Buying and Installing new Autopilot ACU-200 Type 1 Raymarine linear

[Taz]

I have a Bavaria 42 2004 cruiser that has never had an autopilot installed. Planning to buy a Raymarine ACU-200 Type 1 linear and 7S Element plotter with Navionic Maps for Australia. Does anyone have experience installing autopilot in a Bavaria 42 2004? Any information or pictures of the mounting of the linear drive to the hull and attachment point to the rudder stock would be appreciated.

[SYJetzt]

Usually Bavarias have a lewmar rudder gearbox, on which a autopilot motor can be attached directly. So there would be no hassle neither with creating a pedestal to attach the linear drive nor fitting another tiller arm to the rudder.
There are two options for the motor:
1. The original lewmar mamba drive motor
  https://www.sailtec.de/products-shop/categories/bavaria-spare-parts/ship-steering-propulsion-control-systems/autopilotmotor-bavaria-mamba-antrieb.html 
2. Replacement motor by Jefa DU-TS8-12 with adapter
https://www.jefa.com/steering/steering.htm
In both cases i would check again if the AP computer is strong enough to drive the needed currents for these motors.
All other parts of your system should be no problem to work with ( but is a lot of work to do)

[Goboatingnow]

I fitted a jefa linear arm to my 2004 cruiser 36 utilising the jefa supplied tiller arm bolted to the rudder
Stock underneath the quadrant

The arm was true bolted to the bulkhead near the inspection hatch to the transom on the port cabin

Very straightforward , easy and worked well

I like an AP to be completely independent of the manual steering components so I would not use the chain drive system suggested up thread. ( it’s also expensive and much harder to install. )