Auto Pilots

Does anyone have any experience with the Autohelm SportPilot+. I'm thinking of fitting it to my Fairline Targa 33. The spec says it's okay for boats upto 10.7m which the Targa is just below. Is it man enough, or should I spend a bit more and get the more conventional "inboard" autopilot.

Thanks.

Bob

A friend has one of these fitted to his Targa 33 and it seems to work fine. My comments about it are it moves the wheel closer to you and the wheel is not as securely mounted as without. Does it work yes would I have one no I prefer the wheel left alone.

I recently fitted Autopilot on my NB Marine 750, semi-displacement motor cruiser. It's smaller than your boat. However, I was advised by DDZ Marine at Largs Yacht Haven that Sportspilot was not terribly suitable for cruising. I installed Raytheon ST6000. (I have hydraulic steering). It's great interfaced with my Garmin 185 GPS/chart/plotter. Worth the £££

I fitted the Navico PowerPilot to my Spirit 3000. Took a couple of hours to fit and worked perfectly. It replaces the steering head unit so hidden behind dash and didn't move the wheel out. Nice simple two button control unit and had NMEA input for GPS.

Doug

Thanks Doug - Sounds interesting - I'll investigate.

Bob

I must admit that I am tempted to pay the extra and fit the hydraulic sort, I think I may have to see how the funds work out once I've finished buying this latest boat. Thanks for your advice Charlie.

Rob

Colin

That's what I was wondering. I couldn't see how the wheel would be as secure - I think the hydraulic sort may be the option and others seem to agree.

Thanks

Rob

I believe it is the Simrad AP12.

Best of luck

Doug