Auto pilot

[SweepN]

Looking for ideas for auto pilot for a 115 outboard without hydraulic steering.  Any information would be greatly appreciated. Brands pros/cons.  Thanks!

[iiwhistlerii]

Buy a minnkota terrova with autopilot. Use ur main for propulsion and the terrova to steer. Get boat going slightly under target speed with main. Set cruise control on terrova at target speed and hit north button to maintain heading.

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[Frogger]

Get a stand alone AP if you troll with big motor or tied to a kicker. You have hydraulic steering so your install isn’t that big of a deal. If you have an Lowrance HDS depth finder already you could go with a Lowrance AP. If not, your investment just doubled. Sucks they force you to have one just to use it. I personally like Raymarine AP. EVO model. It can be standalone or tied to an MFD. however your not locked into buying a depth finder to use it.
If you bass fish or would use an electric trolling motor on the bow for other reasons than just trolling for trout and salmon go that route as suggested. If not, I wouldn’t invest the money in one. Downsides are cost, extra weight, batteries, rough conditions etc. hope it helps.


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[FishingFool34]

15 minutes ago, iiwhistlerii said:

Buy a minnkota terrova with autopilot. Use ur main for propulsion and the terrova to steer. Get boat going slightly under target speed with main. Set cruise control on terrova at target speed and hit north button to maintain heading.

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This what I used to do, works great. Just make sure you go with a long shaft TM, don't even consider anything shorter than 60" and depending on your model of boat you may want to look for a 72".

[SweepN]

Thanks men for the info..I have a small cutty on my 1850 fiberglass boat. I can probably hide the batteries in. I'll have to check my bow distance to the water..

[konman]

Look into Simrad ap24. Works on cable steering. Very happy with mine


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[SweepN]

Great! Thanks! Did you install it?

[Frogger]

Sorry Sweep, I misread, thought you had hydraulic. Good suggestion on the octopus drive.


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[SweepN]

No worries..

[Yankee Troller]

Lowrance and Simrad make an outboard pilot for around $1000. We've installed a few at Krenzer Marine. You need a Lowrance or Simrad to run it.

[Andre wallyandre]

The cable autopilot from Lowrane or Simrad is a bit more then $1000 , probably around $1500 and they use Octopus for the motor drive and you need a Lowrance Gen2 and up or a Simrad GO or EVO. The GO is a very good unit and affordable, it’s the brother of the Lowrance Ti but the Timis not compatible with the autopilot.

[Yankee Troller]

3 minutes ago, wallyandre said:

The cable autopilot from Lowrane or Simrad is a bit more then $1000 , probably around $1500 and they use Octopus for the motor drive and you need a Lowrance Gen2 and up or a Simrad GO or EVO. The GO is a very good unit and affordable, it’s the brother of the Lowrance Ti but the Timis not compatible with the autopilot.

 

Yup, $1300 for the cable and $1600 for the Hydraulic. They've gone up a little bit this year.

[Andre wallyandre]

1 minute ago, Yankee Troller said:

 

Yup, $1300 for the cable and $1600 for the Hydraulic. They've gone up a little bit this year.

You probably meant $1300 for the hydraulic and $1600 for the cable

[SweepN]

I do have an older lowrance HDS 7. I am willing to upgrade also as I often fish alone..it will be money well spent. Not sure if it would be compatible to Simrad.

[Andre wallyandre]

1 hour ago, SweepN said:

I do have an older lowrance HDS 7. I am willing to upgrade also as I often fish alone..it will be money well spent. Not sure if it would be compatible to Simrad.

What Gen is you're HDS?

[SweepN]

Gen 2

[Andre wallyandre]

It's compatible with the Gen-2

[SweepN]

Oh..ok great!!

[Crestliner1850]

On 8/10/2020 at 2:20 PM, iiwhistlerii said:

Buy a minnkota terrova with autopilot. Use ur main for propulsion and the terrova to steer. Get boat going slightly under target speed with main. Set cruise control on terrova at target speed and hit north button to maintain heading.

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X2

[SweepN]

They are awesome..my son has one on his 16 footer..but I have a glass boat..I'm not liking the idea of holes in the bow..But they are awesome. His is 36 volt self deploying..