Auto pilot

[tannero]

Bought a boat which has a st5000+ autopilot but is missing the stern drive actuator. I dont know much about autopilots other than id like it to steer straight when fishing

Being advised i should scrap the 5000 unit and replace with the raymarine Spx5r.

Boat has cable to hydraulic. It is a 24' with an i/o.

Dont want to get too deep into this but really do want the boat to go straight when fishing.

Anybody have suggestions on a product or know anyone good at installing?

[L&M]

The Spx-5r with the p70r control head would be a good choice on that boat.

[thefrenchman]

Hey bud

i,ve installed a spx5 on my 20 foot

very easy and fast to install

they are under 2k $

and you dont have to get it installed sinse its easy to do it yourself

a bit noisy i agree but after a while i dont even hear it anymore

 

thefrenchman

[tannero]

I may go with it then. Appreciate your replies. Nobody likes steering. And even worse when they do and tangle lines

[momay4000]

Tannero,

 

It's my third or fourth year with the SPx Sportpilot. Best investment I ever made on my boat. You will love it and never look back.

 

Pros: easy to install, holds course very nicely even in heavy seas, great control head (I believe the new helm control is even better than the original), great Raymarine customer service (my original was part of a recall and they had a new steering control to my door in one week), extremely simple to use with easy calibration

 

Cons: a little noisy with the steer/countersteer (this can be dampened by decreasing the sensitivity), makes passive steering a bit stiff when you are steering your boat in standby mode

 

Overall - it's a great investment - I promise you will love it for your cable steered boat! Good luck,

 

Chris

 

disclaimer - I have no financial or sponsorship ties to Raymarine in any way

[tannero]

Hey chris. Thanks for the info. How tough is the manual steering after installing? Real bad or just a little tight? Ill have to research the difference in the different head units available. A few hundred diff between them and other than color and a turn knob, cant tell the diff but maybe there is something better under the hood. Was really bummed to find out my St5000 was missing the actuator. The auto pilot was a huge reason for getting the boat. Maybe for 2000 i can get the new one running if i getbpast the wife 😆

[momay4000]

Just a moderate amount of tightness on my boat. It's only a factor when docking in strong wind and even at that it's tolerable. Best investment I've made

[tannero]

Ok. Im getting one. Working with a guy out of wilson. Cant wait to get it on the boat. My buddies boat has simran (sp?). And its great to fish with.