Bigfoote wrote:
"Larry" wrote in message
...
Time for a yearly update. I had a Bombardier Utopia - an 18' jet-powered
runabout that I added an autopilot to, but while it did work at higher
speeds, it failed miserably for trolling and fishing in general. Last
year I sold it and bought a center console Cobia, a 21' with a 150 hp
Yamaha outboard. I added a 15 hp (smallest I could get without ordering)
Suzuki outboard to use as a trolling motor. It is tied, mechanically, to
the larger Yamaha and sips fuel from the same large tank. It works pretty
well, and steers a straight course with no hands on the wheel.

Still, I'd like to add an autopilot IF (and only if) it can operate at
trolling speeds (about 1 knot or 1.5 mph). ComNav makes a few units which
look like they'd work, but I'd like to hear that from someone other than
the manufacturer or salesman, preferably someone who owns one. The boat
is equipped with a Garmin 540 combination fishfinder/GPS chartplotter
which issues NMEA sentences.
--

Larry
rapp at lmr dot com

Raymarine Sportpilot. It is a wheel mount unit and may not fit but I have
had one on an old Slickcraft for 13 years and it is still doing the job
trolling for salmon on lake Michigan about 200 hours a year. Did have to
replace the electronic compass module once but at a very reasonable price.
Even accepts waypoint data from my old Garmin GPS/Plotter. Biggest problem
if it fits the wheel is where to mount the compass at lest 3 feet from any
large metal mass (i.e. engine). Ideal is low and to the rear to minimize
roll and pitch effects on compass but not easy in a small boat.

Wow, that is really interesting. I think that is what I used on the
Utopia. Perhaps it was because it was a jet boat and very slow to
respond at trolling speeds. Interesting. Btw, the reason for getting a
jet boat was to eliminate the propeller. It could navigate in very
shallow water (so long as there were no weeds and not a lot of mud) but
it made an awful boat for fishing.

Did you have any kind of rudder sensor? I realize you probably have an
outboard, but trolling is really slow - the fact that it works is really
significant to me. Also, you put the compass in the rear - I tried it
up by the bow and amidships, I could not have put it in the stern as
that's where the engine was.
--

Larry R
rapp at lmr dot com