Autopilot

sloopjah · Post by **sloopjah** » Wed Jul 30, 2008 3:28 pm

Hi, I have an Albin 36 Trawler with hydrolic sterring. Could anyone here recomend an autopilot make and model?

Post by **jleonard** » Thu Jul 31, 2008 7:27 am

I have narrowed my choices to a Furuno (model 511 I think it was) and a Sitex sp70.
I'll install over the winter.

Post by **RicM** » Thu Jul 31, 2008 7:37 am

I have the Furuno 510 and I love it. Installed it myself last winter. A little daunting at first when you open the box and lay it out, but once you have one you will never want to be without again.

Post by **jleonard** » Thu Jul 31, 2008 4:40 pm

Yea I know...I installed one on my previous boat, an old 34 Mainship...best thing I ever added to a boat for sure.

One could argue that "Abe" is the proper nickname for the autopilot.
After all Abe freed the slaves.

Despacio · Post by **Despacio** » Sun Dec 13, 2009 2:24 pm

Those old Benmar Course Setter 21 autopilots that most of us already have work very well, and the company is still in business and supports their product. If you have a problem with it, you ship it to them and the charge is $200 or less.

http://www.benmarmarine.com/

The lack of flashing lights fails to excite most people today. I have a neighbor who thinks I'm crazy to not upgrade to a new one when I had problems with my old pilot. Today, after sending it in, it works perfectly and was significantly cheaper than buying anything else, and is ready for another 30 years of dependable service.

Used Course Setter 21's can be found at marine parts places. I'd buy one used, send it in for a check before installing it. Then admire the thousands of dollars it didn't cost.

Post by **RobS** » Sun Dec 13, 2009 8:43 pm

RicM wrote:I have the Furuno 510 and I love it. Installed it myself last winter. A little daunting at first when you open the box and lay it out, but once you have one you will never want to be without again.

Ric's unit is the NavPilot 511 (not 510). I also have the 511 and installed mine last winter and could not be happier. A bit of work but rather straight forward and high quality components for sure. Furuno's tech line is helpful if (when) needed.

Post by **RicM** » Mon Dec 14, 2009 8:05 am

I stand corrected. What ever number it is, it has proved to be a great unit for my uses. You cannot trust any auto pilot with your life however. I did have it get scrambled once and show the heading 180 degrees off. I think it may have been the sensor. The started turning around to follow the leg backward! I turned everything off then back on and it was fine after that. These GPS units run on Windows after all (how many of you knew that?).

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