Autopilot for a trawler

Our old Cetrek Model 770 finally died and we are looking for a replacement.
Don't want to break the bank, just need a device to hold a heading with manual adjustment along the way for set / drift. I do not want it to talk to our older Garmin GPS's either. They will be upgraded in a few years.
We are a 41' President and travel at 8kts.

Any suggestions ?

We have a Simrad AP28 on Blue Sky that works very well, but it has lots of bells and whistles which it sounds like you don't need. (Neither do I frankly).
But I've heard great things about ComNav, and looking at their site it sounds like their 1001 might fit your bill.

https://comnav.com/autopilot/

Is it a chain drive? If so don’t get rid of the AP electric motor. A good marine electronics person will add a nice new unit of your choice to the existing motor. Those old motors are rock solid and easily rebuildable.

Conrad said:

We have a Simrad AP28 on Blue Sky that works very well, but it has lots of bells and whistles which it sounds like you don't need. (Neither do I frankly).
But I've heard great things about ComNav, and looking at their site it sounds like their 1001 might fit your bill.

https://comnav.com/autopilot/

Click to expand...

ComNav is especially helpful although a long way away.

Conrad said:

We have a Simrad AP28 on Blue Sky that works very well, but it has lots of bells and whistles which it sounds like you don't need. (Neither do I frankly).
But I've heard great things about ComNav, and looking at their site it sounds like their 1001 might fit your bill.

https://comnav.com/autopilot/

Click to expand...

I have the same unit and it works great!

The SITEX -sp70 autopilot is what we have installed and won't break the bank. The control head has a 30ft line so you can control the autopilot from varies locations. Thanks to BOOMERANG on this forum the installation went well without any problems.

Dwk said:

The SITEX -sp70 autopilot is what we have installed and won't break the bank. The control head has a 30ft line so you can control the autopilot from varies locations. Thanks to BOOMERANG on this forum the installation went well without any problems.

Click to expand...

That is also what I installed in my old 1983 Albin. It worked well with my Garmin circa 2006 chart plotter. Simple and reliable.
Rather than the really long cord, I opted for a second plug for the lower help in case I wanted to run from below (only did that once to try it).

ComNav 1001 is what came with the boat, installed new 1993. I sent it in to the factory last year for a refurb. They replaced the computer card and updated the control head. I bought a new rudder angle indicator and installed it myself. In my estimation, ComNav is the top dog in autopilots.

jleonard said:

That is also what I installed in my old 1983 Albin. It worked well with my Garmin circa 2006 chart plotter. Simple and reliable.
Rather than the really long cord, I opted for a second plug for the lower help in case I wanted to run from below (only did that once to try it).

Click to expand...

We also added a second plug for lower helm but still have to use the same control head with the long cord cause thats what the SP-70 came with. "An autopilot makes a slow boat far more enjoyable " a quote from trawler forum member BOOMERANG...so true!

Charlie0, We have Hydraulic drive.
Jay, your Sitex SP-70 works with your 2006 Garmin ? Hmm, We have the Garmin 2010 and 2006 in the flybridge.............

I as well have the ComNav 1001. Tracks 100%. Likely original from 1988. I didn't know you send them in for a refurb. Will look into that. I believe they're out of Burnaby BC.

TJM said:

Charlie0, We have Hydraulic drive.
Jay, your Sitex SP-70 works with your 2006 Garmin ? Hmm, We have the Garmin 2010 and 2006 in the flybridge.............

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Yes. I believe it was only one wire that needed to be connected from the GPS to make it all work.
The Garmin was a 192C

Dwk said:

We also added a second plug for lower helm but still have to use the same control head with the long cord cause thats what the SP-70 came with. "An autopilot makes a slow boat far more enjoyable " a quote from trawler forum member BOOMERANG...so true!

Click to expand...

That also could have been my quote..LOL
I used to hang the control head thru the flybridge enclosure window so we could sit on the bow on the way to Block Island or in Gardner's Bay and have a cocktail. On a nice day of course.

This was my "normal" driving position while letting "Abe" run the boat.
We named the autopilot Abe for obvious reasons.

I have an older auto pilot with my Raymarine E80. The thing about having everything from the same manufacturer is that there are no device conflicts. I also have a wireless autopilot controller. I very rarely take the helm but only monitor the passage. Once I set the waypoint I just watch.

I also had a Cetrek which gave great service for decades. After much checking I bought a Raymarine system. The NGTalk is a set of plug and play cables that remove the need to solder wires to plugs. Very simple.

BUT, I have one big reservation with the system. Cruising in the Pacific NW means dodging logs regularly, and the Raymarine has no 'dodge' capability. You can perform circles, zigzags, clover leafs and more, but no dodge. Maybe in CT this isn't an issue.

I kept my original hydraulic pump, piston and rudder follower, and just integrated them to the Raymarine.

I also bought the wireless controller so I can sit on the foredeck and steer. After a few weeks it started being erratic, and no amount of back and forth with the Raymarine folks helped. Then a year later I changed the batteries, which effectively cold booted the system, and the whole system restored itself and now works properly. Go figure. Too bad the engineer at Raymarine didn't suggest that. (To their credit, they gave good after sales service - it was just that nothing they suggested fixed the problems.)

Autopilot

TJM said:

Our old Cetrek Model 770 finally died and we are looking for a replacement.
Don't want to break the bank, just need a device to hold a heading with manual adjustment along the way for set / drift. I do not want it to talk to our older Garmin GPS's either. They will be upgraded in a few years.
We are a 41' President and travel at 8kts.

Any suggestions ?

Click to expand...

I would find the most reliable installer in my area and go with what they recommend.

Here's a different tack.

A couple of years ago, one place in the world was able to renovate my old Cetrek autopilot and provide me with an additional remote mount, as they had bought out the entire inventory of parts from the original manufacturer when they went out of business.

It's worth asking these folks about repairing or rebuilding your unit. It could serve as just the interim cure you're seeking. They were prompt and efficient and the rebuilt unit is still working perfectly.

The Service Centre, Maritime House, 5A Ryan Business Park, Sanford Lane, Wareham, Dorset BH20 4DY. (England). 44 (0) 1929 554558

-- Tom Dove

Admiral’s desires drove me to a new high buck Garmin, but was really thinking about this simple solution, although with a 41’, you may need the bigger pump.

certec console part

on our certec system the control box is demaged, if you change to another system, question, can i by your old control box ?

Best regards,
Patrick

grahamdouglass said:

I have an older auto pilot with my Raymarine E80. The thing about having everything from the same manufacturer is that there are no device conflicts. I also have a wireless autopilot controller. I very rarely take the helm but only monitor the passage. Once I set the waypoint I just watch.

Click to expand...

Which mode do you have? Thanks

I just put in CPT unit...didn't break the bank...KISS unit

Cigatoo said:

Is it a chain drive? If so don’t get rid of the AP electric motor. A good marine electronics person will add a nice new unit of your choice to the existing motor. Those old motors are rock solid and easily rebuildable.

Click to expand...

Exactly what my brother and I did one our two GB42s. Sitex brain and rudder position sensor. And only two wires to talk to the Garmin plotters we had. It will be hard to find an AP without the ability to chat with a plotter.

This was very helpful thank you

Mahalo
Joe

healhustler said:

Admiral’s desires drove me to a new high buck Garmin, but was really thinking about this simple solution, although with a 41’, you may need the bigger pump.

Click to expand...

Rick Hudson said:

I also bought the wireless controller so I can sit on the foredeck and steer. After a few weeks it started being erratic, and no amount of back and forth with the Raymarine folks helped. Then a year later I changed the batteries, which effectively cold booted the system, and the whole system restored itself and now works properly. Go figure. Too bad the engineer at Raymarine didn't suggest that. (To their credit, they gave good after sales service - it was just that nothing they suggested fixed the problems.)

Click to expand...

I had a similar problem with my wireless remote, so I changed the batteries. It worked better, but not great.
Then, for the first time since Covid, we got to Costco and bought a pack of new batteries.
Once again I changed the Raymarine remote batteries. WHAT A DIFFERENCE!!
Sensitive to the age/quality of the batteries you put into it.
The first were a few years old Duracell
The ones that work are new Kirkland.
Duracell say theirs are good in the box for 10 years. They just don't say when they started counting.

Rick Hudson said:

BUT, I have one big reservation with the system. Cruising in the Pacific NW means dodging logs regularly, and the Raymarine has no 'dodge' capability. You can perform circles, zigzags, clover leafs and more, but no dodge. Maybe in CT this isn't an issue.

Click to expand...

I don't know who this was directed to, but in CT we have to dodge lobster buoys/pots (and sailboats). Easy to do with the SP 70.

jleonard said:

I don't know who this was directed to, but in CT we have to dodge lobster buoys/pots (and sailboats). Easy to do with the SP 70.

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I'm always dodging lobster pots too. My Simrad AP has a +/- 10 degree button that I press once or twice to swerve around a pot.

koliver said:

I had a similar problem with my wireless remote, so I changed the batteries. It worked better, but not great.
Then, for the first time since Covid, we got to Costco and bought a pack of new batteries.
Once again I changed the Raymarine remote batteries. WHAT A DIFFERENCE!!
Sensitive to the age/quality of the batteries you put into it.
The first were a few years old Duracell
The ones that work are new Kirkland.
Duracell say theirs are good in the box for 10 years. They just don't say when they started counting.

Click to expand...

Duracell batteries are about the worst batteries you can put in a device. If possible, install lithium batteries instead of alkaline since lithium batteries will never leak and damage the device. Alkaline batteries always leak, often before they die.

Duracell has a warranty to protect you against damage. But, you have to call their call center and fill out a report, and mail in the damaged gear, and let them decide whether they are responsible for the damage, repair or replace the gear. Who knows how long that will take. It is a worthless warranty.

They add insult to injury by sending you a coupon for $10 worth of Duracell batteries... Like I want more of them... NOT!

Wow, that Sitex SP-70 sounds awesome. I was quoted a new SIMRAD AP44 installed at $6,500. Hmmmm ,makes me think.
Has anybody actually installed the Sitex SP-70 unit ?

TJM said:

Wow, that Sitex SP-70 sounds awesome. I was quoted a new SIMRAD AP44 installed at $6,500. Hmmmm ,makes me think.
Has anybody actually installed the Sitex SP-70 unit ?

Click to expand...

Yes, I did my own.

TJM said:

Wow, that Sitex SP-70 sounds awesome. I was quoted a new SIMRAD AP44 installed at $6,500. Hmmmm ,makes me think.
Has anybody actually installed the Sitex SP-70 unit ?

Click to expand...

Boomerang, on this forum, offered to install the hydraulic pump and tie all components into the processor if we ran all wires leads to the processor,so off we went to his home dock in Kilmarnock Va.The 90 mile trip was great and we had a couple days enjoying Shawns company and left with a prefect professional installation.The installation took approximately 4 hours to complete including a trip for fittings from Napa.Our plotter showed a FAR straighter track line going home than before the autopilot!