mounting bracket rather than using the rudder stop bracket. The set up failed over time due to dissimilar metal corrosion. I think drilling the radial is a huge mistake. It makes it weaker and more prone to corrosion. Edson has reported that over time the radial can corrode at the rudder stop due to the dissimilar metals. This has been a common cause of rudder stop failures. While Edson has redesigned the rudder stop, they contend that failure is due to steering system neglect and lack of system system inspection. Yes, we should all inspect more. I would like to add that improper installation likely added to the haste of deterioration. (.i.e. some Tef-Gel and some DMD electrical insulation paper goes a long way) - Paul E. 1981 C&C Landfall 38 S/V Johanna Rose Fort Walton Beach, FL http://svjohannarose.blogspot.com/ > On Mar 4, 2019, at 12:00 PM, [email protected] wrote: > > Date: Mon, 4 Mar 2019 07:46:09 -0800 > From: Patrick Davin <[email protected] <mailto:[email protected]>> > To: Robert Boyer <[email protected] <mailto:[email protected]>> > Cc: [email protected] <mailto:[email protected]> > Subject: Re: Stus-List Autopilot tiller arm on LF38 *without* bolting > to quadrant? > Message-ID: > <CAHixY6S9=S=fvarfamecsvedda5dngnf9q8vkw1m-kepwwp...@mail.gmail.com > <mailto:CAHixY6S9=S=fvarfamecsvedda5dngnf9q8vkw1m-kepwwp...@mail.gmail.com>> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8" > > That would be great if my worries are unfounded because it would save a lot > of work. :) > But I'm not so sure. Generally I like to defer to the advice of the > manufacturer - they're the designers, the experts, the engineers, after > all. Of course, I think Edson is being overly conservative to cover their > butts. But it is true that losing steering could very well be catastrophic. > > And of the boats that have installed direct to quadrant, I don't know what > kind of conditions they've been tested in. It's possible they've never > reached peak thrust. > > Bob do you have any pictures of your autopilot install? I searched your > blog but I think it's not on there (it's from before the blog). > > -Patrick
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