Another autopilot thread

[Lostsailor13]

I’ve read all the old autopilot threads but still can’t make up my mind which one to buy,all my other electronics are raymarine,and the raymarine ev150 would cover my hydraulic cubic inch,but the Furuno 711c is a beauty,and then comnav,I don’t need anything super fancy,the one thing is being able to control it from flybridge either by wire or wireless

 

[Comodave]

I like to stick with one manufacturer so that if there are problems then it is their problem, no finger pointing.

 

[rslifkin]

Historically Raymarine has made solid autopilots. The Simrad units (of Robertson heritage) are considered excellent, and the Furuno units are considered very good as well. I wouldn't be afraid to pick any of the 3.

I agree that there can be some integration benefits to sticking with 1 manufacturer, although autopilots are one of the cases where crossing manufacturers generally works just fine.

 

[CharlieO.]

There is value in what Dave is saying, unless it will be a stand alone system.

What features on the Furuno would you be using not available on the raymarine?

 

[Comodave]

I put an EVO autopilot in our boat last year. Don’t know what features you would be lacking with one of them. And you would be with one manufacturer.

 

[Ken E.]

Comnav is big in the PNW and in commercial boats. Mine works well with Furuno Navnet vx2

 

[mvweebles]

I had a Comnav 1001 on Weebles. Topnotch A/P and is simple to use and I used the 0183 interface off my PC and GPS for waypoint/routes. Steered Weebles like she was on rails. I ended up replacing it with a Simrad because I replaced everything and wanted a more integrated and feature-rich suite. But for a plain A/P, Comnav would be my choice.

Peter

 

[Jeff F]

I'd generally agree with the recommendation that you stay in-house.

I have an ev150 on my sailboat, and was disappointed to find that Raymarine didn't develop a modern wireless remote. The simple S100 runs on the original seatalk network and requires an adaptor. I just checked their web site and this is still their solution.

Also I dislike the control head, which is the sail version. It's outside, and the Garmin instruments alongside are far better IMO for daytime and nighttime visibility and ease of use. YMMV of course.

They'll all steer the boat just fine. Mine does better than most humans at keeping my high performance sail boat under control and going in the right direction. I'm really impressed with its core capabilities.

 

[ranger58sb]

I’ve read all the old autopilot threads but still can’t make up my mind which one to buy,all my other electronics are raymarine,and the raymarine ev150 would cover my hydraulic cubic inch,but the Furuno 711c is a beauty,and then comnav,I don’t need anything super fancy,the one thing is being able to control it from flybridge either by wire or wireless

How old is your existing Raymarine equipment? If it's ancient, maybe no huge reason to stay in the family.

OTOH, we inherited a Raymarine AP, ST8000 I think, and it works well enough. Not yet linked to either of our nav systems...

We had Furuno previously, worked well enough.

What would a Furuno or Comnav unit do better?

I'm not a power user. Mostly we just push the "go straight" button. (Even when the AP is linked to nav.)

-Chris

 

[heysteve]

Impress your friends with something that looks like it came out of a submarine: a Cetec Benmar Course Keeper 210! Ours is still going strong after 38 years. No pesky MFD integration to worry about either.

 

[ofer]

I’ve read all the old autopilot threads but still can’t make up my mind which one to buy,all my other electronics are raymarine,and the raymarine ev150 would cover my hydraulic cubic inch,but the Furuno 711c is a beauty,and then comnav,I don’t need anything super fancy,the one thing is being able to control it from flybridge either by wire or wireless

I love my Furuno 711c and its priced correctly. i had the Simard and would not go back to it. Simard is still riding on the Robertson reputation.

its not that important to keep same mfg when it comes to autopilot. a simple interphase will do the job. as mentioned before even standalone they do just fine. I keep it on simple auto most of the time.

 

[Jc180]

Any comments on SiTex with the octopus pump? Maybe some of the Mainship Mk 1 folks can chime in.

 

[sean9c]

I looked at that Furuno pilot, it looks like a good one. As I remember it's all NMEA 2k, I had some 0183 stuff and I didn't know how I would make them work together.
I went with the Sitex 120C, everything about it got too complicated and I wouldn't recommend it to anyone. But I will say that at least you can talk to someone at Sitex about tech issues and they actually try to help.

 

[PM]

Stay with one manufacturer if you can. I love my Raymarine. Remember an autopilot is pretty simple/ It is your chart plotter which does the complicated stuff.

pete

 

[Bmarler]

Stay with one manufacturer if you can. I love my Raymarine. Remember an autopilot is pretty simple/ It is your chart plotter which does the complicated stuff.

pete

Agreed. Autopilots will all do about the same if used as stand alone systems. The whole key to a good pilot is a good installation. Good compass location is everything.

 

[High Wire]

Make sure it has self learning and gyro capabilities. It makes it easier to setup over its lifetime.

 

[Cigatoo]

Any comments on SiTex with the octopus pump? Maybe some of the Mainship Mk 1 folks can chime in.

I installed one on a Fortier 26 with cable steering. Maybe 10 years ago. Still working well. Octopus wasn’t a pump but an electric motor designed specifically for cable steering.

 

[Pascall]

Agreed. Autopilots will all do about the same if used as stand alone systems. The whole key to a good pilot is a good installation. Good compass location is everything.

And for example a GPS pilot / antenna, that makes the pilot faster so also more accurate.

 

[Shrew]

I try to keep all integrated electronics in the same family. If the AP is going to be integrated with the MFD and follow GPS routes, then I would stick with Raymarine. If the AP is going to be a standalone, then get what makes you happy.

 

[MYTraveler]

FWIW, I have always preferred Simrad APs and Furuno plotters, radar, fish finders, etc., and ICOM radios. I have never been concerned about compatibility and have never had a problem. The NMEA protocols are pretty basic, easy to monitor (ie, easy to know exactly what sentences are being sent from the nav electronics to the AP) and easy to diagnose. On top of that, Furuno tech support and Simrad tech support are both great and neither would hesitate to help you accurately isolate a problem between the tx and and the rx end.

(Edit -- Last I checked, there was no NMEA standard for the initiation of a DSC call, so if you want to use your Furuno nav equipment for that purpose, you will need a Furuno radio. But all of the primary AP functions use NMEA defined sentences, so full functionality in communications between nav equiment and AP is not a problem.)

 

[Alaskan Sea-Duction]

As stated above, "keep it in the family". OP stated he has Raymarine. Go with Raymarine. Also, make sure it is compatible with your older MFD. Plug and play setup, with the exception of installing the hydraulic pump and rudder sensor.

Good luck.

 

[backinblue]

Definitely stay with one family of electronics if you can. My boat and electronics are not that old, and everything is Garmin except the AP is Simrad. Therefore the AP will not follow a course plotted by Garmin but a Garmin AP would. All the information is there, but Garmin does this on purpose, most likely to sell more autopilots. It's not a terrible thing and I can direct the AP to steer to a plotted waypoint, but it would be more convenient if I could just plot the course on my GPS and the AP would automatically follow when engaged.

 

[MYTraveler]

. . everything is Garmin except the AP is Simrad. Therefore the AP will not follow a course plotted by Garmin but a Garmin AP would. All the information is there, but Garmin does this on purpose, most likely to sell more autopilots.

You may have a configuration problem. My buddy has Garmin / Simrad but no problem having the A/P follow a course given by Garmin. I believe he has to OK a course change greater than 15 degrees, but that is a Simrad "feature" and possibly adjustable.

 

[MacPhid]

We installed a new Raymarine ACU 150 autopilot system this past season and connected it to our 8 year old Lowrance network (N2K & Ethernet/wifi). I would have installed a Simrad autopilot but the Raymarine was on sale, ~$1000.00 less so went with that. Any route imported or on our Lowrance HDS Gen2 Touch plotters can be sent to the Raymarine autopilot. Works perfectly using Navionics. I create routes on Navionics on our iPad then email the route so I can put it on an SD card to import on the HDS.

James

 

[backinblue]

You may have a configuration problem. My buddy has Garmin / Simrad but no problem having the A/P follow a course given by Garmin. I believe he has to OK a course change greater than 15 degrees, but that is a Simrad "feature" and possibly adjustable.

My Garmin GPS provides these 3 options when navigating to a destination. The 3rd option being the best. The Simrad will follow the first 2 routes but not the 3rd. Garmin tech support confirmed I need a Garmin AP for that. If anyone has gotten that to work, let me know. Seems like it should since all the data is there, but I haven't gotten it to.

Go-To is the standard option for navigating to a destination. When Go To is chosen, the chartplotter or sounder will provide a straight line (as the crow flies) to the destination that may run over land and other obstacles.

Route To is used to create a route to the destination. This option will provide a straight line to the destination and add turns into the route that will avoid land and other obstacles. The route is limited to a certain amount of turns based on the chartplotter or sounder's limitations.

Guide To is only available when using a BlueChart g3 Vision card in a compatible chartplotter or sounder. The Guide To option will turn the navigation line to the destination, avoiding land and other obstacles. This navigation line will be based on the BlueChart g3 mapping data and three user-defined settings on the chartplotter. The three settings are Safe Depth, Safe Height, and Shoreline Distance. The chartplotter will look at all of this information and provide a navigation line avoiding any area that cannot be navigated to the destination.

 

[Dwk]

Any comments on SiTex with the octopus pump? Maybe some of the Mainship Mk 1 folks can chime in.

We have a SiTex SP70 installed with remotes at both helms. Mainship MK1 are difficult to maintain a course in following seas and the SiTex does a better job of steering than I do. We have no complaints.

 

[Bmarler]

My Garmin GPS provides these 3 options when navigating to a destination. The 3rd option being the best. The Simrad will follow the first 2 routes but not the 3rd. Garmin tech support confirmed I need a Garmin AP for that. If anyone has gotten that to work, let me know. Seems like it should since all the data is there, but I haven't gotten it to.

Go-To is the standard option for navigating to a destination. When Go To is chosen, the chartplotter or sounder will provide a straight line (as the crow flies) to the destination that may run over land and other obstacles.

Route To is used to create a route to the destination. This option will provide a straight line to the destination and add turns into the route that will avoid land and other obstacles. The route is limited to a certain amount of turns based on the chartplotter or sounder's limitations.

Guide To is only available when using a BlueChart g3 Vision card in a compatible chartplotter or sounder. The Guide To option will turn the navigation line to the destination, avoiding land and other obstacles. This navigation line will be based on the BlueChart g3 mapping data and three user-defined settings on the chartplotter. The three settings are Safe Depth, Safe Height, and Shoreline Distance. The chartplotter will look at all of this information and provide a navigation line avoiding any area that cannot be navigated to the destination.

Garmin auto routing won’t work without a garmin pilot. I haven’t explored it in depth but it has been discussed before. Does that route have straight line routing or radiused turns?
If straight line routing, have you tried to generate the route, save it, then try running it from the saved route menu?

 

[backinblue]

Garmin auto routing won’t work without a garmin pilot. I haven’t explored it in depth but it has been discussed before. Does that route have straight line routing or radiused turns?
If straight line routing, have you tried to generate the route, save it, then try running it from the saved route menu?

I agree and no I haven't tried saving routes and re-loading it but will this coming season. Another way around it that I haven't tried yet is to use the "route-to" and then manually enter turns into the plotted course to avoid obstacles. That will probably work, would just be nice to let the plotter do that automatically.