Autopilot

[grinnin]

I would like to put an autopilot on a Caravelle Seahawk 230. It is an I/0 with 5.0 mercruiser with power steering. Any suggestions on different makes and models would be greatly appreciated. Thank You.

[get the net]

I have a 25 ft Sportcraft with a 5.0 Volvo/penta outdrive and power steering..5 years ago I put a raymarine sportpilot on it ..the drive motor mounts on your steering wheel,came with compass,computer and control head..i installed it myself,not too bad ....I got it from Raymarine factory outlet store online for around 1500 bucks...you can call them and they will tell you exactly what you need..mine is a X-5 but they might have something newer now..mine works very good and I haven't had any trouble with it....good luck

[grinnin]

Thanks get the net I will give them a call.

[sherman51]

i have the ray marine smartpilot x-5r and added the rudder sensor. it works so much better with the rudder sensor for slow trolling. it has worked good so far. it also has the head unit that mounts under steering wheel.

[WI Walleye]

Raymarine discontinued the Sport Pilot several years ago. To many people installing them on boats with twins where the power steering pump was run off one motor but tried to troll off the other one or singles using a kicker to troll. The added resistance chewed up the drive motors and gearing.

[grinnin]

Thanks for the information, I'm still checking on different makes and models.

[WI Walleye]

I don't know of anybody that makes the wheel type pilot any longer. Most have you using an Octopus drive now. I just set up a Raymarine Evolution up for a friend with a 30' Weekender with twin outdrives and the parts ran him about $3200 as a reference.

[Wally GATOR gitter]

Garmin TR1gold on a 9.9 kicker. With remote. You Can control throttle by .1 mph at a time. Its Set up specifically for trolling and fishing and is linked to the GPS to plot a course if desired. Plus it puts zero hrs on main motor when running it and cheap on fuel. I love mine on a 24ft seaswirl. Wind can be difficult to manuver but that is expected. At slow speeds.

[get the net]

just a note ,i also run trolling bags on each side of my boat,more stable in rougher water and to slow me down...can run rpms little higher..