Help picking an auto pilot

[IRENE]

There is a company makes a large heavy-duty wheel pilot at an attractive price. But it can only steer a compass course and cannot be integrated with the GPS. For those of you but use Auto pilots how important is that ? I'm certainly not a tech guy so for me to program a course into a AP it would need to be simple

Not important for me. I do not want one device telling the other device how to steer, but prefer to do that integration myself.

 

[Woodland Hills]

Comnav with remote.

Like Ken E says.

Having a remote control is essential. No one wants to be constantly getting out of the helm seat to tweak the AP. Much better to sit comfortably holding the remote while watching the world go by.....

 

[ScottC]

Having a remote control is essential. No one wants to be constantly getting out of the helm seat to tweak the AP. Much better to sit comfortably holding the remote while watching the world go by.....

+1 on this. I couldn't agree more!

 

[syjos]

Having a remote control is essential. No one wants to be constantly getting out of the helm seat to tweak the AP. Much better to sit comfortably holding the remote while watching the world go by.....

Why are you getting out of the helm seat to tweak the AP? Isn't the AP within reach from the helm seat?

 

[Codger2]

Why are you getting out of the helm seat to tweak the AP? Isn't the AP within reach from the helm seat?

+1

 

[slymeso44]

are you happy with the Ray Marine as I'm considering the same system for our 42 Jefferson and shes 30 000 lbs

 

[Seevee]

There is a company makes a large heavy-duty wheel pilot at an attractive price. But it can only steer a compass course and cannot be integrated with the GPS. For those of you but use Auto pilots how important is that ? I'm certainly not a tech guy so for me to program a course into a AP it would need to be simple

Motion,


I would not have an AP that did not follow my course, and I want the plotter to auto create the course. EXTREMELY IMPORTANT.



That's what my Simrad does, and love it. Granted, it's not the most sophisticated unit, but holds the course well, and I can tweak the parameters. Works.

 

[Seevee]

I'm not sure, but i think you're making my argument.

Assume for the moment that i cant see anything out the windshield (yes, I am instrument rated) the level of cross-checking of radar, AIS, plotter courseline and autopilot is not particularly onerous at nine knots, and anyone who allows his tactical situation to degrade to the extent described should find another occupation.

In the aircraft i'm most familiar with, autopilot integration is the norm often with multiple NAV inputs, but even there, i generally flew in the "heading" mode except when executing an approach to low ceilings. It generally flew smoother, and i never have to ask myself "Why does it do that?"

In short, i favor systems which support my management of the vessel, leaving the integration to me. YMMV.

AlaskaProf,


I'm in the same "boat". But for the boat and the plane, my "go to" SOP is to have the AP track the course, rarely use heading unless I'm deviating for another boat or plane, or weather in the plane.



And for the approach in the plane, heading for vectors for the approach, but hand fly about half of the approaches.... keeps me current. However, a night, circling approach with windshear, thunderstorms, icing and an engine out...... I'll use the autopilot.

 

[Alaskan Sea-Duction]

are you happy with the Ray Marine as I'm considering the same system for our 42 Jefferson and shes 30 000 lbs

I am very happy with my Raymarine.....

 

[sean9c]

I've had a W-H Autopilot, now it has a problem and W-H (Wil Hamm) is no longer around so I've been looking for a replacement. I thought the Sitex SP 120C looked interesting, it's simple, will communicate with my chartplotter and reasonable priced. It appears that it will also work with my W-H pumpset, which is a beast, that makes things easier and cheaper. Also the Sitex guys are really easy to work with.

 

[Fish53]

My commercial trawler has a Comnav 1001 that is still working flawlessly after twenty years of almost daily use, for what it's worth.

 

[RickyD]

Have you used an AP that follows a course sent to it from your GPS or from your plotter? If not, are you happy with adjustments that you make yourself from an AP that follows its own compass and ignores the route on your plotter?
I have had both. The old one was a Wagner S50, bulletproof for following its own compass. A knob on the face or on the remote for course changes, but you have to do them manually.

The new is a Raymarine that is capable of following the course from the plotter/GPS. Just wire it in and select "track".

After using the Raymarine for a few years I find I never bother with the "track" feature. It takes its instruction from the GPS, which I have not updated, so takes a while to enter new waypoints and connect them to make a new route. Also, the bigger issue while in "track" mode is automatic correction of cross track error.

You can be happily motoring along the track, accumulating an unknown amount of cross track error, and the AP will reach its preset limit of XTA and apply a 20° correction. Most of the time that is only surprising. Some of the time that will be dangerous.
Say there is a deadhead that you know is there, but, because it is 20° off your course, you don't need to be concerned about it. If you are not attentive to the course correction, you find yourself running into danger before you know it and may have little time to disengage the AP and get away from the danger. Or another boat, or, or,.....

I also have the Raymarine older E120 and AP. I just started using the TRACK feature. I love it and hate it. I love the fact that I can set my waypoint easily then sit back and look for radar information and scan for debris rather than making course corrections. But I hate the On Track feature where it tries to get you back on the straight line. I know that is an important feature when using multiple waypoints through tricky waters where you really need to stay on the track to avoid problems. But....when a quartering sea with wind blows me off track and it does a severe correction I feel like I'm snaking my way too much. I wish there was a choice to continue to point COG to the waypoint but not to so forcefully stay on a line.

 

[FoxtrotCharlie]

Our ComNav 1001 is shot - won't hold a course, and now the pump has died (31 years old) We have a Garmin MFD/Chartplotter, so we are going with the Garmin Reactor 40 AutoPilot with the Smart Pump. Have heard good things about this system. Wish me luck.

 

[tpbrady]

RickyD,

If you make a correction to avoid something or want to simply reset cross track error, if you cancel the error in the plotter, the AP should interpret as a new track to follow and ask you if that is ok. In Coastal Explorer, if I am using that to send a route to the AP, if I hit an X on the keyboard, it cancels the cross track error, the EVO AP asks me to acknowledge the change and off we go. I just came through Rocky Pass following a route with the AP and it tracked on the route better than I could have manually. The channel in some places is only about 30 feet wide so not much room for error.

Tom

 

[motion30]

I contacted, comnav to ask about their autopilot. The lady responded and said she would contact me with one of her dealers. I told her nevermind , I contacted the manufacturer to get the real story. If you don't want to talk to me that I can't expect much service after the fact

 

[Northern Spy]

LOL.

ComNav has but a few dozen employees. Probably not more than 1 or 2 sales people, who probably work only with dealers.

Tell us how your call to Garmin goes. They have 13,000 employees

Maybe calling at the height of vacation season didn't work so well.

If you call with a technical question you get to talk to the guy who designed them, if not the president himself. I have had both on the phone in the recent past when I was asking about adding a jog lever.

 

[Fish53]

LOL.

ComNav has but a few dozen employees. Probably not more than 1 or 2 sales people, who probably work only with dealers.

Tell us how your call to Garmin goes. They have 13,000 employees

Maybe calling at the height of vacation season didn't work so well.

If you call with a technical question you get to talk to the guy who designed them, if not the president himself. I have had both on the phone in the recent past when I was asking about adding a jog lever.

Although over the years I've needed very little from Comnav the calls I have made to them were handled in a very courteous and helpful manner, much more personal and satisfying than any of the much larger companies. Garmin gave me such a run around over my car GPS several years ago I swore I'd never buy their products again.

 

[fractalphreak]

Koliver,

I am not quite sure I understand what you are talking about. On my Raymarine EVO-200 when in the track mode, it navigates direct to the next way point in the route not using the compass but with the COG from the GPS. It's not unusual in a cross current situation to see the COG 10 degrees off the compass heading. It doesn't generate a significant cross track error as it is always correcting for it. I agree that creating a route on a conventional chart plotter is a pain. That's why I use Coastal Explorer. Routes are easy to create and to find once you have created them.

Tom

+1. This is one if the nicest features of the pilot, whether in heading mode or nav mode is that it works to correct for environmental effects on heading.

One thing my system cannot do (and I wonder if any do) is correct radar heading data during such a course correction. THAT would be nice.

I can do a far better job (at least with my boat) conning through tide rips and areas where you get eddies, you can see those coming and anticipate their effects in ways the pilot can't and it gets way behind. It will do it, but I will usually take over in a few known spots that tend to toss us back and forth a bit.

But to hand off the wheel to keep the boat heading where you want to go for a while, can't be beat! Using routes with autopilot is where PC based navigation has many plotters beat; I can make an on the fly route or route adjustments in moment to minutes with a mouse point and click interface, and have actually done so when needing to adjust the route or change destinations due to changing weather, for example.

 

[syjos]

But to hand off the wheel to keep the boat heading where you want to go for a while, can't be beat! Using routes with autopilot is where PC based navigation has many plotters beat; I can make an on the fly route or route adjustments in moment to minutes with a mouse point and click interface, and have actually done so when needing to adjust the route or change destinations due to changing weather, for example.

I agree about PC navigation's ease.