Choosing new auto pilot.

[BonesD]

Hello, I am about to retro my old cable pull pull steering with a power steering system.
I will be buying a new auto pilot as well.
It seems like I read that Garmin (I think) is not great on customer service or something negative.
Can anyone steer me toward their favorite AP? Thanks

 

[mvweebles]

Decent recent thread located HERE. Last half of the discussion mentions A/P selection. I have a ComNav that is simple, robust, and has a great reputation. I am considering a Simrad to interface with my new Simrad system and hope it's rock-solid as my old ComNav, especially since the provenance of Simrad is the old Robertson brand, also well respected in its day. But that's just me.

My summary: All are pretty good. There are subtle differences. My personally recommendation would be to find a good independent re-seller (or installer) then go with their recommendation. Having someone with a strong commitment to personal tech support will solve many issues with going to OEM for support.

Good luck -

Peter

 

[Seevee]

BonesD,
Agree, check with your local installed and see what kind of feedback he's getting with previous installs.



Also, there's some argument to get the same as your plotters.


I was leaning toward Ray, but after the above referenced thread, I'd probably choose Garmin.



In the past, I've always had great luck and service from Garmin, including out of date units... boats and aviation. Support has been excellent.

 

[rgano]

By power steering are you referring to an assisted hydraulic system? The cable steering on my 1972 Grand Banks woodie was so slick I could flip it from stop to stop with a hefty flick of the wrist. So when it came time to upgrade to a digital AP, I simply connected the output of a Sitex AP to the old but very robust electric chain drive motor of the original Cetek AP. It was driven in the Nav mode by a Garmin 4208 plotter.

 

[BonesD]

Well, not certain about the terminology but this is a hydraulic pump mounted on the helm shaft, hoses to a hydraulic ram and then to the tiller.
I have considered using the old Benmar drive motor but am looking at some newer alternatives.

 

[mvweebles]

Well, not certain about the terminology but this is a hydraulic pump mounted on the helm shaft, hoses to a hydraulic ram and then to the tiller.
I have considered using the old Benmar drive motor but am looking at some newer alternatives.

Motor is relatively inexpensive. Electronic brains and labor to convert from cable to hydraulic are the heavy lifting in the project. 25+ years ago, I converted cable steering to hydraulic on my Willard 30 I owned at the time.

Peter

 

[Snapdragon III]

I recently bought a boat with a ComNav autopilot. I had a minor issue and downloaded the manual from their website. For the download they asked for contact info, which I entered. They emailed me 5 minutes later to ask if there was anything they could help me with? Which there was. The level of customer service completely blew my mind. I am now a huge fan, and would highly recommend looking at ComNav.

 

[nussbda]

I second the good service from Comnav. My 18 year old unit stopped working. The Commav tech walked me through locating and removing the brush blocks from the pump. The brush blocks only needed to be cleaned to restore operation.
Dave

 

[BonesD]

Thanks for all the replies. Sounds like Comnav has some great customer support.

 

[rochepoint]

Plus 1 for Comnav and they are local in Richmond BC..........

 

[Bill V]

When I was in the market for an AP system I met with a rep at Radar Marine in Bellingham. We discussed the various brands such as Garmin, Simrad and ComNav. After comparing models and features I settled on Simrad and upgraded to a larger pump. I installed the complete unit and in reality it was virtually a plug and play operation. Time consuming yes, but after using it for the past two years I have never regretted it and it helped me to enjoy slow cruising more now then my normal fast cruise. Unit has been 100% trouble free.