best autopilot for Albin 25 delux?

[Lo2jones]

I would like to find out what autopilot units people have used. Not interested in Wheel mounted control. Any suggestions. Thanks.
Larry

[A251975]

Best??, who knows...I installed a Lowrance outboard cable steer setup. It uses an octopus steering head and required a different cable than original. Also need a lowrance Multi function display. Have had it for 3 years and pleased with how well it works...actually steered better than me when going thru miles of confused seas down Haro Strait and into Juan deFuca. They sell an hydraulic steer package which might be an easier install-less under the dash and easier runs to the tiller. Set an endpoint and after 20 miles of tide, wind, current and stopping for container ships, arrived exactly where I chose—more than once.

[Lo2jones]

Thanks. This might work, but I’m open to other suggestions.
Larry

[motthediesel]

I spent a lot of time researching how to add an autopilot to our cable-steering system on our A27. Like you, I didn't want to go with a wheel-steer "sailboat" unit.

As mentioned above, it looked to me like the Octopus steering head was the way to go. Those are well regarded -- by all accounts reliable and well made. However, they are just the steering power unit, we would still need to combine it with a compass/control unit. All other NAV components in our boat are Garmin, and while different brands can be intergraded, I understand it is optimal to stay with the same manufacturer throughout. When I priced-out what that would cost from Garmin, I realized the total job would be more than twice the cost of a Raymarine wheel-steer unit.

So, we went with the Raymarine Evolution EV1 wheel unit. and we're very happy with it so far. It took some doing to adjust it's response time for following sea conditions, but otherwise, it worked well right out of the box. The only thing I don't like about it is the bearing noise it makes when you are maneuvering the boat manually -- but that's not a bit deal.

Oh, one other thing I should mention. I don't know what the situation is on a A25, but be careful about measuring for available depth behind your panel if you are going with the Octopus unit. It is quite deep, and on our A27, we would have not had enough room between the panel and the bulkhead behind it. We would have had to build an extended flange to move the wheel mount a couple inches aft to make it fit. Do-able of course, but a bit of a nuisance.

Tom

[DesertAlbin736]

We inherited a Raymarine Autohelm tiller pilot from previous owners. Old stuff, probably dating to 2001 or earlier. It uses a short removable wooden stub tiller that attaches to the rudder stock bell crank back in the aft cabin under the plywood panel & ran control/power cable up up to the helm where a wired remote plugged in to an outlet. We tried it a few times. Didn't hold course well so I disconnected it & haven't used it since shortly after buying the boat. At least the stub tiller could function as an emergency tiller to steer from the aft cabin via directions from crew at the helm, or hook it up & use the remote if he Teleflex steering cable failed. That type of solution could work, but it would be a PITA to go back to the aft cabin & hook up each time you went to use it. If I had my druthers I'd go with a wheel unit. I've "invested" so much money in this boat already I'm happy to live with hand steering. With the Admiral aboard we can take turns steering & have a Garmin chartplotter that we can set waypoints to guide us to more or less stay on course. As for amount of depth behind the panel this is what it looks like from inside the head compartment where the electrical distribution terminals are.

In this view you're looking at the underside & back of the helm dash & the Teleflex steering head.

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Another view of the space behind the panels from inside the head compartment.

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The access cover door to the electric panel is partially seen hear at the very top of the photo. That's pretty much all the space you have for the back side of the steering gear.

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[honza]

On my A25 (non-deluxe) there was enough room for the Lowrance/Octopus unit with a minor cut-off of the bulkhead. The installation was easy and straight forward - I had to replace the gear box (helm) and cable anyway. So far, the thing works as expected.

[LopezMike]

I went around and around with this and ended up with a wheel unit. Access for instant disconnect meant a lot to me.

[honza]

The Lowrance has an on/off switch independent from the display unit and, if I remember it right, it can be quite easily owerpowered in an emergency. Also, I think, that without power it is always off (the clutch lets go), so you can have as many safety switches as you wish. I do not find anything tricky about this one - comparing to other models. Besides the price of the control unit, which should not be a mandatory part of it at all.

But, wasting money on electronics I also bought the structure scan sounder and had a lot of fun with it looking at the bottom of the lake - old roads, farmhouse cellar holes, big trees standing on the old river bank, fishes in the tree crowns.... Hoping to get some decent pictures next season.

[tribologist]

We started out with a sport pilot that came with the boat. Used that with a Lowrance TI. Was quite happy with it besides that it required you to confirm each waypoint. I later added a NMEA-WiFi box that allowed me to also run it from a iPad with InavX on it. Then Defender put the Simrad 7" ESS Evo3 on sale for $700 with a $300 sounder so I bought that, sold the sounder and installed it and ran that for a while but I could never get it to track a route without having to confirm each waypoint. It should be possible but I never figured it out. I was trying to buy the outboard pack with the Helm-1, NAC-1 and AP1 but it was sold out everywhere.
What I ended up doing next was that I bought a used Simrad NAC-1Autopilot, a Pont-1AP and a NMEA2000 rudder angle sensor and then I gutted the electronics out of my Sport pilot and hooked up the motor directly to the NAC-1. Together with the ESS EVO3 it works like a dream. It will not give a nice ride in rough seas and it will crap out if it rolls really bad but in those conditions I don't think any normal autopilot can manage. Our last trip was from Whitehall NY up to Vergennes VT in lake Champlain and I never had to touch the steering wheel. Just autoroute it and hit start and sit back and enjoy the ride and the river is quite narrow. I would estimate the error to be about 30 ft at most. I had already replaced the steering system, If I would do it all over I would still buy another ESS EVO3, the combo of touch screen and buttons is phenomenal. If I had the old cable and steering I probably would have gone hydraulic and get a Outboard Pilot Hydraulic Pack but based on how well my Sportpilot work with the NAC-1 I would think the
Lowrance Outboard Pilot Cable Steer Pack would work fantastic too.

[Scudrunner]

I guess I'm old school and single-handed sailor. I've used "tiller tamers" and wheel locks which actually work fairly well. Before auto-pilots on power boat the helmsman would simply tie off the wheel. With this said, I have little time on an A-25. On a passage in open water, I think if I had to leave the helm for a short time, I would go to neutral and drift. But one could put padeyes on the dash beneath the wheel and use adjustable bungee cords.

[WillieC]

"use adjustable bungee cords."

My sediments, and practice, exactly. Adding padeyes would really tie the boat together. I just find a handy hookable edge and lean back. Somewhere here on AOG I have pics.

I get that long passages can get boring, but there is plenty to keep us occupied, even at six knots. And what's a long passage? At six knots, a run to the closest restaurant is one hour in the boat and about forty minutes by car. Between wind, tides, flotsam, the Olympic mountains, orcas, seals, herons, you name it, sitting at the helm gives the perfect window on it all.

These boats are quite tender. Any movement on board usually requires a minor helm correction. This could make for a good reason for autopilot, once all the slop has been removed from system. An autopliot that is that sensitive would be a definite consideration. Meanwhile, time to re-order new bungees.

[DesertAlbin736]

I get that long passages can get boring, but there is plenty to keep us occupied, even at six knots. And what's a long passage?

And a long passage might be, oh I don't know, say maybe Nanaimo to Comox?

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Maybe Erie Canal from Tonawanda, NY to Waterford, NY? Hudson River from Waterford to NYC? Jersey coast from Sandy Hook to Cape May? Up Delaware Bay from Cape May, NJ to C&D Canal? C&D Canal to Annapolis, MD? Annapolis to Solomons, MD?

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These boats are quite tender. Any movement on board usually requires a minor helm correction. This could make for a good reason for autopilot, once all the slop has been removed from system. An autopliot that is that sensitive would be a definite consideration. Meanwhile, time to re-order new bungees.

Actually one has to be at the helm for situational awareness & on watch for large vessel traffic anyway as the case may be. From our experience it's not that big a deal to hand steer. The Admiral & I can take turns on a long run, which in one day is never more than 40 NM or 6 or 7 hours & more like 30 NM or less. Unlike the open cockpit of a sailboat where putting the boat on autopilot and ducking in behind a dodger helps on a long passage, the real saving grace with these boats is that you're steering and "conning" the boat from a comfortable inside steering station with chart table at your fingertips & sheltered from sun, wind, & weather. It can be blowing like stink, raining, taking water over the bow & you're warm & dry without need to bundle up in foul weather gear or getting fried from the sun. Granted it's not as exciting as being on a steady beam or close reach in 10 knot winds in a sailboat bounding along with a "bone in her teeth", but with these boats it's more about the destination & scenery along the way.

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