Has anyone installed an Octopus linear drive on a Landfall 38? If so, obtaining info on which model and how it was installed would be great.
As been discussed, the space for mounting a below deck autopilot drive on a Landfall 38 is extremely limited. Successful below deck autopilot drive installations (like Bob’s and Doug’s) connect the drive shaft to the radial/quadrant using, I believe, a modified Edson rudder stop bolted to the rudder radial/quadrant and then mounting the drive base to some hull or deck substructure. In these cases, the Raymarine Type 1 linear drive was installed. I would like to install an EV-200 autopilot with the Octopus drive (either 1212LAM12 or 1212LAR12), but installing an Octopus drive looks to be more complicated then the Raymarine drive installation. The reason is that the Octopus drive base is fixed. The linear shaft moves in and out but is restricted from moving sideways by more than a few degrees. The Raymarine Type 1 linear drive on the other hand has a pivoting drive base mount which allows the whole drive to rotate left and right as the shaft moved in and out. Note, the actual movement of the drive shaft end is not linear but an arc. My guess is that when connecting the Octopus linear shaft to a small rudder mounted arm, the sideways movement is negligible due the small radius compared to the shaft length. But when mounting the Octopus shaft to the outside edge of a radial/quadrant, this sideways movement is quite substantial. Assuming +-35deg rudder swings, it’s likely to be a 2.5-3 inches of movement. So, it seems that to use the Octopus drive, one needs to fabricate some type of heavy duty rotating mounting plate. How have folks solved this issue? - Paul E. 1981 C&C 38 Landfall S/V Johanna Rose Carrabelle, FL http://svjohannarose.blogspot.com/
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