AutoPilot anyone?
 

So I'm thinking of adding autopilot to my 265 Express. It has manual Seastar 1.7cu in Tilt helm.
I would need to add power assist pump which I'm seeing as $1800...can that be right?

For autopilot I see I would also need an autopilot pump at $400.

And I would still need an autopilot from garmin or sitex or raymarine. They all seem to come with an autopilot pump and total $2400 but that does not include a power assist pump....

I'm guessing I could get the electronics without the pump but it would probably cost me more!

so I'm looking at $4000 to upgrade? Holy ship!

I need a beer. I need to sell this beast and dust off the canoe.

I think i d rather put that toward a new set of merc 250 s

So I guess asking about an autopilot for an express on the V20 site was't going to get a lot of responses.;p

So, in case anyone is interested.... it turns out that you don't NEED power assist to add autopilot.
The autopilot pump works with manual steering also. So I only need an autopilot kit for about $2k+. (the cheaper ones won't work well at trolling speed, which is the main purpose of getting it)

Yeah, I've never felt the need for auto pilot on the old PD!

ha! actually the SkunkBoat could have used it. I was always by myself and it absolutely would not go straight by itself...trolling was a thrill...

Skunk, Do you know if Garmin would also need a flux compass along with the auto pilot?
Just installed 2 Garmin 1040xs.
https://i.imgur.com/CBWPqsOl.jpg

Nice layout!

The Garmin kits come with a 9 axis heading detector.

The Reactor 40 is what Im considering. There are variations.
The "Compact" Reactor is about $1500 but the consensus is that the pump is not adequate for very slow speeds (trolling).

There are kits with a better pump and a new kit with a "Smart Pump" which increases the reaction and control at trolling speeds.
This bumps it up to $2400 or more...

I believe there is a possibility of saving money by using "a compatible Garmin display" and not buying a GSD20 display/control as part of a kit.

They are very vague on details....:bat:


I actually started considering getting Joystick control as part of a repower because that gets you autopilot, auto-hold over a spot, and joystick and drive by wire steering... that would be throwing $2400+ toward that instead...


That'll add $10k-$15k to a $36-$40K repower:nut:

I don't know if I can afford this beast....V20 is looking better all the time

Thanks for the info Skunk.

I hear about the cost of running twins and fuel burn.

We just did the exhaust kits on our motors.
Just a click over 5k.
Exhaust kits,water pumps,thermostats,zincs,VST filters.

Looking at possibly semi retiring in 8 years (fingers crossed).
The V 20 is looking better when all the numbers are put on paper.

We would love to keep the big boat but they eat up a ton
of $$$.

I downgraded from my larger boat as retirement kept getting nearer. Never looked back. Love the V's. I save $$$ on slip fees and etc. I do miss the larger boat on occasion, but the V suits me better overall. :head:

Just pulled the trigger! Went with top o' the line...

Its the Garmin Reactor 40 with Smart Pump and Shadow drive 010-00705-69 pn has the Smart Pump(not v2), GHC-20, CCU, Shadow drive, and a shipload of cables.

found it for $3011.50 on HodgesMarine.com. Then I went to West marine and got price match. (WM wanted $4099!!!) So I get WM points and I bought their protection plan for $200 which lets me deal with WM instead of Garmin if there is a problem. Normally I don't like protection plans but their plans extend the "just bring it back and get another one" time. I won't even be in the water within the normal 30 days.

I'm going bigger as retirement gets closer because I don't want to be sitting in front of the TV in 10 years, watching Jeopardy, seeing my name as an answer and responding "Who is the loser who never stepped up and lived the dream? :sun::beer:

Reactor 40
 

I installed a reactor kit in this twin 150 catamaran. It was very nice.

No, a power assist pump is not needed - autopilot pump connects to the hydraulic system after the helm pump. CCU axis rate sensor is included as part of the kit.

The reactor does not need the dedicated control display - any compatible NMEA 2000 plotter / MFD will work. This cat had a Garmin 740s plotter prior to all the upgrades and both that, the 8612, and the autopilot control display could command the system equally.

Would this system work with an I/O with manual cable steering? I have a kicker motor I troll with and have thought about putting the Garmin reactor 40 on that but I like the idea of having it on the main motor instead.

you'll have to go with an auto helm type setup for cable steering

Thanks for the info. The more I think about it, I don’t believe that type of set up would work too well for slow trolling.
The best options would probably be the Reactor 40 on my kicker or putting a minkota with ipilot on the bow. Not sure which would be the better way to go.

Raymarine autopilot...
 

I'm getting the raymarine EV-150 Autopilot.

It's a package that includes the pump, a 9-axis sensor, a hydraulic pump and a main control unit. List price is $2K.
Attachment 8208


It also includes a control that has some buttons and rotary knob.
Attachment 8209

It sounds sweet. The smaller EV-100 is spec'd to handle up to 150 HP, but I think that the system could be a bit stressed with my 140 HP or in situations with strong currents, etc.

The EV-150 moves more fluid, and can turn the motor at twice the speed of the 100, so I figured that was a better choice.




Of course, I'll have to get hydraulic steering too... so it might be about 2 months before I'm up and running with it.

Anyone familiar with the "Norel" brand? Is it cheap stuff, or just not common in the US. It says it's made in the netherlands.

Not sure if I should get that... or a baystar.... or a full seastar system.