Raymarine EV-200 Autopilot, Good for Trolling?

[landingzone]

Thinking about installing a Rayumarine EV-200 autopilot on my 27' Amberjack with twin Mercruiser V-6's.  Will also be converting to hydraulic steering.  Does anyone have experience with these units and how well they work for trolling and any other issues?

[Chas0218]

I have the EV-100 and use it specifically for trolling but works for cruising too. Great choice in my opinion.  Once you have it you won't know why it took you so long to buy it.

[Tank]

I have the 100 as well and would say you will NOT regret it.   Tank

[Tall Tails]

500 hours on one last year.  No problems.  You will love it

[landingzone]

Thanks for the input guys.  Sounds good.  Next I need to find the best deal.  Best I see so far is about $2430 from Anchor Express for the EV-200 with the hydraulic pump (T70157).

[Frogger]

Good place to work with. If you find a cheaper price, Ancor Ex will match it. Don't forget, rebate worth 200.00 till end of April.

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[TileMan Dan]

2386.00 at Hodges Marine. There shipping is fast also.

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[A-TOM-MIK]

105 trips with my EV-200 last year, absolutely flawless, give Kevin Jerge a call, he may match a price (not sure) but either way Kevin knows absolutely everything about the install, may be worth a few more bucks to you to get that expert advice, I needed a few initial tie-bar adjustments to get mine flawless. Best purchase I made last season

 

Tom

[fisherman85]

Anyone have any ideals on what I can do to use one of these units on a cable steered rack and pinion prob be better off buying a new boat w hydraulic steer ?

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[Tank]

Anyone have any ideals on what I can do to use one of these units on a cable steered rack and pinion prob be better off buying a new boat w hydraulic steer ?

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The EV-100 comes in a Wheel model that controls the autopilot from a mechanism that mounts behind the steering wheel. That is the unit I have and it is awesome! it has the same digital control/display as the others.  It does have s a weight range..my boat is power assist so I was rated to 7400#'s. Without power assist I believe it is rated for 4500#'s.  -Tank

[Chas0218]

Anyone have any ideals on what I can do to use one of these units on a cable steered rack and pinion prob be better off buying a new boat w hydraulic steer ?

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You won't regret having hydraulic steering but it isn't a must have

[Tim Bromund]

I'm betting the helm of the EV-100 is rotary, so a rack and pinion steering cable won't work. 

 

That was the case with my Simrad AP14, had to replace the R&P cable with a rotary one when I installed my AP and while not super difficult, replacing the steering cable was the biggest PITA of the entire install. 

 

Tim

[Tank]

I'm betting the helm of the EV-100 is rotary, so a rack and pinion steering cable won't work. 

 

That was the case with my Simrad AP14, had to replace the R&P cable with a rotary one when I installed my AP and while not super difficult, replacing the steering cable was the biggest PITA of the entire install. 

 

Tim

?? must depend on the setup, I am not a mechanic by any means but my boat is rack and pinion and I had no such issues. Mine works perfect.

[jigstick]

That is untrue.  I have tele flex rack and pinion steering on my 22.5ft bayliner and I installed the EVO200 Sportpilot last year.  It works fantastic.  Highly recommend it.  Install was a snap.  Make sure your electrical system is up to the task.  The drive motor does pull significant juice.  I installed a new fuse block and fed it with 4g wire directly from my battery switch.  

 

Here is a link to a great thread that talks all about this unit.

 

http://www.lakeontariounited.com/fishing-hunting/topic/42244-need-the-curent-best-pricing-on-raymarine-ev-200-sport-pilot-autopilot-t70159/page-6

Edited March 17, 2015 by jigstick

[Tim Bromund]

Ok perhaps my Simrad was a different setup. It replaced the existing helm in its entirety and is a rotary drive, so the R&P cable wouldn't work. I'm not familiar with the Raymarine. The old Ray Sportpilot + that I had before that just slid over the steering shaft of the existing helm.

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[fisherman85]

The pic on the right is pretty much what it looks like behind my steering counsel just wondering if that helm unit would be to much for the steering wheel also is the helm part of the unit not included in the kit

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[momay4000]

Hey gentlemen,

 

I do not mean to hijack this post but I currently own a Raymarine Sportpilot for my cable steered Trophy. I called Raymarine yesterday simply to see if parts will be available for my AP if I need them. They told me this helm type unit has been discontinued and replaced with the EV series. That being said, these are only for hydraulic steered boats or sailboats if i'm not mistaken. I talked with one of the Tech guys there and he confirmed this.

 

Given that the only AP's for cable steered boats are/were the Simrad ap24 (discontinued) or an Octopus drive, does that mean the only option would be converting your cable steering to hydraulic steering if you want to use an EV autopilot?

 

Thanks men,

 

Chris

[Chas0218]

Raymarine still makes several mechanical units in the Evolution series there are 3 types of mechanical drives: rotary, linear, and Universal Stern. I am not sure why they told you that but they were wrong, unless they were referring to specifically referring to the sport drive.

 

http://www.raymarine.com/view/?id=579&collectionid=30&col=5916

http://www.raymarine.com/view/?id=579&collectionid=30&col=5915

http://www.raymarine.com/view/?id=579&collectionid=30&col=5917

[jigstick]

I agree.  The Raymarine "sportpilot" drive has been discontinued.  It has been replaced with the new EV series.  Which still offers a helm mounted option, which basically is the "sportdrive", just with a different name.  And to answer your question regarding the picture...yes it will work.  That is exactly how my helm looks behind the steering wheel.  I cant imagine Raymarine ever completely getting rid of these helm pilots.  They sell a ton of them.  A lot of boats do not have hydraulic steering.  And unless you want to get into changing our your helm to an octopus drive or a simrad unit, or convert to hydraulic steering...this Raymarine product is your only option.  Mine has been a dream come true. Completely changed my fishing experience.  It is now WAAAAY more enjoyable for everyone on board.  Everyone can relax, enjoy the weather and a beverage, and reel in fish.