Autopilots - Raymarine vs Simrad quandry

[Jeff Bacon]

Hi All:I have just started to compare some autopilots (it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas !!), and have some questions that I can't answer based on specs and advertising.1. My Boat..... 1996 Hunter 376, 15,000 pounds from the factory (probably 17,000 now ??)2.The Prospects....Simrad, Raymarine3. Questions...The Simrad Wheel unit has always advertised a lower price and higher boat lenght and weight than the RAymarine.Raymarine now has the st4000 MK II that is comparable to the simrad in specs (allows for higher boat weight) BUT, is lower in price than the st4000 that specs a lower maximum weight.While my decision is not completely based on price, it certainly is important. My boat is on the cusp of using a wheel pilot or a below decks unit. The below deck units are signifigantly more expensive. With the new st4000MK II I may be able to save 1500 to 1800 dollars, IF the wheel pilots will work.Summary.... Simrad or Raymarine wheel pilot ? Why the price discrepency between Raymarine and Simrad for ?Why does Simrad spec higher weights than Raymarine (until the MK II came out)Thanks !!!Jeff

 

[Steve Dion]

Prices just dropped on Simrads

Jeff:If you have any catalogs from last year you will see that the Navico units were more than the Autohelm units last year. All of a sudden Simrad took over and the prices have dropped (some below $700) and they include the remote.There are several owner with larger boats that claim that the WP30x will handle this size boat. I personally have a Navico unit WP300CX and it works great.Now with that said. I would go with a below deck unit on a boat your size. I sure you can get away with the Wheel Pilot units but you are right on the edge and it is ALWAY recommended to move up if you are in doubt.

 

[Steve Winkle]

Raymarine

Jeff,I have a H380 which is basically the same boat as yours. It came with the Raymarine 5000 , a below-deck unit. So far, it handles everything superbly. An added benefit is that it interfaces with the rest of my Raymarine instruments to form a navigation "system" instead of separate instruments. All of the charter boats I've been on have used Raymarine (Autohelm) units and I've never had a problem. I don't know anything about Simrad, however my experience with Raymarine has been consistently positive.Good luck and fair winds,Steve

 

[Ed Schenck]

Agree with Steve again. . .

about going with below-decks AP. Probably choose a Nexus myself(or Robertson, now Simrad).But the boat next to yours(mine) does really well with a WP30 and a displ. over 18000#. Have had no problems in some pretty steep Lake Erie seas. It was a snap to install(no fluxgate to mess with) but does not have a display. It's $690. with remote right now at Sailnet.Not sure about the installation on a "non-round" pedestal. My kit was set up for a 4-6" round pipe.

 

[Mickey Goodman]

Autopilots

I have a Legend 37 with a Navico WP300CX and I am extremely happy with it's performance. Installation was extremely easy. Unfortunately, I did not buy it from Sailnet and I did buy the remote.I used to have an Autohelm 3000 on the boat that really was to small for weight. Once I was going over 6 knots the belt would slip and I couldn't rely on it working correctly. It did work great for motoring.What I liked about the Navico(Simrad) was the ease of installation and easily removeable during the winter storage.Not having experience with the below deck type autopilot I don't know how easy or difficult it would be to disconnect the pilot if it for some reason locks up. I do know that I can remove it completely in less than 5 minutes.

 

[Jeff Bacon]

Ed - Need your email address

Ed:Would like to ask you a few questions. Can you Email me off - site ?jbacon@ix.netcom.comAlso, Harbor North moved your boat. i visited todatJeff