AUTO PILOT PREFERENCES

Aug 11, 2011
857
O'day 30 313 Georgetown MD
Starting to think ahead for the next season and was wondering if the wisdom of the forum has recommendations for which brand of Auto Wheel Pilots. My displacement is 11,000 lbs. so a motorized drive falls well in this category. I have experience with Ray Marine Auto Tiller Pilot, so I understand the principles. I see options such as CPT, Lowrance and Ray Marine. CPT looks like its a little outdated with the belt drive. What are your opinions?
 

HMT2

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Mar 20, 2014
899
Hunter 31 828 Shoreacres, TX
For wheel mounted APs there are not a lot of options. I installed the Raymarine EV100 about three years ago. I have been very pleased with it. It struggles in large following seas. I single hand a lot and I wouldn’t leave home with out it.
 
Oct 22, 2014
20,995
CAL 35 Cruiser #21 moored EVERETT WA
Fortunately or unfortunately when I looked at getting an Autopilot the best option was Raymarine EV100.
For a 30 something foot boat, less than 15K lbs displacement, sailing/motoring in moderate to calm conditions it probably still is.
Economics and power draw considered it is the best compromise.
 

Ward H

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Nov 7, 2011
3,645
Catalina 30 Mk II Barnegat, NJ
My C30 weighs 10,500 lbs and the EV100 drives it well.
The trick mentioned most often is keep the sails well trimmed for less pressure on the helm.
 
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Joe

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Jun 1, 2004
7,999
Catalina 27 Mission Bay, San Diego
The CPT is analog.... you can't link it in to your Chartplotter…. however... it is very reliable.
Drake Paragon (popular cruising blog) swears by it on his Westsail 42
 
Feb 26, 2004
22,760
Catalina 34 224 Maple Bay, BC, Canada
CPT also has a much bigger, real - not toy - motor. A completely different tool. Go to their website and read about it, if you haven't already. It is course keeping, not finding, doesn't integrate with anything. Great reputation.
 
Aug 31, 2004
84
Oday 322 St Clair Shores
I have an EV100 wheel drive for my 322 Oday (10,250 lbs) and it works very well In a variety of conditions.
 
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Aug 11, 2011
857
O'day 30 313 Georgetown MD
I now have my focus on the Raymarine EV100. As procrastinate in purchasing, I'm going through the steps of installation and positioning. I think I have a good plan, however the provided wire lengths have me a little concerned. Maybe David, you could send me some pictures of your set up?
 

TomY

Alden Forum Moderator
Jun 22, 2004
2,758
Alden 38' Challenger yawl Rockport Harbor
I'm on 19 seasons of coastal sailing with a Raymarine ST-4000.

As they are pretty fragile, and our boat at 38' and 16,000 disp., on the heavy side, I didn't expect it to last this long. I

t's had a few belts replaced, a wheel or two broken off that I repaired, but that's about it.

It has steered most of our miles over 19 seasons, I would bet.

I didn't and still don't expect it to work in all conditions, especially down wind when the wheel needs constant tending.

I don't beat it up, when it's overwhelmed, we find a better sail trim or configuration or change course if we can.

I've realized what wheel pilot likes - the crew (and I) likes as well, so it's a win-win to makes these adjustments.

It's taught me new tricks on sail trim that can keep it happy. It requires changing the rudder gain settings and speed in different conditions. Good gizmo, I'll replace with the newer version,... if it ever dies.
 
Aug 17, 2010
311
Oday 35 Barrington
I have an EV-100 on my O'day 35 (11.5K lbs). I installed it in 2016, along with a suite of Raymarine products (eS78 chart plotter, R50 VHF) and a Vesper Marine AIS transceiver. It works great for me. However I do not use in in waves >3 feet, and almost never use it sailing (or motoring) with a following sea.

Pictures below show the control head, the installation of the heading sensor and the computer/drive controller in the aft quarterberth, and the Raymarine MFD that everything is networked with.

2016-09-22 13.07.42.jpg

2016-09-22 13.05.16.jpg

2016-09-22 13.15.03.jpg
 
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Sep 11, 2015
147
Hunter 31 Marina del Rey
Most small boats have Autohelm (which became Raytheon and later Raymarine). Autohelm was designed by Derek Fawcett in 1974 and has pretty much owned the casual market since. Pretty much every small boat in my Marina del Rey has Autohelm installed. The wheel drive has been unchanged for many years. Yes, the drive is small but it is an exceptionally good design than balances power draw and performance. I have the SPX-5 and I am happy with it even in moderate conditions. The latest EV-100 is a great autopilot at an attractive price.

If you want tight autopilot integration you may want to match the autopilot to your chart plotter brand. For example, if I drive the Raymarine autopilot with the Garmin chartplotter I receive no feedback on the chartplotter on what the autopilot is doing. If you pair it with a Raymarine chartplotter you get the status, the locked heading and you can control the autopilot from the chartplotter without touching the controller if you wanted to do that. In reality, there is not much benefit to that but it is cool. If you want more power to drive the rudder you can consider a linear drive, it costs 2x the wheel drive and consumers more power. One of the benefits of going with Raymarine is that second hand drives a plentiful and you can always pick one up as a spare with time. Garmin/Navico are relatively new and it is harder to find spare parts in the second hand market.

If you want a serious, racing autopilot you get an NKE. It is a different world from cruising and everyone there has an NKE (unless sponsored by Raymarine). The system costs 3x the typical cruising system but it is worth it if you are into racing.
 
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Aug 31, 2004
84
Oday 322 St Clair Shores
I now have my focus on the Raymarine EV100. As procrastinate in purchasing, I'm going through the steps of installation and positioning. I think I have a good plan, however the provided wire lengths have me a little concerned. Maybe David, you could send me some pictures of your set up?
eherlihy provided good pics. On my 322 the sensor core/compass and actuator are mounted in the port lazerette up high so the wires don’t get caught up with fenders, hose, etc. this location made running wires to drive motor, head unit, and power relatively easy. Hardest part was making the raymarine version of nmea 2000 connectors work! Sheesh! There are easier nmea connectors out there.
 
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Feb 22, 2010
70
Oday 322 Delaware River
I also installed Raymarine EV100 wheel pilot a couple years ago. It integrates with the Raymarine Axiom chart plotter and the SeaTalk NMEA2000 network. I would not leave home without it. I single hand most of the time, it is great for moderate conditions. I use it 70 % of the time.

As others have said, fine attention to balancing the sails will make it the happiest. It holds a magnetic heading rock solid. It has AI to 'learn' as it works. It has multi-axis sensors in all three dimensions. I swear when it senses the boat heeling in a puff - it adds in some helm to compensate. My old Simrad WP-10 would barely hold within 10 degrees and certainly had no smarts.

It is not happy in a following sea broad reach. Also, in 'wind mode' (as opposed to magnetic heading mode) I found that keeping apparent wind angle upwind following my new Raymarine Wind vane (also NMEA2000 networked into the system) , it did not do well enough using the standard sensitivity settings. At the end of the season I was just playing with the 'racing' sensitivity setting it was better, did not get to study it enough before the season ended.

It's greatest value is all day trips down Delaware River or in the Chesapeake bay. it is the difference between arriving refreshed or tired. It is invaluable for long trips, and single handing. It is not a super strong wheel motor, but good enough for moderate conditions. Initial configuration and setup was super easy - basically turn it on and it works!
Installation was more than a half-day, more like two half-days by the time you thread wires all through the boat and binnacle. I installed the components high up on the port lazarette wall. See pictures.

I recommend it. There are tons of them, and their previous generations out there still running. Not the cheapest upgrade, but once you have it, you will wonder how you ever got along without one.
 

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Jan 19, 2010
1,169
Catalina 34 Casco Bay
You may want ( need) to consider a package. Chart plotter and AP units are often paired. Not to say you can't go ala carte. But it does't make much sense to upgrade the AP and not have the ability to have it communicate with the plotter. In our case we have a RayMarine e-7 touch screen Hybrid. I have the option of having the AP hold a course or the plotter steering a route ( either from laid in waypoints or touching the screen and commanding " GO TO"). There is also the ability to mark start and finish points and let the plotter do the work. My AP has 3 settings for response. Rather than go into that here, I'd advise researching it.
 

Ward H

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Nov 7, 2011
3,645
Catalina 30 Mk II Barnegat, NJ
I'm happy with the EV100 on my 10,500 lb boat.The package also includes a SeaTalkng (NMEA2000) starter kit for setting up the needed SeaTalkng network. I paired mine with the Axiom 7 but the EV100 is sweet on its own.
 
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leo310

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Dec 15, 2006
635
Catalina 310 44 Campbell River BC
I have the EV-100 talking to a Garmin MFD via NMEA 2000 with no problems. The only thing I cant do is update the EV-100 as I would need a Raymarine MFD but then its working now without any updates. The reason I went with the EV-100 is 1: price of EV-100, 2: Easy install 3: NMEA 2000
 
Aug 11, 2011
857
O'day 30 313 Georgetown MD
Well, Leo310, you answered my next question. But I don't think my Garmin 74DV will actually speak to the EV 100. I have to look into that. I really need the auto pilot to do a straight line and help me tack when I solo sail. On my previous boat I had a Auto Tiller by Raymarine and a hand held remote. It worked great for me.
 

leo310

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Dec 15, 2006
635
Catalina 310 44 Campbell River BC
If you don't need to plot a course but just need a heading then most AP will work for a set heading I know the EV-100 will do this.
 
Dec 2, 2003
751
Hunter 260 winnipeg, Manitoba
The ev100 should be able to take direction from the garmin for a course but you will need a seatalkNG to Nmea 0183 converter of some type.