Installing Evolution Autopilot on a sailboat

[@idahobackpacker]

Last month, I upgraded from a Type100/400 Autopilot to an Evolution on my Moody 46 and it was literally this easy. I even kept the linear drive and rudder position sensor, as well as the Autohelm-branded wired autopilot remote I had at the helm. I'm VERY impressed with Raymarine's backwards comparability. I have three generations of SeaTalk (SeaTalk, SeaTalkHS, and SeaTalkNG as well as N2K, and it all integrates flawlessly. Well done!

[@Raymarine]

Thanks for choosing Raymarine again for your upgrade!

[@asennaydenov6461]

Evolution is an great upgrade! Last month I bought Axiom plotter and it turns that in the Lighthouse 3 software have intergrated interface for evolution pilots. So I’ve removed the P70 from the console. I can’t describe how happy I am with this solution. Now Ive integrated everything on seatalk >sensors, tanks, engine and autopilot monitored from one screen. Simply amazing, great job Raymarine!

[@Raymarine]

Thanks for sharing!

[@janisspalvins677]

@@asennaydenov6461 Thanks for clear answer. My boat is with steeri g wheel, model GAMBLER35.

[@janisspalvins677]

Thanks for video. What autopilot you recommend if boat displacement is 6.5t ?

[@Raymarine]

Hello Janis. We'll need to know a bit more about your boat to make an exact recommendation, but at 6.5 tones (about 13,000 pounds) you will have some options. When specifying an autopilot you should always add 20% to the boat's specified displacement to account for the added weight of equipment and supplies carried aboard. The number you'll want to consider is 15,600 pounds for your boat. The first component you must choose is the drive system. The drive is the muscle that actually does the steering. The drive unit selection comes down to boat displacement and steering system type. Here are some options: If you have a wheel-steered boat, our EV-100 wheel pilot would be an options. It works on boats up to 16,500 pounds displacement. The wheel drive attaches to your wheel spokes and is manually engaged with a clutch. This pilot comes in a kit form and includes an ACU-100 actuator controller, p70s color pilot controller, and EV1 sensor core. If you are doing long-distance, ocean cruising, you might prefer a below-deck autopilot with an electric linear or rotary drive system. Displacement-wise your boat would work with any of our Type-1 electric autopilot drives. The T1 Linear drive or Rotary Drive system works for boats up to 24,000 pounds. Type-1 autopilot drives would be paired with an Evolution EV200 autopilot system. Linear drive systems attach to the boat's rudder quadrant. They contain an electric clutch to engage or disengage the autopilot. Their push/pull action on the quadrant steers the boat. The linear drive is extremely powerful and must be bolted into the boat's structural members to prevent damage to the boat. Rotary drive systems tie into chain and sprocket steering systems. Some helm pedestals are pre-configured to work with rotary drives which can make installation easier. I recommend you engage with a local electronics dealer or boatyard to inspect your boat before you purchase anything. Feel free to also open a ticket with our autopilot support team with your boat details. Feel free to attach images of your boat's steering system and rudder mechanicals too. You can open a ticket at raymarine.com/support.

[@ianrobinson6788]

How much of the C80 functionality is maintained with this set up? Can GO TO’s still be set on the MFD and does it display heading lines…?

[@Raymarine]

Your C80 multifunction display can be interfaced with the Evolution autopilot. You can set a GoTo waypoint on the C80 and then have the Evolution autopilot follow it in its navigation mode. The heading information from the autopilot is shared back across the network with the C80 and can be displayed as a heading vector on the chart, and as a digital data item in the databar. Your C80 supports Raymarine's original SeaTalk 1 communication protocol, and also the SeaTalk 2 communication protocol. SeaTalk 2 is the same protocol as SeaTalk NG, used by Evolution, but with a slightly different physical connector. We offer an adapter cable that will allow C80 to plug into the modern SeaTalk NG network, part number A86048. If you have other SeaTalk 1 devices in addition to C80 such as depth, speed, and wind instruments, it may be easier to instead keep your boat wired primarily in the SeaTalk 1 networking, and use our SeaTalk 1 to SeaTalk NG converter kit (E22158) to add the Evolution autopilot to the existing network.

[@ianrobinson6788]

@@Raymarine Thanks for your very prompt reply. I am in the process of upgrading my Raymarine equipment. Last year, I added a Quantum Radar and Axiom plotter at the Nav station but finding that the EV1 wouldn’t work on the system, had to revert to the old fluxgate compass. Unfortunately this isn’t fast enough for the radar to hold onto MARPA targets etc. I am told that I need to replace my Smartpilot S2 with an ACU200/P70S which I plan to do in next few weeks. Hopefully then, the radar will be fully functional. I am not planning to replace the E80 Classic that I have at the helm until next year so it is good to know that it will be more or less fully functional this season. Thank you.

[@ianrobinson6788]

One more question if I may? I haven’t yet traced all the wiring but the cables from the wind and depth transducersseem to be connected to my S2 Smartpilot pilot. Do I need to buy an IC5 to allow them to be connected to the SeatalkNG backbone?

[@udothiel8009]

Thanks for the presentation. I am going to upgrade from Smart pilot S1 with fluxgate compass to EV100. Where is the best position of the sensor with respect to boat motion? I know, in low magnetic environment of course. Is it best close to pivot point or better far away from them?

[@Raymarine]

Hello UDO. The EV-1 actually is pretty flexible in its installation requirements. Avoiding magnetic interference is the first priority. Keep it at least 1-meter (3-feet) from strong magnetic sources. Wherever you mount it try to find a spot that is within 5° of level (pitch and roll) when the boat is loaded, at rest. It can go above or below deck. Keep it away from excessive vibration sources, away from areas it might get sat or stepped on, and away from flammable vapor sources. If you have the choice of mounting it lower and centralized (close to the boat's center of pitch and roll) that is probably better than having it extremely high up, or out towards the extreme bow or stern.

[@henkvandijk1965]

Hello i have the old 5000 and want to change it for the ev 200 , is the hydrolic unit compatible with the New ev 200 , it wil save me a lot of monedas Henk

[@Raymarine]

Yes. Your ST5000 hydraulic autopilot used a Type 1 hydraulic drive. You can use the Evolution EV-200 kit and continue using your existing drive unit. We actually offer a kit for this upgrade application, part number T70156.

[@casybond]

How much difference is there between EV-100 wheel pilots sets that ship with the P70 and the newer sets that ship with P70s, when run on LightHouse III?

[@Raymarine]

Thanks for watching! When integrated with LightHouse 3 there is no difference between the p70 and p70s. The controllers themselves operate the same, and have the same internal software. The changes made between generations of p70 models were mostly cosmetic to bring the look of the product more in-line with the black glass MFDs they are often installed alongside. We took the opportunity to also update the LCD panel and make it a bit brighter on the "S" variants.

[@breckenridgecaineiii9201]

How does it do from quartering seas from the rear? My old auto pilot does not have an electric gyro, just a fluxgate and it is useless for wind from behind and quartering seas. Do you mount the gyro as far forward as possible so it picks up the change in direction faster?

[@Raymarine]

Hi Breckenridge. Our Evolution pilots have outstanding steering in following and quartering seas. The 9-axis AHRS system we are using in it picks up the changes in the boat's attitude nearly instantly. It is light-years ahead of older pilot systems, and especially those without any kind of gyro augmentation. We also do some other things with the AHRS data including dampening the wind speed and direction values from your wind instrument, and dampening the GPS position, COG and SOG. These sensors are constantly in motion, and accurate enough that even minor oscillations of the boat in any axis impact their accuracy. We measure that movement and factor it out. That improves the accuracy of every device and data value that relies on those inputs, either directly, or as a factor in another calculation.

[@robbroekman8275]

hello , is the old one still working? maybe for sale?

[@Raymarine]

That video was shot by our team in Finland back in 2020. I'm not sure what happened to the old pilot that was removed.

[@AchikSarih]

Merci beaucoup ❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤

[@Raymarine]

Thank you for watching and for choosing Raymarine!

[@Sv_babalaas]

So you don’t have to calibrate it ?

[@Raymarine]

The Evolution autopilot is mostly self-calibrating. After it is first installed there are a few basic dockside checks performed to make sure the rudder feedback unit is working and the autopilot is properly driving the rudder or steering to port and starboard (and not reversed.) Once that is completed though, you can get underway immediately and begin using it. The EV-1 sensor core linearizes itself, detecting any magnetics on the boat that might create compass deviation. It also actively monitors the boat's performance characteristics, quickly learning how responsive to the helm it is at various speeds and trims.

[@malcolmdavid722]

A schematic diagram of the wiring would help explain this

[@Raymarine]

Our installation handbooks have simple and advanced sample diagrams inside for most products. You can find them in the Support section of Raymarine.com.

[@brentscott3848]

Bought this and it was plug and play easy BUT running those thick cables was. Nightmare in tight spots. There was no instructions or ideas how to run cable to the wheel motor. We pulled our wiring up through ours on the binnacle to the motor drilling a hole high up and using some rubber hose in the hole to protect the wire and help make the hole water tight . The cover for the p70s doesn't fit and falls off constantly, the wire behind the p70s is so long and stiff it sticks straight out and adds several inches of length behind it even though the device mounts flush , and the PO of our boat put speakers everywhere which interferes with it. Device works well but instructions failed to assist with basic install instructions on recommendations on how to install, pass wiring,where to and how to best practices. Our boat had no way to pass wiring up other than through the binnacle which is very tight and risks extra wear from other moving parts.

[@Raymarine]

Hello Brent. Thank you for the comment. Running cables through the boat is almost certainly the most difficult part. I'll make some suggestions to our handbook team to see if they can include tips to make chasing those cables easier. You mention cable clearance being an issue on the back of your p70s controller. We do offer SeaTalk NG spur cables with 90° connectors on them as an installation accessory. A06042 is a 400mm long cable with elbow connections on both ends. Typically its used inside a pod or other shallow enclosure when connecting one instrument or pilot controller to an adjacent one in the same pod. A06081 is a 1-meter long spur cable with an 90-degree elbow on one end, and a straight connector on the other. A06077 is a SeaTalk NG right-angle adapter. You can plug it into any pilot controller, MFD or instrument and turn the STNG connection 90-degrees.

[@brentscott3848]

@@Raymarine thank you, the issue is I had 3 days to install this as I live over 1000 kms away from our boat and to order any parts takes forever. Plus the store I bought it from is no where near my boats location. No little marine shops near me had a clue what I was talking about. Who can predict what you need until you get started. The kit should include these or atleast adapters to fill in place?

[@brucemcnair2]

Very clear description, thanks. 👍

[@Raymarine]

Glad it was helpful!

[@Barastiboy582]

Calibration ?

[@Inlovewithsailing]

That’s what I was waiting for. Pointless video without showing calibration.

[@edwardfinn4141]

The calibration/ set up is so easy it’s hardly worth talking about.

[@stephenburnage7687]

@@edwardfinn4141 a month after installation aim still struggling to calibrate my EV properly.

[@Raymarine]

Hi Stephen. Feel free to shoot me an email with your contact information and I can get one of our autopilot specialists in touch to help you get yours calibrated. [e-mail]

[@kevatut23]

Completely useless on setup and operation. How about a vid on setup and results for a sailboat?

[@Raymarine]

Hi Kevin. We'll see what we can put together. Thank you for commenting.

[@kevatut23]

@@Raymarine I watched the live "autopilot basics for every boat" and it filled in many blanks. A dedicated sailboat vid would be nice.