Ranger 21 EC Cockpit Tiller

Now I get it...the sailboat type big pulley and belt would definately be a real awkward install in the small space available.

I have a sportpilot+ ... discontinued now, but still findable on E-bay at times. They replaced it with a "new,improved,updated" model (I think it was called the SPs or something). The new one was soooo bad it was recalled about 2 months after it hit the market and there's been no replacement since. Mine will probably last a long time given the lite use it sees. When I have some time I'll see if it had a remote available and if so, I may try to find one on Craigslist or Ebay.
It's also capable of hooking up to the GPS but I haven't bothered (On the River I really only need the GPS for speed/distance info.) hard to get lost in a "Hallway", even for me.
😉 I suppose In theory I could set a bunch of waypoints starting at my slip and ending at the guest dock at Rooster's in Clarkston and then I could meet my boat there for dinner and send it home again...But that would sorta defeat the whole "boating" thing.
I just checked...
It looks like RayMarine now has a SPX-5R available now (they want $1300- $1900 for it...yikes!!). I could hire a kid to steer the boat for about 230 hours of boating for that.
 
I looked at the literature on that unit just now. Does that just replace the Uniflex unit at the wheel and still use the same push-pull single cable, or is it completely different method of moving the rudder post lever? It implies that it works with the original cable, but without installation instructions, I am not sure what they are really saying. Do you know if it was installed when the boat was built, or changed by an owner?

I have vowed to keep the R21 as simple as possible, but my list of goodies has already grown. And boat goodies are always pricey. Fortunately, I can do a lot of stuff myself, and even have a supply of teak salvaged from Hurricane Opal so I can make a few of the small things myself. They are never as pretty as the commercial stuff, but are always functional and not unsightly. (Kind of like me.)
 
Just involves removing the wheel, installing the device onto the steering post and re-installing the wheel. I think it moves the wheel an inch or so towards the driver. Everything else stays untouched as far as I know. There's also a remote fluxgate compass that needs to be installed.
That's where my knowledge of autopilots pretty well ends. How much power it draws or anything technical about hooking up to instruments etc ,you may need to download a manual if you can.
 
Interesting topic. I came to the R21EC from two fairly heavy displacement Albergs - a tiller A30 and a wheel A37 - neither of which I could have single-handed 95% of the time without an autopilot. Here's my thinking on installing a simple autopilot on the R21EC ...
Since I only need it for making long tedious passages (Lake Huron/Georgian Bay), I need it to make 1 or 2 degree corrections to keep me on course; I don't need to make +/-10 degree changes. It does have to be readily dismountable and stowable.
I would like to explore the feasibility of mounting a Raymarine ST1000 Plus Tiller Pilot to the bottom of the wheel! Bear with me.
We know it is impossible to mount a tiller pilot from starboard due to space limitations. If I recall correctly, the ST1000+ can be mounted and programmed from either P or S. (My tiller pilot was many moons ago.)
One could fashion a removable 1/4" flat stock stainless steel bracket athwartship, under the teak steering panel and fastened with inset nuts and wing knobs, projecting out to port and with another bracket lowered to a platform on which to secure the autopilot facing to starboard. The brass pin that would normally be mounted on (or beneath) the tiller would be fitted into the 6 o'clock position on the back of the wheel.
Doubtless, this would be a major intrusion into the v-berth area, but keep in mind we're talking a temporary installation and only for long passages.
My boat is stored some distance from home and I don't have the specs on the length of the ST1000+ unit to mock up an impression of whether and how this might work, but I'm sure there's enough creative ingenuity out there to get the juices flowing. OVER
 
Octopus drive unit,then go with a German auto pilot, Check out prior posts on R-21 auto pilots. Bob
 
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