Raymarine EV-100 Wheel Evolution Autopilot

It was easy to install and set up! So far so good with 2 trips out

This thing is a dream

I'm just a regular guy. I'm not a boat mechanic or electrician. However, I often single-hand my 28 foot sailboat, and if I need to leave the cockpit, the boat will almost immediately turn to whichever heading is the most dangerous at the moment. So.... I considered a wheel pilot.Ordering this Raymarine kit, (a bit less expensive from a famous marine retailer than Amazon) I was a bit concerned about the amount of work necessary to get it installed. There wasn't enough SeatalkNG backbone cabl…e included to reach to the front of the v-berth, where I installed the EV-1 sensor. I had to order another length of backbone cable, joining them with a supplied tee, which ended up being the power supply connection for the backbone.I also needed to install a new power supply panel in my thirty-year old sailboat, dedicating it to the autopilot, SeatalkNG and the pedestal instruments. More stuff to buy. I removed a thirty-year old Datamarine paddle wheel instrument indicator and mounted the supplied P70s indicator in its place, which spared me from drilling another big hole in my bulkhead. Darn barnacles generally needed to be cleaned out of that paddle wheel monthly, anyway and my chartplotter's SOG is more believable, anyway.The wheel motor bolted right onto my wheel, and the motor cable was plenty long enough to reach from the bulkhead and up through the pedestal. Some connectors, a bit of wiring, lots of cable clips, and I was in business. I finished up the work yesterday, but had an appointment, so I went back today for the calibration and commissioning - the procedures for this are well-explained in the manuals. The only departure from the obvious was that I set up my keelboat as a catamaran, following suggestions in the Raymarine forum. That's supposed to increase course accuracy if you don't have a rudder position indicator.I set everything up dockside and went out for a quick test, as the South Florida sky was threatening rain this afternoon. I didn't have time to put up the sails, but on the diesel, the autopilot never got more than two degrees off course and generally returned quickly. I keep my boat on a canal, which was dug as straight as an arrow. I used the autopilot to go up the canal, about 3/4 of a mile, and it never got me into trouble. I'd never do this regularly because it's a narrow canal, but just as a test, and the machine passed with flying colors.I don't have a Raymarine MFD, so there's no GPS or speed input into the autopilot's brain, there's also no rudder indicator or wind indicator - this is the minimum system, but with just one hour of testing, I'm really pleased with how it's working, and now that I've got the SeatalkNG backbone installed, it'll only get better as I add more stuff.As I said, I have more time in installation than in operating this system, but right now, I'd buy another in a heartbeat.

They "give you" cheap one foot long cables for a sailboat pedestal wheel, have you ever seen a 1 foot high sailboat pedestal? This is how they cheap out, and as such, contribute much to e-waste and increase of pollution. For the pedestal, the controller should have 4 feet of cable to reach the controller. Yes, some people mount them away from the pedestal and other places, but their own instructions say that it should be mounted by the wheel.Most cheaping out, no manuals? Can't even downlo…ad them, I get 165 bytes of data, an empty zip file. Why the bad support hours from 8 to 5 eastern time, when 3/4 of the country is not in that time zone? Bad hours... So I can't even get them to send me the manuals.

you will need to get longer cables

Low quality and poor build. Raymarine should be ashamed recommending this unit for any boat over 25 feet. If you blue water... Its a liability. Poor quality plastic components and screws instead of rivets will give you a very short life span.

I was concerned about installing this on my S2 8C sailboat as I have a stiff steering pedestal. I don’t have roller bearings centering my wheel shaft. Instead it uses plastic bushings. Despite my concerns I was impressed the little motor had no issues turning the wheel. Installation was relatively easy but I have to suggest you consider buying longer sea talk cables. My only real complaint is the ones provided are only 3ft long. Probably not a real concern for a powerboat. The sensor core is su…pposed to be mounted as far forward in the bow as possible. With a 5 meter cable I was able to mount the sensor to my mast support down below deck. The calibration was pretty straight forward as the set up wizard does most of the work. I suggest you get the instructions for this part online as the printed book provided is a little confusing. Performing two large circles and then two smaller circles was the key to completing the final steps for magnetization. Overall I’m really impressed with how clean the all in one design is. The thickness of the product is slim and doesn’t add any bulk to the wheel. Making its sheerness in the cockpit desirable. I’m looking forward to spending my time trolling fish rather than 8-12 hr days behind the wheel while solo.