Andy Loops Posted June 12, 2008 Share Posted June 12, 2008 Hi Raiders, I have had much success with boating queries on this site (thanks Pel, Huey and others!) so heres one more; I am thinking of installing an aftermarket autopilot to the boat for a couple of reasons; * improved fuel efficiency on long sea journeys * for use while trolling * ultimately get the set up to the point where you can set a pre-determined course into GPS, head out and track to it with accuracy (without steering error) I expect the units cost around 3-5k. Has anyone done something similar or know of it being done? Recommended units? I am running Navman 8084 GPS, Radar, Sounder - I suppose I should start with Navman units that will plug right into the existing unit. What about impact to resale value? Appreciate any info as always! Andy Sorry mods do you mind moving this to boating section - posted to fishing chat in error. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pelican Posted June 12, 2008 Share Posted June 12, 2008 (edited) Hi andy I'm just about to replace mine so if ya want I'll get 2. The bike shop opens at midday and I get a 24 inch inner tube ...loop over steering wheel hub ( I'm sure morse designed that groove for that reason ha ha) tension and tie off .. accurate to a couple of degrees....can overide instantly and change course..... well you can guess the rest. Autopilot Mk1 was a bungy cord but Mk11 is much better as it grips the wheel boss better. Mk111 will be on a 100 footer and will be a bloke who calls me Sir!!! dreamin I've had very little to do with them on powrboats but have seen a few disasters on installation in smaller boats but they look so much simpler these days. Boat show in Aug so load up with questions and ask the reps who should know and have them show you one working in the stands. I'd be checking with the owners group in the USA as they love that sort of stuff and will know all the in and outs of what to avoid. When cruising we always set a geofence track on the GPS plotter so if the Autopilot "lost it's brain" or broke we would get an alarm to know we were off track. Used to take ages but the new GPS and plotters are more user friendly and newer intergrated autopilots probably have it as standard if you can work out which button to press. Off to the Bike shop in my lunch hour. Sorry can't really offer any serious advice. Pel PS Was reading a old review of your boat the other day and they mentioned the wet issue in the kill tanks you were having. I hope the manufacture can find a simple solution thats retrofittable as it is a pretty stupid one they haven't solved otherwise every review will mention it forever.. Cheers Edited June 12, 2008 by pelican Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy Loops Posted June 12, 2008 Author Share Posted June 12, 2008 Hmmm you are probably right - big expense for not alot in a 27 foot boat. An innertube would fit nicely over the bus drivers handle on the s/s steering wheel lol. Could be good on the 370 Pel?? Great boats - we had a Mariner 370 until about 18 months ago. Shame the pre-July07 reviews didnt pick up the drainage issue in the below deck ice boxes, not that it would have been a showstopper. I contacted Whaler about this problem and was immediately referred back to the dealer that sold the boat (only one in Australia that imports these rigs). The problem is a known one and the only solution is to sponge out the residual pool of water each trip. The suggestion on this site recently to have custom moulds manufactured has stuck in my mind as this could be really good if done properly and make shifting gear from home to marina quite easy if you took it to the next level and designed a trolley that would accomodate the inserts... Thanks for the lighter side Pel! I have shot a note out to a couple of US outfits to get an idea of price / compatability issues / etc.. Will keep you posted. Cheers Andy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
warnie Posted June 12, 2008 Share Posted June 12, 2008 Hi Raiders, I have had much success with boating queries on this site (thanks Pel, Huey and others!) so heres one more; I am thinking of installing an aftermarket autopilot to the boat for a couple of reasons; * improved fuel efficiency on long sea journeys * for use while trolling * ultimately get the set up to the point where you can set a pre-determined course into GPS, head out and track to it with accuracy (without steering error) I expect the units cost around 3-5k. Has anyone done something similar or know of it being done? Recommended units? I am running Navman 8084 GPS, Radar, Sounder - I suppose I should start with Navman units that will plug right into the existing unit. What about impact to resale value? Appreciate any info as always! Andy Sorry mods do you mind moving this to boating section - posted to fishing chat in error. Hi Andy... admit to not being able to give you any insight into the technical side of a auto pilot other than to say that i run a ST5000 raymarine and this mainly come about because i packaged it along with the Raymarine L1250 sounder i bought at that time... it does everything that you mentioned above and more and you will find them to be a very usefull tool as you allready said bring up a waypoint..press the "go to" and away you go....effortesly... after a while you get to use it for specific purposes and as well as what youv'e mentioned.... were it also comes in handy for me in particular is for Game fishing at the back end paticularly when i am under crewed.... some one will be able to be more specific but i'm pretty sure they talk to each other and with most brand's of electronic's that utilise NMEA i think i recall it is... but all the same... some one like Huey should be able to advise you better further.. also i think you will find it will come in at a lot better price than the 3-5 k you made mention here... on the whole a piece of equipment that you will find invaluable which will work in unison with your,gps, and radar........Go for it........ Cheers Warnie..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy Loops Posted June 12, 2008 Author Share Posted June 12, 2008 Thanks Warnie, I am often under-crewed myself and want to get the boat right for Summer as I see many many hours of dragging lures ahead!! Have been out solo a few times and really wish I had auto-pilot for those outings. I hope it will be cheaper but happy to buy quality!! Resolving electronic issues can be a nightmare! You are on the money with the NMEA piece. Dont understand it myself but the 8084 definitely runs on it!~ Thanks mate, Andy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
a boat Posted June 12, 2008 Share Posted June 12, 2008 Hi Andy, if you are not put off by the cost I think the auto-pilots are a good feature on boats when trolling, they do work well in our experence. The Navman like you said would be the obvious choice and the new system thay have out is compact and they only thing to look out for is the capacity of your steering cyclinder and I think from memory you have a Verado so if that has power steering they have a kit for them. On little thing your 8084 is not NMEA compatible. The Navman range, when owned by Merc, was only designed to talk to their engines, while all other electronic brands went the NMEA way. From what I have been told Navman or technically now Northstar are working on NMEA compatible units because Merc do not own them anymore. A bit like BETA and VHS years ago, with the Merc only system being BETA. If you have any questions I will try and answer, Cheers, Huey. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy Loops Posted June 13, 2008 Author Share Posted June 13, 2008 Hi Huey, Thanks mate I might just come into the shop on this one as there are a few things I would like to do discuss. I am surprised that the 8084 is not NMEA compatible... To my layman ears this doesnt sound good... I will be in over the weekend - see you then. Cheers Andy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
a boat Posted June 13, 2008 Share Posted June 13, 2008 Hi Andy, no problem mate and yes at present Navman not being NMEA compatible is not good, but when Merc owned them they designed the units so that they can only "talk" to their smartcraft system, but unfortunately things change and it was probably not the best move. From what I have learnt, and I am by no ways an expert on this, it is not that hard to change to get the new Northstar NMEA compatible and then unfortuanetly for Merc, their "in house" system will not talk to anyone like, Lowrance, Furuno, Raymarine or Northstar, because it is a big deal to change from smartcraft. Cheers, Huey. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy Loops Posted June 13, 2008 Author Share Posted June 13, 2008 Thanks Huey, So as long as you are running Mercs with Navman units - no issue. But if you want to run Furuno etc then they wont talk to the engine management system - brilliant. I wonder if the article I was reading about the NMEA compatible Navman was talking about the Northstar NMEA compatible unit. If so, this unit placed a large current drain on the batteries (on a yacht). Hopefully I can catch you tomorrow afternoon for a chat. Cheers, Andy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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