Is it possible for a GPS guided outboard?

[Mosh]

Since I fish alone mostly it would be really handy to give my outboard a setting and have it troll straight while I tend rods.  I've seen something similar on bigger charter boats with direct drive and a rudder.  But is it possible on an outboard? What would it take? I'm not a gear head, but it seems like it might be cost prohibitive to do this....

 

Anyway, just dreaming... thanks for your thoughts.

[Tim Bromund]

It's called autopilot

[John E Powell]

Is your outboard turning on you? If so, maybe you need to tighten the pivot point so it doesn't turn on you when you let go of the wheel.

 

Autopilots can be fitted to smaller boats with outboard power at various price points. But you might also consider a corded or wireless remote steering controller.

Edited July 4, 2013 by John E Powell

[LongLine]

Auto-Bungie works great on mine. (18 ft'r).  Of course the down-side is the yearly investment of approx. a buck & 1/2 for a new one.

 

Tom B.

(LongLine)

[Shellback]

You don't mention the size of your boat, but I have been very successful with 18 foot and under boats using the MinnKota Auto Pilot or I- Pilot motors. Use your outboard to push the boat, and use a low setting on the trolling motor with it set in auto pilot mode. very common practice for walleye fishermen in the midwest. Steering corrections are much faster due to the bowmount motor pulling the bow around, rather than the outboard trying to push the straight. 

[Lip Rippers]

Auto-Bungie works great on mine. (18 ft'r).  Of course the down-side is the yearly investment of approx. a buck & 1/2 for a new one.

 

Tom B.

(LongLine)

auto bungie does work great been using mine for 2 seasons without any trouble     

[bigblue]

Tr1 autopilot pricey but the best fishing tool in our boat . On year 5 no problems. Its like having  a first mate on board. On our smaller boat we run a Panther Electro Steer its not a autopilot but it steers remotely it only works on 20HP or smaller. but its a great unit around $500 vs $2900 for the Tr1 .

[Poles293]

+1 on the I-Pilot trolling motor. It works great on my 18 footer and running it on low setting lets it last all day. Use the outboard to push the boat and the trolling motor to steer on autopilot. The I-Pilot has both a compass and GPS settings.

[Mosh]

I can see that there are replies, but I cannot see them. I'll try the mobile app.  Wasn't there something to do with clearing cookies or something?

 

NM When I posted this, i can see the replies.

Edited July 4, 2013 by Mosh

[Mosh]

You don't mention the size of your boat, but I have been very successful with 18 foot and under boats using the MinnKota Auto Pilot or I- Pilot motors. Use your outboard to push the boat, and use a low setting on the trolling motor with it set in auto pilot mode. very common practice for walleye fishermen in the midwest. Steering corrections are much faster due to the bowmount motor pulling the bow around, rather than the outboard trying to push the straight. 

 

Thanks everyone for the idea's.  I have a 2011 18' Starcraft Superfisherman. It's not so much that the linkages aren't tight or the motor turns on its own, it's more the deep V acting like a sail heading into the wind.  It turns quickly.

 

I am outfitted with an iPilot on the front and honestly didn't think about trying the two motors in tandem.  Well I did, but I second guessed myself whether it could be effective. I'll give it a try and see how it works!  Thanks again.

[Shellback]

I've been doing it with 3 different boats. One was a 1995 Superfisherman 190. Keep in mind trolling into the wind can be tough with any auto pilot set up. The I-Pilot  manual recommends when trolling into the wind, to hold the button down longer which sets the compass auto pilot versus the GPS auto pilot.