Auto pilot + Radar Advice

[cortezsailor]

I have an older autohelm6000 that I need to replace the brains on. I also want to purchase a windex system and radar. Anyone with advice out there on their experiences? I will be sailing from the Pacific Northwest ( home ) to Baja next fall and would like to have everything in place by next spring

[rebel heart]

Hydrovane and a tiller pilot. Best of both worlds.

[TacomaSailor]

Just went thru the same exercise with my ST6000 and Linear Drive Type 1 electric.

I installed a new Raymarine SPX-30 course computer and P-70 control head. I also replaced the Linear Drive Type 1 15-amp motor with a Raymarine N002 Type 2 30-amp motor.

All the installation / replacement was quick and easy.

I've used a Sailomat 601 windvane since 1999. I also attached an AutoHelm ST-1000 tiller pilot to the windvane and it steers a very nice magnetic course. We've used the ST1000 and Sailomat windvane in a lot of rather light downwind conditions ('kinda like you'll see 60% of the time from Cape Flattery to Cabo Falso / Cabo San Lucas) where we have a poled out genoa or spinnaker and are moving along at 4 - 5 knots with only 4 - 6 knots apparent over the windvane.

We've made two trips from Puget Sound to San Diego and on to Mexico and then cruised the Sea of Cortez for over three years - the ST6000 and the Sailomat both worked very well.

Let me know if you want details.

I also sailed a Tartan 42 from Tacoma to San Diego, on thru Mexico, and back to San Diego. It was equipped with a Raymarine Wheel Pilot which worked fine up to 15 - 17 knots apparent. At that point the clutch would release.

The Tartan had a Monitor wind vane that also worked flawlessly.

[Stuarth44]

Originally Posted by cortezsailor

I have an older autohelm6000 that I need to replace the brains on. I also want to purchase a windex system and radar. Anyone with advice out there on their experiences? I will be sailing from the Pacific Northwest ( home ) to Baja next fall and would like to have everything in place by next spring

Make sure you have a pilot that can sail to VANE
thats my bestest advice

[cortezsailor]

So I recently purchased a monitor wind vane for our sailboat, now comes the harder part the autopilot. Still currently having the hardware from an autohelm 6000 ,I want to replace the brains for it. Does anyone have any advice on their experiences with different autopilots? Raymarines new line seems decent but expensive, Garmins line are much cheaper and I am not sure if Furunos line has much for sailboats. I feel eventually I will also go with a Cpt cockpit autopilot for a back up, I love redundancy. Any advice would be awesome.

[Roy M]

I perform a number of installs on boats in San Diego. My favorite system is the Simrad NSS. Good equipment, dependable and pretty easy to use. But mainly, I love the 4G radar and the side-scanning sonar (called Structure Scan). I'll be keeping my older Raymarine Classic E-series equipment as a backup, but I be packing the Simrad as my new primary. P.S.: I also have an old CPT autopilot, as a backup, though the Raymarine is pretty sturdy. My Interphase SE200C forward scanning sonar is able to repeat on whatever display, using the video port.

[cortezsailor]

Originally Posted by Roy M

I perform a number of installs on boats in San Diego. My favorite system is the Simrad NSS. Good equipment, dependable and pretty easy to use. But mainly, I love the 4G radar and the side-scanning sonar (called Structure Scan). I'll be keeping my older Raymarine Classic E-series equipment as a backup, but I be packing the Simrad as my new primary. P.S.: I also have an old CPT autopilot, as a backup, though the Raymarine is pretty sturdy. My Interphase SE200C forward scanning sonar is able to repeat on whatever display, using the video port.

Thanks Roy is that system compatible with a sailboat of 24 000 lb displacement? And do you know if my hardware, drive system, from my autohelm 6000 will function with the NSS as the brains?

[lifeofreilly57]

I had an ST5000 on my old boat, with the internal electric motor drive unit, loved it. THe older processor unit had a brain fart from time to time, it was older, when I talked to Raymarine they told me I could use the same actuator unit with the new control unit, I did have to get the nameplate information off the unit to get a definite answer though. The Raymarine equipment I've had over the years was not cheap but it was solid and dependable, except in the case of a lightning strike, even then the autopilot survived but the knot/log meter did not.
The unit did work quite well for many years even in difficult conditions offshore on a 38 foot racer cruiser. The only feature I didn't find all that useful was the windvane it came with, it had a plug in windvane unit that allowed it to steer with the wind as well as a compass heading, it tended to be quite sensitive and you had to dumb down the control unit quite a bit to get it to operate smoothly.
The new boat has a Robertson auto pilot that works pretty well in conjunction with the Monitor windvane but it's old and will most likely be replaced in a few years.
I haven't had a Garmin autopilot but have had two higher end Garmin chartplotters and wasn't all that impressed, they ran OK but the user interface wasn't at all intuitive and when they needed service I was told they were not supported any more, I needed to buy a new one, after 6 years.
My current Simrad is much more user friendly and faster to boot, ease of use also counts.
Are you looking to get an all in one display unit or separate units for the electronics?

[lifeofreilly57]

I'm the technical service support manager for an international original equipment manufacturing concern, we have both mechanical and electrical engineering departments in house and we program all the user interfaces for these complex machines in house. It's not like I don't know the difficulty behind setting up a practical, intuitive user interface, I also know it's not rocket science either, so it bothers me to no end when a multinational electronics maker can't produce an intuitive, easy to use interface for their equipment, especially when it's a standard model piece. Most of the modern marine electronics are pretty damn reliable so it comes down to longevity, features and last but not least ease of use. You may also want to take that into consideration when buying new equipment, the slight price difference will fade with time but a piece that requires the use of an owners manual for even the simplest changes will tick you off forever.
Anyone here remember setting up the earlier VHS recorders? Oiy!

[cortezsailor]

hey Roy I prefer a simple system with out a whole lot of gadgets and gizmos. I dont mind them all being interfaced as long as they operate normally if one part of the system goes down. I would prefer several display units for that reason.

[Roy M]

Modern electronics are integrated systems. They work best when they are of the same manufacturer, although NMEA 0183 and NMEA 2000 networking can do wonders to make disparate equipment work together. The autopilot can be different than the display since it is operated with a separate controller (unless both the autopilot and display are the same brand, of course). The Simrad hydraulic autopilot will work well with your system, as will the Raymarine. Don't get too diverse, though, with makes and models. Try to buy your ideal system at the same time to ensure all the accessories are compatible. Specifically, the radar, display and rate compass should all be the same brand and date of issue. Plus, it's easier to learn one or two systems than three or more. Instead of a display for the radar and another for the chartplotter (plus AIS), consider getting a second display for the cockpit to act as a backup. The ability to overlay chart, AIS and radar images makes for a killer way to quickly identify location and improve situational awareness.

[lifeofreilly57]

Originally Posted by Roy M

Modern electronics are integrated systems. They work best when they are of the same manufacturer, although NMEA 0183 and NMEA 2000 networking can do wonders to make disparate equipment work together. The autopilot can be different than the display since it is operated with a separate controller (unless both the autopilot and display are the same brand, of course). The Simrad hydraulic autopilot will work well with your system, as will the Raymarine. Don't get too diverse, though, with makes and models. Try to buy your ideal system at the same time to ensure all the accessories are compatible. Specifically, the radar, display and rate compass should all be the same brand and date of issue. Plus, it's easier to learn one or two systems than three or more. Instead of a display for the radar and another for the chartplotter (plus AIS), consider getting a second display for the cockpit to act as a backup. The ability to overlay chart, AIS and radar images makes for a killer way to quickly identify location and improve situational awareness.

Totally agree with your statement. THe less diversity the better, from a communications and user friendliness perspective. Keeps the frustration level low.