The busted part...

Joan likes to say, "It's a boat. It's always going to need something." I'm grateful I have an understanding spouse.

The part on the autopilot that failed is a little bracket called a linking arm...


It's the little metal bracket with the bolt and nut holding it together in the middle of the image. A small steel part with two holes. Here's the rub: you can't buy it. Well, you can't buy just that part... Raymarine (the autopilot mfg) only sells it as part of a "kit"... for $50... plus shipping and tax. The smart move is to take the part off and see if I can get a local welder to fix it and make me up another one. The reality is: it is holding together for right now, so I'm not looking to mess with it until I can get the replacement. You know that old saying, "If it's only broke a bit, don't fix it." LOL

I shopped around online, but no place that looked reputable said they had it in stock. So, my good friends at Raymarine happily took my money. One of the guys at a place I called said, "Manufacturers seem to be doing that more these days. They can't make anything on one small part, so they 'bundle' it, call it a kit, and force you to buy other stuff you don't really need just to get what you DO need."

Yep. It's a boat... ;-)