Auto Pilot?

[Special K]

Thinking about putting a auto pilot on my wish list for the winter. I have a older Crestliner Sabre with a 4.3 mercruiser with power steering that is a real b**** to drive, leaving the wheel for a few seconds to net a fish and the boat wants to start doing circles. So anyway looking for suggestions on manufacturers and models that some of you have had experiences with. Cost, difficulty of installation or place around Grand Rapids they had do the install.

Thanks

Mike

[1mainiac]

Raymarine SPX5 with a P70R head is what I have on my 26 which was a pain to drive as well. Install was easy other than on mine I had to build my own spacers to get the steering wheel to not hit the shifter. Cost was under 2 grand best investment I ever made on a boat. You could do the install in under 2 hours in your drive way take it to the lake and calibrate it in a hour and be done. Mariners Center in Muskegon usually has them in stock. Calumet Marine also has them and is a site sponsor. They could ship you one and have it to you mid week. 3 fat guys landing a triple in the dark with no one driving priceless.

[tom]

Thinking about putting a auto pilot on my wish list for the winter. I have a older Crestliner Sabre with a 4.3 mercruiser with power steering that is a real b**** to drive, leaving the wheel for a few seconds to net a fish and the boat wants to start doing circles. So anyway looking for suggestions on manufacturers and models that some of you have had experiences with. Cost, difficulty of installation or place around Grand Rapids they had do the install.

Thanks

Mike

Whether or not you have hydraulic steering will limit your choices.

[Rascal Trophy Fishing]

Absolutely Tom, have to know what kind of steering first. I'm thinking Mike doesn't have hydraulic, therefore, the model choices are limited, but also a bit cheaper. Once you have the autopilot, such as a Benmar, Raytheon, or other, you won't go without it again. Makes the entire trip much more relaxing, and easier to fish the platform. And you never have to go in circles again due to no driver, or an inexperienced driver = no tangled lines either.

[Special K]

Boat is a 1990..not sure ?

[1mainiac]

Pretty sure it is power assist cable steering which is pretty much standard on nearly all I/O boats. This limits you to a few drives for the AP which are the RayMarine SPX5 or the In Dash Octipus drive or the Octipus remote drive. Simrad used the in dash drive on their AP12R and AP14R systems which they no longer make. Sitex currently makes a AP using the same drive. It requires removing the entire helm unit and replacing it with the new drive the advantage is it looks stock when done. Down side is you may have to change your steering cable to make it work. It also requires 12in of clearance behind the dash which my boat did not have.

http://www.wmjmarine.com/st80ms.html

This is the one I have on my boat

http://www.wmjmarine.com/c42647.html

[Rascal Trophy Fishing]

Very well said and explained Jim, you know the ropes of this subject for sure.

[sherman51]

I just had calumet marine install my raymarine spx5 with p70 controller and I troll slow for erie walleye so I had the rudder sensor installed to. I don't think it works hardly as good as a good driver but it does do its job. we just spent 2 weeks on erie and it did all the driving for us. we run lite bite slide divers and run 3 on each side and in rough water we did get a few tangles letting our divers out. but I would recommend it to anybody wanting a reasonable auto pilot. I think I paid 2300.00 for the complete unit then around 400.00 for the install. and they did a great job on my boat. good luck.

sherman

[prop nut]

tuning can make a huge difference

when we install all auto pilots we do the compass calibration

this has to be done on a relatively calm day little or no wind

this is the first and most important part of the tuning process

BUT NOT THE END

at this pint the auto pilot will work

but gain and filters have to set and adjusted to get the most out of any auto pilot this has to be done a number of times in MANNY different weather/wind/wave conditions to get the most out a auto pilot regardless of brand or model

this will insure auto pilot will perform to the best of its ability

and as many have said

be the best money spent on fishing gear

[1mainiac]

Frank is dead on with any AP you have to tweak it to fit what your are doing. The new units like the Garmin and Others including the SPX5 will eventually learn by themselves however you still need to make some changes now and then. Things I play with every trip on mine are the rudder response level Cruising on plane I like it slower because it lets me play with my trim without turning the boat to over ride my changes. It is nice to pick up a few mph without adding throttle by getting the trim right. When trolling I set the response to match the conditions and as it gets sloppier i will increase the response level.

[Rascal Trophy Fishing]

Nice technical report Frank, and all so true.

[sherman51]

I am a total dummy when it comes to electronics so I just use mine for trolling and I wouldn't sell it for twice the money I paid for it. its really nice to not have to do anything but watch for boats. and the controller is just awesome if you want to change your heading a little to dodge another boat you just turn the knob and change your heading. I change my heading 10 degrees at a time this gives my lines time to straighten up before changing another 10 degrees. we used ours for 2 weeks up on erie running around 2 mph and the only time I drove while fishing was when we picked up and moved back to our starting point.

calumet marine did a great job installing and calibrating my unit for trolling at slow speeds.

sherman