Autopilot for Marlin

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boatino

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What autopilot's are you running for a Grady White Marlin? Just spoke to BOE marine and they recommended the Simrad AP44 with the RPU160 pump. A lot of my inboard boat friends are running the Raymarine EV-200 with a type 1 pump. They said that pump would be undersized for my outboards and recommended the EV-400 unit. The boat is a 2000 Marlin. I slow troll for salmon on Lake Ontario so having a multitude of trolling patterns is really not a concern for me. I just want it to hold the boat on course. Thanks in advance for the help.

John
 
I have a Garmin GNP-10 on my 07 Marlin. I had it installed in 11. I can't imagine not having it. Highly recommend it.
 
What electronics do you currently have on the boat? If everything you have is brand X, then I would consider staying with brand X. Not saying other brands won't work together, but probably easier to integrate within the same brand.
 
drbatts said:
What electronics do you currently have on the boat? If everything you have is brand X, then I would consider staying with brand X. Not saying other brands won't work together, but probably easier to integrate within the same brand.
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Raymarine currently. Just a 7" combo unit and a 7" dragonfly, (which i hate). The A7D unit reads great with the original through hull transducer. I would probably upgrade soon.
 
2007 Marlin, Twin 250 Yamahas ... All Raymarine. ( hd radar, auto pilot, s127 with clearvision , e7, es78 with chirp downvision , Ray 218 VHF, .. EV150 Auto pilot ,, NO REGRETS AT ALL .. All networked together .. the Auto pilot will track to a waypoint selected. It seams that many Autopilot installations are not networked with the chart plotter ... With that configuration you loose half the value of having an Auto pilot. The EV150 "LEARNS" as it is used.. By tracking to a waypoint it makes course corrections and adjusts for wind, current, tide , etc. .. Right on the money every time.
 
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I run a Simrad AP28, on my 2007 Marlin with 2007 Furuno plotter. Everything ties together, but there are slight variations that drive me to distraction. It has to do with the heading displays. They don't match and are off by just a bit. It is not enough to tear it apart in search of perfection, but still it bugs me.

I'd never own another boat without an AP.
 
I run the simrad ap 24 withe 160 pump on my 272 sailfish with twin 250's and it is flawless. I slow troll for salmon as well here in washington. I also make long runs offshore for bottomfish and tuna, 40+ plus miles each way. Ive had zero complaints, in fact, it is by far my favorite added modification to the boat. I run 2 systems for electrinics and one is lowrance which is directly tied to my autopilot so I can choose a waypoint and nav to with the pilot. Its sweet
 
Garmin Reactor 40.... but everything else is Garmin... if i had Raymarine MFD(s) id be putting the Raymarine AP on there..... and once you have it you wont be able to live without it...
 
ttles714 said:
2007 Marlin, Twin 250 Yamahas ... All Raymarine. ( hd radar, auto pilot, s127 with clearvision , e7, es78 with chirp downvision , Ray 218 VHF, .. EV150 Auto pilot ,, NO REGRETS AT ALL .. All networked together .. the Auto pilot will track to a waypoint selected. It seams that many Autopilot installations are not networked with the chart plotter ... With that configuration you loose half the value of having an Auto pilot. The EV150 "LEARNS" as it is used.. By tracking to a waypoint it makes course corrections and adjusts for wind, current, tide , etc. .. Right on the money every time.
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Ttles714,
What pump are u running with your EV150 autopilot? I was told the ev150 wouldn’t be able to handle the size of the Marlin. It’s quite a bit cheaper than the EV-400 that was recommended..

John
 
NO Bail, I have the same issue with my Furuno AP. The boat heading is in blue and the AP compass heading in red. Since the auto pilot wanders a little with its constant corrections (wind sea etc.) I just thought that was the way it it behaves. Always finding the correct compass degrees set on the activator. Anyway, got to love the way it works, My first since my commercial fishing days and the best "mod" on the boat. My 2 bits, trapper
 
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Where did you guys mount the pump and course computers on your Marlin?

John
 
A consideration when choosing between AP brands for your boat: maintenance and accessibility for various parts of the AP. And installation location of parts which may require regular maintenance.

Please research what parts may need better access as they may require some maintenance such as heading sensor and perhaps more importantly the pump. On my Garmin GHP10 (one of the oldest Garmin AP versions), the 2.1L pump required 3 times to be removed for either maintenance or replacement. This pump (not sure if most pumps are similar design) requires regular maintenance to clean the brushes to keep the pump working properly. Perhaps due to being a new design there was no track record at the time, i hoped to install the pump and pretty much forget about it. But sadly and frustratingly this was not to be had.
i run Furuno electronics but chose garmin (GHP10 with 2.1L pump) for the pilot many years ago. I think an AP is an awesome well spent addition to any 20+ foot boat. That said, i did my own install and was part of the reason to go Garmin as it had the features i wanted which included a virtual rudder feedback that the Furuno did not have at the time—one less thing to install. I chose to install the AP pump on the starboard side between the AC unit and the hull side in the aft bunk under the helm area. Initially i thought this was a brilliant location but truly either regret the location or the pump as its a tight spot to work in and had to pull go back in and remove it 3x’s! Grrrrr, my back and butt hurt just thinking about it. Thank God i chose to go with quick connectors on the hydraulic lines.

I’ve also had to disconnect the gyro heading sensor temporarily to reset the AP for an issue so was happy that its location was easily accessible.

In hindsight, i would definitely install an AP but think I should have stuck with Furuno for this electronic item.
My GHP 10‘s pump issues was a real PITA and will always require some maintenance, no night mode for the AP display (kills your night vision unless you throw a towel or such over the bright display) and the PITA steps required to switch between tach sources on twin engine boats (switching motors when trolling to keep hours even). And also in stronger winds and currents, the AP will not maintain its circle patterns when turning into wind and will do a sharp turn which can cause some chaos if you are not prepared for such (My buddies simrad does better job of Consistently cutting out nice turns and circles as evidence by crumb trails on the plotter).

AP is a great idea, but do some research to pick the right one for your boat and your needs.
 
Bumping this thread to the top. Christmas gift to myself was the Simrad AP44 Medium Pack (all in $2050 USD shipped to US from Australia during their Black Friday sale https://www.bluebottlemarine.com/products/simrad-ap44-vrf-medium-capacity-pack.html - highly recommend).

Looking to mount on a 2002 Marlin with Simrad NSS Evo electronics and 225 Yamahas (underrated performance with these engines btw, 27-30mph cruise at 1.3 mpg and 39mph top speed at 0.9mph). Would love to know where folks with similar setups mounted the NAC-2 Controller, Precision-9 Compass, and RPU80 Pump on their Marlin / Sailfish / Chesapeake boats.

Concerned about the compass in particular as I've heard the Precision-9 is sensitive to interference. Thanks in advance!
 
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raymarine ev150, mouted acu and compass on cabin side of bulkhead just to right of door, no issues so far
 
fishtalk said:
Bumping this thread to the top. Christmas gift to myself was the Simrad AP44 Medium Pack (all in $2050 USD shipped to US from Australia during their Black Friday sale https://www.bluebottlemarine.com/products/simrad-ap44-vrf-medium-capacity-pack.html - highly recommend).

Looking to mount on a 2002 Marlin with Simrad NSS Evo electronics and 225 Yamahas (underrated performance with these engines btw, 27-30mph cruise at 1.3 mpg and 39mph top speed at 0.9mph). Would love to know where folks with similar setups mounted the NAC-2 Controller, Precision-9 Compass, and RPU80 Pump on their Marlin / Sailfish / Chesapeake boats.

Concerned about the compass in particular as I've heard the Precision-9 is sensitive to interference. Thanks in advance!
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Im in a similar situation. I Just bought a NAC-3, Pump-3, and Precision 9 for my Marlin and trying to figure out the best spots for mounting it all, especially the precision 9.
 
I mounted my Precision 9 on the starboard side of the aft bunk just above the little shelf towards the bow. I don't get any interference and it's closer to the waterline as recommended. Adding AP as well and need to figure out where the pump will go.
 
Harmon integrated into my Raymarine Axiom. Pump to Starboard behind generator. Mine works great for running but not trolling. I bet I could adjust the sensitivity somehow but waves and wind mess with it at slow speeds, it over corrects. When running there are often hours where I never touch the wheel… it just runs a straight line. So nice.
 
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