Electronics and Steering Advice Please

Brian Reiber

Well-Known Member
The Double Eagle that my son and I are restoring is coming along and will hopefully see a pod by early October. The 200hp Yammie is sitting in the garage waiting to be put to work. We are starting to look at rigging and I have a few questions.

  1. Steering....I don't think conventional steering will work well with 200hp. Is this correct? Hydraulic steering is going to run us just a little shy of $2000. What do people think of Seastar? Any other brands to consider? Has anyone had any luck finding used systems?
  2. Chartplotter.....We are looking at the HDS9 for $1700 but noticed that the 7 will be on sale on Friday for $800. We would like the larger screen but if we can use the wifi capability to broadcast to our tablets and phones on the boat then we will have plenty of options for viewing. Has anyone used the Gofree app and how do you like it? Does the system require purchasing more components to use Gofree or is it plug and play between the plotter and connected devices.
  3. Autopilot.... This one is very likely being deleted from the wish list. It is only a 20' boat and we can probably manage just fine with out it. However, I was looking at the Lowrance system for $1700 it does look pretty slick and would work well with the Lowrance plotter. Any thoughts on it?
The wish list was pretty long when we started the build but I think a bit of reality is starting to set in. We'd like to have the boat on the water this winter and I'm trying hard to keep the total build under $15,000 so we don't take a bath if we get 2' itis in a year or two. I think we can do it but it sure is hard deciding what things are must haves and which are nice to haves.

Cheers,
Brian
 
I too am looking to do some upgrades in my boat. Great post. If you get the answers you're looking for I'd love a share.

Cheers
 
Yup, the Seastar steering should serve you well here. I agree with bigger screen is always better but if you can transmit via Wifi to your devices you may be fine with the smaller. I have no experience with this however. Depending on where you typically fish an auto pilot may be a waste of money. Here in Vic and Sooke it is usually so crowded that you couldn't troll on auto anyway due to the many evasive maneuvers. Maybe if you fish offshore away from all the traffic. I never saw the need for one.
 
Yup, the Seastar steering should serve you well here. I agree with bigger screen is always better but if you can transmit via Wifi to your devices you may be fine with the smaller. I have no experience with this however. Depending on where you typically fish an auto pilot may be a waste of money. Here in Vic and Sooke it is usually so crowded that you couldn't troll on auto anyway due to the many evasive maneuvers. Maybe if you fish offshore away from all the traffic. I never saw the need for one.
Your probably right about the auto pilot. Even offshore there are normally enough boats fishing the hot spots that some steering maneuvers are required. One of the reasons I considered an auto pilot is the boat is a hard top and when fishing with 2 guys it might be a pain always running up to the wheel to make adjustments. I'd rather not mount a steering station at the stern. Auto pilot with a wireless lanyard would be ideal.
 
I bought my Baystar hydraulic system from Hodges Marine in the US for considerably less than I could buy it in Canada. Looks like the Seastar system from them would be about $1000 US including hoses. I don't know if any other places are cheaper, I found it a bit ironic that I could buy my system from a place in Florida far cheaper than in Canada given Seastar is based in Richmond BC. https://www.hodgesmarine.com/Seastar-Pro-Hk6400A-3-Steering-Kit-p/telhk6400a3.htm
 
Seastar will be great. As for autopilot if your looking for something to use hands free when trolling you could put in a intellisteer. I have been down the hds 9 vs 7. For me at $800 I would put in 2 hds 7 for less then hds 9 and then you have 2 screens and added safety of having a backup.
 
SI have been down the hds 9 vs 7. For me at $800 I would put in 2 hds 7 for less then hds 9 and then you have 2 screens and added safety of having a backup.
X2 two 7" units will be so much more usable than a single 9"
 
The Baystar steering is only rated for up to a 150hp outboard and therefore cheaper. You would need the Seastar. Why don't you like a stern steering? I love mine!
 
Thanks JAC. I took another look at Intellisteer and it might be exactly what I 'm looking for. I had written it off awhile ago. I was under the impression that the system was a stand alone setup off the kicker and it would be constantly flailing about trying to steer the boat. On a second look I see the Intellisteer type H does exactly what I want. Wireless steering off the main and I will use a tie bar to the kicker. It's also $400 cheaper than auto pilot. The auto pilot is nice but most of the features I will never use and besides a change of course would still require someone to walk up to the plotter to make the desired change. With Intellisteer we can make changes from the back of the boat while we play a fish.

I have seen people running 2 plotters and it works well on some boats but a 20' DE is a little crowded for that. Besides we run Navionics on all of our handheld devices. Most days we have 3 phones and a tablet on board all running Navigation apps. On our last boat I actually prefered using my tablet which has a 9" screen to look at charts and identify places we wanted to try fishing. It was much easier than trying to scroll around on the Hook 7 which was usually being run split screen as a sounder plotter. Perhaps a HDS 9 would be big enough that I would enjoy using the plotter more.
 
The Baystar steering is only rated for up to a 150hp outboard and therefore cheaper. You would need the Seastar. Why don't you like a stern steering? I love mine!
I wouldn't say that I don't like it I just don't know if I want the wheel in the way of other things that I would like to mount there. I should take a look at some peoples rear steering station before I rule it out completely. However, after looking at the Intellisteer system again I am pretty convinced that this is exactly what I am looking for.
 
It is the Seastar system for $1k US in my response. The Baystar was bought for my boat, it was about $540 US.
 
It is the Seastar system for $1k US in my response. The Baystar was bought for my boat, it was about $540 US.
Thanks, yes I've looked at several sites. I can get a Seastar Pro kit with hoses delivered to my door from the US for less money than I can purchase locally. Strange indeed.
 
Has anyone used the Gofree app and how do you like it? Does the system require purchasing more components to use Gofree or is it plug and play between the plotter and connected devices.
afew people here use it, you can see how much by looking at social maps http://www.genesismaps.com/Dashboard/SocialMap
the maps are way more detailed than a navionics card, simple to use but requires processing time over the internet. so basically map you fav fishing spot and next time you have more or less a free map. as you fish keep recording as your map will get better and better

the two photos are of the stait of georgia, thrasher, sandheads, tunsall. the other is of polier pass
 

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afew people here use it, you can see how much by looking at social maps http://www.genesismaps.com/Dashboard/SocialMap
the maps are way more detailed than a navionics card, simple to use but requires processing time over the internet. so basically map you fav fishing spot and next time you have more or less a free map. as you fish keep recording as your map will get better and better

the two photos are of the stait of georgia, thrasher, sandheads, tunsall. the other is of polier pass
Interesting. So you are essentially building a map and sharing it with a community. I am pretty happy with the maps on the card what I am interested in is the ability to view plotter info on my phone or tablet from anywhere in the boat. I think I have figured it out that you have to buy a separate module to use that feature.
 
look at Gen 3 i believe the feature is built in. Gen 2 requires a wifi module. would you not be better off just getting a second head unit and networking them? cant drop a head unit overboard and the second unit can be seen better in the sun, might be better
 
Go with the Seastar system as they are pretty much the standard here for small boats. Parts (seals, gaskets and rebuild kits) are available locally and many are familiar with them so lots of available correct advice. Get a duel helm system (instead of an auto pilot) with a helm (pump) and small wheel on the transom. There are lots of advantages to this such as being able to steer around a fish and get it over to the side of the boat you want it at, if for example, you could not clear all the gear on the other side.

As Chris73 suggests, if you are combat fishing in the zoo with lots of other boats, the autopilot is not that useful and not having one will force you to steer, which forces you to look around to maintain situational awareness and keep you from having a collision, running through a large kelp island etc. and to plan an escape route so you can get outside and play your big fish away from other rigger cables. There are lots of things you could spend the money on at this stage that will be more useful such as a full remote kicker, electronic kicker remote fine adjust throttle unit or radar. You can always get the auto pilot at a later date.

You may or may not need trim tabs but you will find that out after your first few sea trials with various weight distributions and numbers of people in the boat. They are for balancing the boat side to side not fore and aft. That's what the motor trim is for, however if the boat is stern heavy and the motor trim is all down, you can force the bow down a bit more at speed with the tabs.
 
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Correct me if I am wrong but I think only the new HDS Carbon sounders have integrated wifi. Gen2 and Gen3 need a wifi router installed and Gen1 can't use a router so no wifi.
 
Seastar will be great. As for autopilot if your looking for something to use hands free when trolling you could put in a intellisteer. I have been down the hds 9 vs 7. For me at $800 I would put in 2 hds 7 for less then hds 9 and then you have 2 screens and added safety of having a backup.
JAC.......Have you used Intelisteer? Has anyone else on the forum used it? I think I am decided on Seastar Pro, HDS9 (possibly a 7), and Intelisteer. I have heard a lot of complaints about the longevity of the TR1 Gold so I'd be curious to hear if there are similar complaints about Intelisteer.

Thanks,
Brian
 
I'll be selling my tr1 system this winter if your interested ? I prefer to steer and adding a wheel in the stern when the season ends.
 
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