Autopilot question

[greenfish]

1988 240 thompson  mercruiser 5.0lx main engine ,and mercury 9.9 kicker motor, my question is; do they make an autopilot that controls both main motor and trolling motor ,instead of 1 autopilot for main motor and second one for kicker motor when trolling, that i could use autopilot to get to fishing spot and switch to my kicker for trolling thank you

[FishingFool34]

You would just put the AP on your main motor and then connect the main to the kicker via tie-bar or EZ steer.

[greenfish]

oh ,ok got it ,thanx that makes sense will ez steer  work with,Raymarine Evolution EV100 Power Autopilot anybody have this setup pros and cons?

[Earl28]

You can with some systems that use DC reversing polarity to control a liner actuators add an actuator selector switch. Some tuning may be required.

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[greenfish]

thanx earl28 ,have to look into that ,sounds like an option

 

[EKoselny]

The EZ Steer option is probably the easiest way to go. I have the older Raymarine SPX-5 autopilot with the helm drive to control the main motor, and the EZ steer to connect the kicker. I like the EZ Steer, sometimes I have to adjust the rod to make sure that when the main motor is straight the kicker is also steering straight. Other than that have not had too many issues. 

 

The Raymarine on the other hand.... I am not a big fan of that unfortunately.

[greenfish]

thanx for your input ,much appreciated

[stinger]

On 9/10/2021 at 11:39 AM, greenfish said:

oh ,ok got it ,thanx that makes sense will ez steer  work with,Raymarine Evolution EV100 Power Autopilot anybody have this setup pros and cons?

 

I have the EV-150 ( just a bigger pump than the ev-100) on the main and use a tie bar for the kicker. If the tie bar doesn't work for you use the ez steer. The tie bar is much easier to use if it will adapt to your setup.

Edited September 17, 2021 by stinger

[greenfish]

Thanx stinger