Hi, I have a 20 ft aluminum boat. I was looking at autopilot this weekend. I have the raymarine axiom screen so I'm thinking raymarine autopilot. Has anyone tried it on an aluminum boat? I'm a bit worried its not going to be able to keep the constant movement of the aluminum. Also looking at a new transducer. Thinking the p66. Any reason not to?
Auto pilot opinions
- Thread starter Brett83
- Start date
man*of*steel
Member
I have a Raymarine on my 20' Thunderjet with the main tied to the kicker when trolling. Absolutely the best investment I have made on the boat. Keeps a perfectly straight line when running at speed or when kicker is linked when trolling. Turning the main when running on the kicker gives you way more rudder so the pilot works less.
the butcher
Well-Known Member
just like the other fellas, I would also say an autopilot is the best upgrade Ive ever made. Makes fishing solo or with novice anglers so much more enjoyable. However, just like the saying goes, how do you know what ice cream tasted like unless you've tastes it before? If you arent sure or are on the fence, the folks who posts replies to your question about an AP will likely all agree its a no brainer or asks someone politely when covid is done to take you out to see one in action. I really appreciated it even more when it didnt work last summer for a day when the heading sensor went wacky. Ended up heading back to the dock early as I could not go back to running back and forth from wheel to stern to wheel to stern and going in circles every now and then and getting my lines tangled while setting lines solo. I would recommend an AP that works off your main which you can tie a kicker to via a tie bar. The best bang for your buck in my opinion is the lowrance outboard AP. Check out youtube videos on it and others.
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Can someone explain how the auto pilot works? Do you set a waypoint or just set a straight line, or can you steer from a remote too? And what about speed control.? I am looking for something while fishing alone? Hewescraft 190 sea runner with kicker tied to main.......Thanks. Dave
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What model autopilot? EV 150?
RevyG
Crew Member
It is awesome, does lots of patterns, zig zag, S turns, squats, circles, even spirals, hold course I probably use the most with quick adjustments. You can set waypoints, follow depths and like most of my electronics it does way more than I know what to do with it.
it’s not the tool.... it’s the tool behind the tool haha
Hands down best crew member on my boat, known as Otto
Oh and yes remote just another 500
An A/P has some sort of "heading sensor" that senses what direction the boat is headed. It may or may not have a rudder sensor, telling the AP the rudder position. These , & other inputs (like from a GPS) are fed into the AP computer/controller. The controller actuates something that controls the steering system; usually a hydraulic pump. You can have the AP steer using all the methods you mention although not all use a remote. Depending on the make/model, other advanced features are supported.
man*of*steel
Member
You can set either waypoint or just direction. If you are more electronic savvy than me, you can even set routes with turns etc. depending on the autopilot.
Speed control for the kicker is accomplished with a Trollmaster Pro or iTroll device. These provide infinite fine rpm control at your fingertips. Way easier to get the right speed than trying to adjust a twist throttle or a remote throttle. I can adjust a couple of tenths of an hour in speed while sitting in the seat and watching my GPS.
I fish alone a lot on Kootenay Lake and some of the other big lakes around here and have never had a problem with the autopilot keeping on course, while trolling, at any wave conditions that allowed fishing.
the butcher
Well-Known Member
if you get a unit that integrates with a specific fishfinder, you can even create a route by touching on the screen to create waypoints or a route such as countour lines and it will follow it. I usually use it mainly to keep a straight heading.
fishin solo
Crew Member
It gets pretty crazy what you can do with these autopilots these days.... if your looking to just hold a straight line then the basic is best for you.... the lowrance autopilot pack is around $1200 ish and that will do all of that ..... when you start looking at wanting other functions from a pilot then your looking at $3000 and up with simrad..... really do some research on all the functions and what they offer for you in what you do/use your boat for etc etc. There’s pros and cons to the simple or more in depth systems.
searun
Well-Known Member
I held off making the investment for a long time. Given I have twin engines the less expensive Lowrance units would not work as the steering pump isn't rated for twins. I installed a Simrad system. Not cheap, but now that I have fished it for one season honestly would never be without one. It's super helpful especially when you are setting the gear going against the wind. Even when running from location to location, its helpful just reducing effort staying on coarse - especially in fog.
Saratoga
Active Member
Agree with Searun. I installed the Garmin Reactor 40 last spring and it's been great. Makes all the difference when setting or checking lines. Now if it could just steer around debris in the water automagically, I'd really be set!
Based on my limited experience to date, I would recommend getting the autopilot from the same manufacturer as your chartplotter/radar. I originally purchased the Raymarine autopilot as many had spoken favourably about it. It was slightly less expensive than the Garmin & I knew I could connect it into my existing NMEA2K network with an adapter. However, the Raymarine S100 remote control option (which I wanted so I could steer from the stern) is based on their original Seatalk 1 protocol (proprietary NMEA 0183) that is about 30 years old. It was designed to control Raymarine's original autopilots released in the 90's and the only thing they have changed since then is the selling price. The new Raymarine evolution series autopilots were released in 2013 based on the SeatalkNG protocol (proprietary NMEA2K) but they never released a new remote control. Instead, you need to purchase a Raymarine conversion kit to convert the very simple legacy remote (that costs $500 CAD) from Setalk1 to SeatalkNG. The conversion kit is another $140 CAD. This is not advertised ... not even in the remote control installation instructions does Raymarine reference anything about a conversion kit. But once you lay out the equipment for the install, it's clear there is no path to making that remote control work. Once you search online, it becomes apparent that a conversion kit is required to make the new $500 remote work with the new Raymarine autopilot. It makes for a messy install & I was annoyed at the idea of having paid that much money for a remote that needed a conversion kit to work. Rather than deal with the extra cabling and cost of the conversion kit I sent it all back and went with Garmin to match my system. The Garmin remote was less than $400 and wirelessly connects to the chartplotter so no additional cabling required. Very clean install. And it is far more advanced with a built in directional compass .. so you can just point in the direction you want to go and click and the autopilot steers on that heading. If you have a Raymarine system already, sticking with Raymarine autopilot is probably the best option but it is amazing to me that Raymarine invested time to design a conversion kit for an outdated remote control rather than update the remote to align with what the competition is offering.
Based on my limited experience to date, I would recommend getting the autopilot from the same manufacturer as your chartplotter/radar. I originally purchased the Raymarine autopilot as many had spoken favourably about it. It was slightly less expensive than the Garmin & I knew I could connect it into my existing NMEA2K network with an adapter. However, the Raymarine S100 remote control option (which I wanted so I could steer from the stern) is based on their original Seatalk 1 protocol (proprietary NMEA 0183) that is about 30 years old. It was designed to control Raymarine's original autopilots released in the 90's and the only thing they have changed since then is the selling price. The new Raymarine evolution series autopilots were released in 2013 based on the SeatalkNG protocol (proprietary NMEA2K) but they never released a new remote control. Instead, you need to purchase a Raymarine conversion kit to convert the very simple legacy remote (that costs $500 CAD) from Setalk1 to SeatalkNG. The conversion kit is another $140 CAD. This is not advertised ... not even in the remote control installation instructions does Raymarine reference anything about a conversion kit. But once you lay out the equipment for the install, it's clear there is no path to making that remote control work. Once you search online, it becomes apparent that a conversion kit is required to make the new $500 remote work with the new Raymarine autopilot. It makes for a messy install & I was annoyed at the idea of having paid that much money for a remote that needed a conversion kit to work. Rather than deal with the extra cabling and cost of the conversion kit I sent it all back and went with Garmin to match my system. The Garmin remote was less than $400 and wirelessly connects to the chartplotter so no additional cabling required. Very clean install. And it is far more advanced with a built in directional compass .. so you can just point in the direction you want to go and click and the autopilot steers on that heading. If you have a Raymarine system already, sticking with Raymarine autopilot is probably the best option but it is amazing to me that Raymarine invested time to design a conversion kit for an outdated remote control rather than update the remote to align with what the competition is offering.
fishin solo
Crew Member
This is the system I’ve run for the last 2 years and couldn’t be happier with it. https://www.simrad-yachting.com/sim...ilot-controllers/ap44m-vrf-pack-med-capacity/
pescador
Well-Known Member
is this what you installed? Is this price ok? Was it hard to install? Sorry for hijack. Good topic.
