Suggestions for Auto Pilot Please

[Tugowharf]

I am planning to install after market auto pilot on my 2012 25 RC. Any suggestions for a great system? Also, whether I should try to install it myself or get a pro to do it?

 

[nzfisher]

I have not had great luck with my Garmin in my R25sc however, many of the professional fishing guides that fish off of the coast think it is the best one- some of these guys put 1000's of hours on their boats each season. So there is a diversity of opinion on this topic. Mine has never truly been tweaked but I am going to have a Garmin tech do it this month while on the water since I purchased a new nav unit. After a failed pump last year I found out that you need to operate the pump on a regular basis, otherwise it could freeze up (or so I was told). You do this by turning the ignition to the on position, turning on the chart plotter and autopilot, engaging the autopilot, then alternately pressing the arrow keys that would normally correct the course port and starboard. This will move the rudder while you are not in the water.

Good luck

As a post script- after watching Ranger's guys replace the pump unit last year I would not dream of doing this myself. It would be total self abuse.

 

[Tugowharf]

Hi NZ Fisher:

I think I'll check out Raymarine. I talked to a marine supply place and apparently there are a lot of high tech systems now that operate by remote control and are easy to install. I'm not that much of a handy man so likely after 10 minutes of trying and getting frustrated I'll get a pro on it. Where do you live in New Zealand? Supposing that's what the NZ stands for. I spent a month there in a motorhome with my family and absolutely fell in love with the country.

Tugo
(Peter)
Canada

 

[SGIDAVE]

I am planning to install after market auto pilot on my 2012 25 RC. Any suggestions for a great system? Also, whether I should try to install it myself or get a pro to do it?

Hello Tugo,

I"ve had two Raymarine APs on different boats to include my current 21EC. I REALLY like the p70r interface; the knob allows steering by turning the knob - very easy to use and an improvement over pushing the +/-1 or +/10 degree course change buttons.

Recently I added broadband 3G radar by way of a Simrad NSS8 display and Simrad dome. Anyway, I would suggest you also consider a Simrad AP in the mix.

Do you have the Garmin 5212 display? Any of the current APs will interface with it via N2K.

Let us know what you decide,

/dave

 

[Boatagain]

Does anyone know if the Raymarine AP's will interface (via NMEA 2000 or otherwise) with my Garmin 740s chartplotter? Thanks.

 

[knotflying]

My thought is stay with the same manufacturer as your other components. This way if you have an issue down the line it will avoid the finger pointing scenario.

 

[pugtug613]

My Garmin works fine. I do use it every time I go out. I think it's amazing that the boat will even make the turns and everything. Just save your slug trail as a "route" and that's it. Assuming you travel the same path every time you visit your favorite spots. I put 100 hrs. per year (maybe a little less) and I never had an issue.

 

[Tugowharf]

Does anyone know if the Raymarine-EV-100-Wheel-Evolution-Autopilot would be a good fit for the Ranger Tug 25 SC
with a 150 hp Yanmar? Your thoughts?

 

[SGIDAVE]

Does anyone know if the Raymarine AP's will interface (via NMEA 2000 or otherwise) with my Garmin 740s chartplotter? Thanks.

I have an EV200 on my 21EC connected to the GArmin 740s via N2K. I installed a Raymarine NMEA 2000 (which Raymarine calls Seatalkng) backbone; Ray sells a "devicenet" cable which connects to their backbone on one end and has a standard N2K fitting on the other (you need to buy the correct 'gender' devicenet cable).

Anyway, it will work fine.

Problem is when you need to do a software update on the Raymarine AP components - which YOU WILL at some point - you must have a raymarine display inorder to accomplish this. OR, remove them from your boat and send them back to rAymarine and they will do it free if still under warranty. Because of this serious disadvantage, which may exist across other brands of AP, I would recommend you plan to obtain a second, "backup" display of the same brand as your AP. Redundancy is good...

But the answer to your question is YES.

FAir winds,

dave

 

[SGIDAVE]

Does anyone know if the Raymarine-EV-100-Wheel-Evolution-Autopilot would be a good fit for the Ranger Tug 25 SC
with a 150 hp Yanmar? Your thoughts?

Hello Tugo,

Since your tug has hydraulic steering, you would need to go with a hydraulic pump drive unit. At the moment, the Raymarine "Sportdrive" has been withdrawn from the market. I had the sportdrive-based Raymarine AP in my Cape Cruiser 23 a few years ago and now in my 21EC. It has worked great for me. If Ray brings it back to market, you would need to check the 'specs' to see if the 25SC to big for it.

Do you have any interest in upgrading your radar to Broadband?

/dave

 

[Tugowharf]

Hi there SGidave:

Thanks for the information. I'll look for a system with a hydraulic pump drive. I'm not interested in spending anything on radar right now. I just bought the boat haven't had much of a chance to use the radar yet. I tried it out quickly and it was picking up other boats just fine. I'll spend my money on Auto Pilot and then take a break...give my bank account a chance to recover.

Cheers: TugoWharf