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Auto pilot

Started by cwpinoy2017, December 15, 2018, 01:12:26 AM

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cwpinoy2017

Been thinking of auto pilot for my 21sr 2019. Honda 150 & 9.9 helm trim throttle. I got raymarine axium 7. What are my options for auto pilot? Was gonna get the raymarine auto pilot. But was curious how that works in reguard to the kicker and main. The kicker is not not efi so how would the trottle be controlled. Ive heard yay and nay on the tr1. Thanks!

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Kimbrey

You would need to tie the tow engines together with various methods.  There has been a fair amount of discussion on the forum regarding this.  When tied together just keep the main lowered into the water when trolling with your kicker.  It actually acts like a rudder. 

I've never used a TR1 but I'd suggest against it as I feel a full blown pilot is the way to go.  I'm sure if you install a pilot you will never go back to not having one. 

You can install any pilot brand you want, I have Raymarie equipment but use a Garmin pilot.  It would be easier to have like brand equipment though as I think you use loose some features mixing brands such as being able to operate the pilot from the plotter.  VEven though I don't have like kind brands of plotter and pilot via NMEA 183 I'm able to send waypoint info (Nav data) to the pilot so the boat will steer to a point.  I'm used to this as this is how we operate on the larger vessels so it's no big deal. 
2005 Sea Legend --Sold--replaced with 26' Duckworth—Sold—replaced with 28' Farallon Walkaround

Tunacious

I have a Garmin Plotter and my original auto pilot was a garmin.  I don't remember what pilot it was but if I remember there we're two sized and I got the bigger one.

I loved it.  The plotter and the pilot worked together.  The pilot was mounted in the back under the bait box. 

After about 5 years the pilot rusted out and quit working.

I took the boat to Portland Marine Electronics.  Fund out the Garmin Pilot was shot.

They recommended the Raymarine Auto Pilot.  They mounted the Raymarine up under the steering wheel inside the buddy.

The Raymarine works ok but I don't think it works as well as the Garmin did.  I don't think the pump is as big.

It isn't really hard to use a garmin plotter and a ray marine auto pilot but isn't as easy as what I used to have.

I do like where the auto pilot is mounted and I don't think I am going to have as much problem with the weather in this spot.

I don't have a kicker.

It would be very hard for me to go without a auto pilot after having one.  Cant even imagine it actually.

Rokefin

Agree Tunacious - I fish on a boat with auto pilot and once you have that luxury you wonder how you go without it, especially fishing solo.

Holoholo808

Bang for your buck: Raymarine EV-100. Works well around 5 kts on a 21SR HT and 16SC.

Garmin: Don't get the small pump model even though the integration with Garmin chartplotters is nice. I've heard the models with the bigger pump work well.

Basically you get what you pay for. Spend more for a bigger pump and you'll get better performance at low speeds (under 5 kts) where the units with smaller pumps will wander/hunt.
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ohmytodd

#5
This thread now has me rethinking the TR-1 I had my eyes on.

Does the Raymarine unit work well all the way down at river trolling speeds (1.5 - 4 mph)? And is there a method for something like that to control throttle speed on both the main and kicker, or is that controlled manually at the helm? I've got a trollmaster installed on my kicker, I'm just wondering if it would be redundant. My main and kicker are connected with an ez-steer.

I've read about some concerns with integration between the EV-100 and Lowrance chart plotters for mapping routes. Anyone have any direct experience with the two brands interconnecting? I'm running the elite 9ti as a combination fishfinder/GPS and would be setting it up for trolling specific lines and then turning back up river to troll them again and again. It would be great if an autopilot could drive me back to my start point while I reset gear and bait. 

Sorry for asking all the dumb questions...
1997 Sea Ranger 19 Skip Top Hey Nineteen, 2021 Suzuki DF140, 2019 Suzuki DF9.9

Holoholo808

Quote from: ohmytodd on December 17, 2018, 01:35:01 PM
This thread now has me rethinking the TR-1 I had my eyes on.

Does the Raymarine unit work well all the way down at river trolling speeds (1.5 - 4 mph)? And is there a method for something like that to control throttle speed on both the main and kicker, or is that controlled manually at the helm? I've got a trollmaster installed on my kicker, I'm just wondering if it would be redundant. My main and kicker are connected with an ez-steer.

I've read about some concerns with integration between the EV-100 and Lowrance chart plotters for mapping routes. Anyone have any direct experience with the two brands interconnecting? I'm running the elite 9ti as a combination fishfinder/GPS and would be setting it up for trolling specific lines and then turning back up river to troll them again and again. It would be great if an autopilot could drive me back to my start point while I reset gear and bait. 

Sorry for asking all the dumb questions...

I don't think the EV-100 is going to work at river trolling speed but am not sure if the limiting factor is the sensor core or the pump.

Integration between autopilot and chart plotter will always work the best if they're the same brand and I cannot speak to compatibility between the AP/plotter combination you mentioned. If you're going to rely on the plotter for positioning I'd check to make sure you have a higher end model that refreshes position faster (10 Hz minimum) to allow the AP to perform to its full capability.

Arima hulls are likely not the easiest to autopilot due to their flat stern and aspect ratio (allows them to be thrown off their line fairly easy by chop or wind).

Please keep in mind that my experience is limited to Hawaii where we usually have choppy water and trade winds so the same AP may perform significantly better in nicer conditions.

For easier searching go to Google and type "site:www.arimaowners.com (search term)"