Someday I'll write a full post on this saga. Briefly though, Femme has a beautifully functioning below decks autopilot. It is the amalgamation of the original pilot motor, a truly bad ass military spec Benmar Cetec circa 1982, and brand new Raymarine EV200 pilot control head, compass sensor and ACU. The motor is connected to the rudder quadrant by a chain rotary drive and bronze pinion gearing. There was a fair bit a gnashing of teeth and ringing of hands and even hullabaloo during the planning process but the installation could not have been more straight forward. Of prime importance is installing the rudder sensor - hardest bit of the whole thing for me, but that little piece makes all the difference in the world.
For anyone who may have the old Benmar pilot, this may be an effective and cost effective option.
Old motor with original autopilot circuitry pulled out leaving the motor and clutch.
New control head mounted in original position. Not the best but I may move to someplace more convenient later.
