Installing the Simrad SGO5 steer by wire autopilot and playing with the Sea Station.

Most of my autopilot installs I just grind out. Do the plumbing and contain the oily mess. Punch holes in the dash for control displays. Add NMEA network pieces, hang black boxes, and connect a bunch of wires. At the end of the job I smell like I've showered in hydraulic fluid, and dried off with a sweat soaked rag. It's very close to the truth. This autopilot system install is different, and different is good. No plumbing, no greasy fluids, few parts and it was easy-ish. This boat also has some very new Sea Star tech I had the opportunity to play with and really liked.

Dealing with the ORBS and trying to follow the rules

If installing autopilots was an occasional thing for me, this wouldn't be a big deal, just a minor pain in the ass. But I'm still not very happy about Teleflex's change to ORB (O Ring Boss) fittings. I don't really have a problem with the fittings themselves excluding the difficulty of getting them, and their price. It's the overall design approach that I'm struggling with. These fittings are perfect for the boat builder. Screw them in, twist them to where you want them, tighten the nut, and you're done. No pipe thread goo, or Teflon tape and Teleflex avers they will have lower warranty costs. This is very likely true. But what about me? I have needs too!

Checked Valves

The upper helm wheel started turning rapidly to starboard and didn't stop. I stared at it with a sinking feeling in my gut. No it wasn't poltergeists trying to scare me, it's the new autopilot pump that's doing the dastardly deed. I knew what was causing the problem. Crud in the hydraulic system was holding a check valve open, and I didn't know exactly how to fix it. That wasn't quite true, I could fix it if I could get to the check valves. But where were they?

The Illustrated Garmin DIY Auto Pilot Installation

It's a "Green Field" autopilot install. By that I mean I'm dealing with a new boat. I've also been waiting for a while to find a boat with little infrastructure, and design forethought for an autopilot. This will allow me to talk a bit about some of the tribulations you can encounter, and what the options are to solve them. At some point I will ask that the Garmin and Teleflex people to leave the room briefly, while I read from the Installer's sacred text titled "In the Real World." The goal is to make you feel good about your chances of installing one of these systems, and have it work, ahem, the first time.

As my colleague Jay Sellers used to say, "Here is my office today." The good news is it's clean, and has room for me. The bad news it's steam room hot, there is little room to install things, and the dealership has already installed a chart plotter, radar, stereo, and other odds and ends.

The leaking Capilano caper

I missed it, sort of. The older Capilano helm was leaking in the front. There was that steady insidious small line of hydraulic juice weeping its way down the console face, and being collected by a towel whose presence wasn't desired. Sure I can fix that, I say with my ounce of image. I call Teleflex, and get the part number for the helm shaft o-ring. Oops, I have to buy the entire rebuild kit for the pump. It is what it is and I have to have the gasket. The kit comes, the helm shaft o-ring was leaking, but not very much. I change it and wipe everything down. I'm done, but I wasn't.

A few days later I get another call. It's still leaking. I go out and take another look. It's the twisty knob shaft that's now doing it, or more likely had been all along, I wipe everything down. I take some Q-tips and clean up the area, and yep, that is another leak. It was a good thing I bought the entire kit. Capilano helms have a knob that sticks out below the helm. Rotating the knob clockwise reduces the number of lock to lock turns, and increases the number of turns in the other direction. 

To tape or not to tape, that is the question. A goo vs tape analysis.

I was asked to make a service call to replace a field diagnosed problem with a Garmin auto pilot shadow drive. The shadow drive is unique to Garmin's autopilots, and its job is to detect that the helmsman has taken control of the vessel by detecting movement of the helm. When it senses helm movement, it immediately disengages the autopilot, and gives full control to the helmsman to do some task like steering around a lobster trap buoy. After a couple of seconds with no helm movement, the auto pilot will request permission to re-engage, and place the vessel back on course. It is both clever, and easy to use.

The initial problem report was that a hydraulic pipe fitting had been screwed into the end of the shadow drive so tightly, that it had damaged the sensor's wire where it passed out of the brass case, and it sure looked that way when I first saw it. The fittings that screw into each end of the shadow drive are 1/4" NPT standard pipe fittings, and are often used in hydraulic steering systems. Armed with a lot of rags, and some wrenches, I try to unscrew the fittings but criminy, the fittings aren't moving. So back to the truck I go for some bigger wrenches, and with more effort than I would have ever thought I would have needed, they finally unscrewed out.

I finally free the little beastie, and staring down inside the shadow drive, I find a wad of Teflon tape inside. This is the real culprit. Your boats steering system does not like any foreign materials that will find its way into check valves, ports, steering pump parts or the ilk, and this wad of tape was a problem. After examining all of the evidence at hand, I was able to logically determine that this problem must have been caused by a "Roid Raged" professional weight lifter, with a serious teflon tape fetish issue. I know this because even the Mercury hose fittings, that do not need tape or sealers at all, had tape on them. In a few minutes the new shadow drive was installed, and the system works now perfectly.   

I have mixed feelings about hydraulic pipe thread sealing systems. They do two jobs, the first of which, and most importantly, is to lubricate the threads, allowing the fittings to screw down further, and the second job is to provide a seal for any spots where fluid can escape. In theory, and it is theory, perfectly machined NPT pipe threads on both parts will not leak, if they are tightly enough screwed together. The reality is that these parts, although closely machined, are often not perfectly machined, and handling, shipping, and other abuses in your hardware store, vendor shelves, and bouncing around in my truck all contribute to nicks, and flaws that can allow fluid at a 1000 psi to sneak through, and so these materials are sealants also. Lets now take a look at some of the options.

Ladies, and gentlemen, in the far corner, weighing in at next to nothing is Teflon Tape. He's pretty, snowy white, the reigning champion, and ready to fight.

In the other corner, also weighing in at nearly nothing is TFE Goo. He's messy, not pretty, but has a long record of knock outs. Lets make it a clean fight, especially you Goo.

We are now off to the very top secret Parmain laboratory to do some empirical analysis of the sealing options.

Below is an example of the culprit that mucked up our Garmin shadow drive sensor, and an example of how not to apply teflon tape to pipe threads. When the tape is applied below the starting threads, the threads can cut off the lower tape, and allow it to enter the hydraulic system.

I screwed that fitting in, and then screwed it out, and you can clearly see what happened. The threads did cut off the excess tape, which will migrate into the hydraulic system, mucking things up, as it did in the shadow drive.

If you use teflon tape, this is what it should look like. You must keep the tape clear of the lower threads. When this fitting was screwed in, and then screwed out, it came out cleanly, with no tape left behind.

Using the goo, you can actually encounter the same problems you have with teflon tape  By getting goo down on the lower threads, the same thing happens. The goo ends up on top of the fitting, allowing it to also get into the hydraulic system with the same ill effects. I did overplay the amount of goo used to illustrate the point, but it is not easy to apply it from the tube directly.

Below is the a picture of that same fitting screwed in, and then backed out, and you can see the excess goo hanging off the end of the fitting.

I mentioned in the beginning, that I have mixed emotions about all of these sealing products. They all have some pluses and minuses, and there is a huge number of products to chose from. They all have one thing in common, and that is proper application techniques. 

I'm not a fan of TFE paste. Yes it works well when properly used, but it can be messy. The products sold in tubes are hard to apply on the small fittings you see above, and many of them need some curing time to become truly effective. The second problem I have with the pastes, is despite the claims of many that they don't harden, they do. I know this because when I install an autopilot on a ten year old boat, that has been baking in the Florida sun, I have to often unscrew the 90 degree fittings off of the back of the helm pump, and replace them with tees. The TFE paste is often very hard, and brittle, and little chunks break free, and can fall into the helm pump if you are not very careful. The products that come in the cans with a brush, have brushes that are designed for larger household plumbing pipes, so you often need a smaller brush to apply it.

Truth be told, I would rather use teflon tape, than TFE paste anytime. Properly applied it works well, it isn't messy, but I suspect that companies like Teleflex have a long history of dealing with poorly applied teflon tape, and less issues overall with the paste products, and that is why they recommend that or other products. There are a couple of liabilities with the tape. You must wrap it in the right direction (looking at the fitting with threads down, you go counter clockwise), and you have a high probability of leaks, if you back the fitting off, even a little bit during installation.

Nothing is perfect in life, and often we have more options than we would like. It would be nice if there was only one solution available. We could grumble about it, but couldn't do anything about it, but this is not the case. Below is my current favorite. It is a purple colored liquid, and has a thin nozzle applicator, that makes it easier to apply to smaller fittings. Loctite makes many products that are similar, but avoid the products that are also thread lockers, if you ever want to get that part back off in a dark very cramped place. This product, although it works very well, also has a tenacious death grip on the threads, and under some scenarios you may need a heat gun to expedite removal. If I run out of it, I always have the tape (sorry Marc).

TFE Goo did win the fight, and Teflon Tape is still trying to wash it all off in the shower.

If you have any better suggestions, edify all us with the comment box below.

I couldn't resist using the interesting laboratory picture, and I was not telling you the truth. It isn't my lab at all. The lab actually belongs to Mr. Tesla, and he is sitting in the chair. I won't do this to you again ever. Well mostly never, I might even keep using teflon tape, maybe....

A Formula 330SS update story, you can always make it work, you just have to be inventive!

The moral of this little story is that almost anything is possible, if you do some creative thinking. Hard work, and a little luck is always helpful also. The subject is an 2005 Formula 330SS. It is a pretty boat, with a large cockpit, and nice hull lines. The new owner is a nice guy, and I think he purchased it for a good price. I was originally contacted to update the electronics. The owner had very carefully measured the space available for a new chart plotter, and had purchased a new Garmin 4210 unit. It will fit, and I mean just fit into the console. He also bought a new transducer, GSD22 sounder module, GXM51 weather receiver, GFS10 fuel flow sender, and a Garmin 100 VHF (boy I wish it was a N2K unit). He also wanted a autopilot, and I said no, possible, but no. My reason for saying no was two fold. The first was the boat was cable steered, (I/O) and the second was there was no room in the engine room for an over sized linear drive, or anything else, so sorry, no.

A few days later, I get a call from the owner, and he tells me the engines are being removed. Is an auto pilot possible now? The answer is now yes, and we will now buy a Garmin autopilot system.

With the engines removed, and the hatch off, the compartment now feels like the boat equivalent of being on the open western plains, and I can now almost feel the winds sweeping down, and see the big skies. Room galore, everything is accessible, and in installer terms, sheer heaven. 

The first task is to install a new transducer. With the engines in place, the options would have been very limited, and the task difficult. At the same time, the AC water pump was mounted under the generator, and looked pretty beat up, so the AC guy removed it and put a new one in under the hinged panel, making it accessible, and installed a valve to boot to break any airlocks (the boat lives on a storage rack).

The boat had a cable steer Teleflex system, which had to be removed, so it was detached from the power assist steering pump, and back pulled up to the helm. It took some real gyrations, and effort by two of us to get this 25' cable out, because at install time, it was tie wrapped with other wiring inside the combings. Who would have every thought it might break, or need to be replaced in the future?

Teleflex makes a special hydraulic cylinder to replace the cable steer system, and here is the catch. You can see the the cylinder, now attached to the power assist pump in the picture, and the outboard end is now about five inches from the hull. To install it, the whole power assist module, had to be removed in order to slide the shaft into place. Easy now, impossible with the engines in place. And as a personal note, many thanks to Marc Adams from Teleflex for his patience, and most excellent advice. It was most appreciated.

Now on to the hydraulic helm pump. The steering system attached to a round fiberglass protrusion formed into the console. If the new helm pump was just mounted there, the helm would have stuck straight out. This would have been both ugly, and awkward for the driver. As an additional point, there was not enough room behind the console to use a tilt helm unit.

Teleflex makes a 20 degree mounting plate, but it has a square mounting flange, and would not fit in this location. So, when you look at the picture above, the 20 degree angle piece, that the new helm is attached to, is the plastic housing from the old cable steer system. I took "all thread", and cut four new long custom mounting studs, and epoxied the old steering base to the new helm pump. Just so there is not any wincing from my colleagues, the plastic base actually fit, with some minor carving, pretty tightly around the new studs, and the epoxy was more to hold it in position, than to attach it to the new helm. It worked a treat. The fall back plan, would have been taking the other 20 degree aluminum mounting flange to a machine shop, milling off the flange, drilling holes in the top, to allow long bolts to attach it, and did I mention the whole part would then have to be stripped, primed, and repainted? I think it all worked out great, and looks good.

The hydraulic plumbing was a real pain. There was little space behind the steering system to install the hydraulic lines, and despite my best efforts at planning ahead, it took three trips to a large hardware store, to end up with a configuration that would work.

There are now two problems left to go. Yann, my new aide, is now removing a vinyl padded trim strip from the boat. The new Garmin VHF radio's foot print is much larger than the old Standard Horizon VHF, and so it goes bye bye.

The solution was to take 1/2"  white acrylic, and have it milled to the same shape as the original vinyl panel, with a curvaceous lower extension to allow the VHF to be flush mounted. Good looking, and it closely matches the original panel.

The time for final battle has come, and the one I was dreading the most, installation of the Garmin 4210. The original panel where the Garmin was being mounted had a 1/4" aluminum wood grainy looking panel, that matched the the other panels in the console. There were two problems with the panel. The first was at the bottom of the panel, there was some oxidation occurring, and it wouldn't be long before the wood grain looking stuff started to fall off. The second problem was when the hole was cut out in the panel for the Garmin, there would be very little panel left. I was less than confident I could cut out the panel myself, and option number two was to take it to a machine shop, and have a milling machine do the cut out, and time was of the essence.

The fall back was to have a gray acrylic panel made to take the place of it. When the panel cut out was made, there was little left, but it looked good. 

So attach the plugs to the unit, and set it in place. I already knew what was going to happen. The plugs stuck out too far from the back, and it missed seating all the way down by about 3/8'. Although I knew the answer, I called Garmin, and inquired it the were any shorter plug options, and I got a terse no.

So when depth fails, a sharp utility, and a band saw prevails. Step one. The worst depth offender was the marine network plug for the GSD22. I cut off the old plug, and took a new field replaceable plug, and lopped off about a 1/2" on the band saw, and threw away the spirally thingy that came with it. I re-terminated the cable, and had a 1/4" to spare. Now the power cord. A utility knife carved away the upper part of the wire sheathing until we got to the place where the wires were molded into a white plastic material. This allowed the two wires to bend over without straining, and the second problem was solved. Just a little carving on the N2K connector, and the unit fit, without cramping the wiring. The last step was to tab the corners of the unit with silicone to hold it in place. It was not possible to bolt it in.     

It looks good doesn't it? Everything is factory appearing. The auto pilot head, at the owners request went into the location where a pitot tube driven speedometer was located, and there really wasn't any other place for it to go.

There is a wart. The Garmin 100 VHF only has the old NMEA 0183 interface, and there was no way, the huge NMEA cable was going to be carved back to fit. There is, theoretically, some space behind the console, and a cut out might be possible to allow this cable to work, but the boat is going on a trip, and I was happy to have gotten done, in time at all. 

All in all I am pleased with the work, but it was the most fiddly job I have done in a long time. A lot of stuff, crammed into spaces that they were not designed for, and it seemed everything needed some  modification.

And to all of you chart plotter makers, It is not a contest to see who can make their plugs stick out the furthest. Shorter is always better, or at least sell me 90 degree adapters.

A final look at the engine room with the engines installed. Everything looks brand new. It is spotlessly clean. I wonder if I could train spider monkeys to work in these tight quarters? No, they would probably just complain it was to hot, and cramped to do the work, and go back to the organ grinder.