Autopilot for 27FC Raymarine vs Lowrance vs ????

[stmbtwle]

I'm looking for an autopilot for my 27FC which is cable steered (not hydraulic). The two options I've come across so far are the Raymarine EV-100 Wheelpilot (designed for sailboats) and the Lowrance Outboard Pilot cable-steer pack (designed for outboards).

Does anyone have any experience/recommendations regarding either of those units? I am not going to convert to hydraulic steering.

Thanks

[amber jj]

Check into the raymarine sport pilot. I had and used it for several years on our 27 searay amberjack.It worked very well for us for several years until we lost the boat to a marina fire.

[stmbtwle]

Unfortunately the Sportpilot is out of production.

[Tonyji]

Lowrance have one, think Garmin also but not sure. Different here in sweden, don’t sell same products everywhere itw.

[jumpjet]

my 1988 FC has teleflex steering from helm to rudder post arm. I have an ancient autopilot that PO said he never tried. I have not figured it out, only turned the power on switch once underway, no obvious actions. Have not even check for power at switch and to unit.

I will be interested in what you determine.

Thanks Steve

PS--don't know why picture is inverted---click on it and it appears orientated correctly??

[hetek]

When I had my 27FC, I looked seriously into buying a Si-Tex unit. Here are their autopilots:

https://www.si-tex.com/category/autopilots

I was looking at the "Dash Drive", which just replaces the steering helm unit. The steering cable stays the same.

The only problem I saw was the installed depth of the unit. IIRC, I think I would have to use spacers and I might have had to box out a section of the head compartment.

Might be worth a look and/or call.

[stmbtwle]

Hetek, That's basically what the Lowrance does, but theirs appears to be a VERY basic unit, and equipment to upgrade it or connect it to a GPS or computer is quite expensive, or simply unavailable. I will ckeck it out.

Raymarine advised pairing their (Raymarine) electronics with an "Octopus drive" which is similar to the Lowrance drive, but purchasing all the components separately just about doubles the cost. And then there are the warranty and troubleshooting issues.

Jumpjet, that looks a bit like my old Autohelm, it was a good unit and served me well for nearly 30 years till I sold the boat. If you run in open water it would be well worth the trouble to find and download a manual for it.

Hand-steering ANYTHING at 6-7 kts over any distance is a miserable proposition. An autopilot makes life soooo much more pleasant.

[hetek]

Agreed about the long haul in an A27FC. An autopilot would make it much more tolerable.

The new owner of my 27FC' s first upgrade was to install an autopilot. He retrofitted a sailboat one - With a motor driving a toothed belt to a hub on the steering wheel. He then took the boat from MA to FL via the ICW.

I looked at the Sport Pilots at the time and remember two things about them: They seemed to be a bit undersized, according to the specs (although many 27FC's used them successfully) and customer/tech support was not very supportive, so I was told.

[stmbtwle]

Well, the Sport pilots are out of production anyway.

I had an old Autohelm on my houseboat, it was wonderful! Just set the thing and watch the world go by. It had the toothed belt you describe. Desidned for sailboats. The Raytheon Wheelpilot is very similar except the belt is enclosed. Raytheon claims they won't work on a powerboat but I don't see why not. Sailboats have big heavy rudders and can carry a lot of weather helm. As far as speed is concerned, a 25 or a 27FC travels at about the same speed as a sailboat anyway. They may not be quick enough for a 30kt powerboat, but that's not the case here.

Anyway Shane Buie on the Facebook site has one on a 27SC and is happy with it. The Sport is generally faster than an FC and would have heavier steering loads.

[PMF]

I have installed the Lowrance HDS Gen 3 plus the Lowrance cable steer pac and it works like a charm. I found the tech support from Lowrance great!
They assisted me with the down load and system up dates as well. It was not a hard installation and the steering motor was fitted without much hassle

Cost a few shackles but it works and the touch screen is easy to use

[stmbtwle]

I eventually bought and installed a used Autohelm 3000 from Ebay, it's probably as old as the boat but works just fine and the price was acceptable. It's a basic unit and does not interface with the GPS, but it holds the course well, and adjustments are a matter of pushing a button. That's all I need.

[SkipD]

I too have an Autohelm 3000 which came with the boat. Works great. Do have a GPS interface for it (not connected). Am looking for a functioning original Remote Control unit. If I had to replace it I would 1st look at the Raymarine sailing wheel model.