Another Auto-Pilot Thread

[keithm87]

So got news at work that our bonuses are going to be better than last year... and the forecast is telling me to scrap my initial plans to build a new 8X12 wheelhouse shanty, and double down on open water. So I am thinking that the 2 biggest things I want are an x4d for temp speed depth readings, and autopilot so I can spend more time on the water. I find many days where I have the time to fish I can't find a friend to head out. As I have not figured out the art of steering, setting gear and fighting wind alone, auto pilot seems most appealing. I know enough about boats to get in trouble and not enough to fix the trouble just enough to be dangerous I guess. I have read a bunch of threads here about this topic, but am as confused as I started. The boat is an 04 Polar Kraft with cable steering on a 115 yammy 4stroke. I would consider switching to hydraulic if it makes most sense. I am really just not sure where to start on anything. I have a generic KVD humminbird helix 5. Do I need to upgrade that to something networkable in order to use any auto pilot, or are there some that don't need a chart plotter? Would it make sense to upgrade to an HDS and go with a lowrance AP kit?

[C-Hawk]

Yes, I think the only option for cable steered boats is the lowrance right now, but you have to have a compatible fishfinder. If you were lucky enough to get a used helm mounted Raymarine AP such as I was, you don't even need to interface with the depthfinder as it comes with it's own computer. They have discontinued making them because people were using them for larger boats than they were made for and burning out the drive system. I believe that Lowarence is the cheapest way out ,probably around a thousand for each unit. Sounds like a lot of money but I can't imagine not having one now. You might change to hydraulic for a little more money if you do all the work yourself. Scour the internet and find a helm mounted Raymarine like mine, I saw a few used ones when I was looking. Fairly simple install.

[Reelax]

I installed a simrad ap24 with a Ocotpus cable drive helm. Wow.. Cheap, easy to install and quiet... I love it. 1800 total on sale.

No need for hydralick steering upgrade if you have cable steering. No need to link to GPS unless you want to for tracks, etc...

I have over 80hrs of fishin on my auto pilot and love it. I even got a remote control to operate it from anywhere on the boat.

Best of luck. I bought mine new on eBay from a company in Florida. I think they were called performance specialists or something like that.

[BottomDollar]

Another system to consider is a bow mount ipilot. They interface with hummingbird plotters, but they also work fine just using the internal GPS or magnetic compass. I have one and don't have it connected to a plotter.

I have a large aftermarket aluminum skeg on mine, so I use the kicker locked straight for most of the propulsion and the ipilot to steer on a compass heading and to fine tune speed. It also has spot lock for jigging or "anchoring." Steering from the bow is great in wind and waves.

The caveat is that you need two big deep cycles for the 24v or 3 for the 36v.

These guys use this setup on the Columbia River and Pacific ocean: http://www.ifish.net/board/showthread.p ... &highlight

[Gecha (Gerry)]

I have a Simrad AP24 connected to hydraulic steering. It can also hook to cable steering. The AP is very easy to use and does not need to be connected to a chart plotter unless you want to follow preconfigured routes. It has a bunch of patterns to choose from, such as straight line, circle, squares, s-turns, zig-zag, spirals....
You can easily install yourself following the instructions included.