SportPilot auto pilot

[Bill B.]

Does anybody have the SportPilot on their boat? What do you think about it?
Bill

[SalmonBum]

I had one and I hated it. Worked OK the 1st yr, if the water was calm and there were no winds. If it got above 3 fters or if I was trolling into a good wind, the ubit wasn't fast enough to keep up. Sold it with the boat and now have a Simrad on the new one. Love it. I have 2 brand new Sportpilot+ in my basement and I still went out and spent the $$ for a Simrad.

[Bill B.]

SalmonBum, What size boat do you have? I've got a 22' Starcraft Islander with a hardtop. I looked at the Simrads after your post. Don't want to spend that much. However, I don't want to get something I'm not happy with. I fish alone quite abit and need a hand with the helm as this boat will not stay straight. If I decide to go with the Sportpilot... do you want to sell one?
Bill

[SalmonBum]

The SP goes for around $850. The simrad is $1060. It's a no brainer. The extra money is well worth having a unit that performs when it's suppose to. Not to metion the fact it will outlast the SP by Years. Everyone I know that has a SP (and that is over 20) all have had problems except one, and I know that the NAV function doesn't work on his.

The units I have are new. They were put on two different boats and never worked, as most of them. If you want one make me an offer. Maybe they will work on yours.

[Bill B.]

Thanks SalmonBum. You've convinced me not to get the SP. I didn't see any Simrads that cheap. Which model do you have? Does it go on the steering wheel?

[SalmonBum]

I'm taking it you have machanical, power assisted steering. Make sure your not seeing the price for the Hyd. The unit goes behind the wheel, behind the helm, out of sight. You need to have at least 10" clearence behind the helm for the motor to fit. The motor is attached to the Rotary head unit, which you need a rotary steering cable. If you have Rack and Pinion, you need to get a new cable, about $100.

Look at Brokenlegdaves.com or bethelmarine.com

[Jason Adam]

If you look around, the AP12(Simrad) can be had for almost the same price as the SP+(Raymarine), and is 10x the unit performance and quality wise. The AP14,(what bill and myself use) is the same mechanically as the AP12, but gives you a remote and a digital course heading readout and visual readout for your settings. The LCD readout is really worth the extra $150. Dont spend $800 on something that will just p1ss you off when it doesnt work right, when for $900 - $1100 you can get 10x better and be satisfied with it.

Check out:

www.brokenlegdave.com

Mail him for pricing. He usually can get it done the cheapest. Steer clear of the big retailers for most of your marine electronics, as they are far from the cheepest...

[Bill B.]

Thanks alot guys. I'm sure glad I didn't waste my money on the SP. Looking forward to getting a Simrad. Thanks again. I really appreciate the help.
Bill

[Splitshot]

I had a Ben-Mar auto pilot on my first big lake boat and it worked well for over 10 years.

Last year I installed a Sport Pilot with rudder feedback on my 16 footer and so far it works perfect. I haven't had it out on the big lake though and that is the real test.

Most of the time my Ben-Mar worked great but in difficult rough conditions you had to watch it carefully. If the wind caught it just right it would try and correct but if it got turned too far, it would turn the other way in a circle. Not good when you had 8 rods our. lol

[SalmonBum]

Most of the time my Ben-Mar worked great but in difficult rough conditions you had to watch it carefully. If the wind caught it just right it would try and correct but if it got turned too far, it would turn the other way in a circle. Not good when you had 8 rods our. lol

The SP will work about the same in rough seas, if lucky.

And try that with 15 rods out........ All is good with the Simrad :)

[Splitshot]

I wish I would have talked to you last year before I purchased the SP!

[fmarke]

re: s/p
really rough!!!

[Shoeman]

Ray,

The Sportpilot will work once you realize its limitations. I kept an eye on mine and bought the remote that was placed near the stern. A few 10+/- degree corrections kept it on course. It also helped when circling a fish.

One thing I learned was never trust it in a head wind. The higher profile of my boat would catch the wind and it was over. Too late to correct.

Try to keep the wind on the sides or from the stern. It's still better than bitching at the guy on the helm...lol

[ESOX]

It's still better than bitching at the guy on the helm...lol

I have considered getting an autopilot for my boat, but figured I don't need one. I only troll when I have three on board. The guy at the helm gets the next fish. I never drive.LOL

[Splitshot]

Thanks Ralf,

Even though I have a couple of downriggers I doubt I will spend much time on big water when it is rough. Remember you guys almost turned me in for chumming.

I can tell you it works perfect in the river. I can troll 4 rods upstream and stand in the bow and cast. Think about that when you head south.

Paul, if you ever get one, you won't ever be without one again. When you want to go alone, it is the perfect setup.

[SalmonBum]

Ray,

The Sportpilot will work once you realize its limitations.

If spendiing a few hundred bucks more will get you one with minimal limitations, wouldn't it be worth it? I know I have had my New boat with the Simrad for 2 yrs, fishing an avg of 3-4 days a week form April til the end of August and I can count on one hand how many times I had to have someone at the wheel. More times that was due to too much boat traffic to use it rather than it acting up.

[Shoeman]

I totally agree, SB

I was just making reference to Ray, who had already purchased one

[SalmonBum]

I gotcha.

Just trying to stop someone form making the same mistake I did on the old boat.

[Splitshot]

SalmonBum,

In an ealier post I stated that I wished I had talked to you before I purchased my SP. Too late it is already installed and I have to live with it. Had I known I would have spent the extra two hundred.

It is obvious that you have more experience in this area and if I confused anyone I recommend they take your advice.

Ralf,

Again thanks for your advice.

[SalmonBum]

Not only have I used just about all of them out there, I have installed lots of different models as well. The Simrad was the easiest, if there is 10" of clearance on the backside of the helm and you already have rotary steering. If you have this setup, it's nothing to have one installed in about 30 minutes, after planning. If you have R and P steering, then add some time and $120 for a new cable. If the room is not present behind the helm, then you have to decide if modifications can be made to accommodate the head unit. Simrad's fluxgate compass can be mounted at 0, 90, 180 or 270° without issues and funky calibration exercises. This makes finding a suitable mounting location very easy, unlike the Raymarine unit. The Raymaine compass is very picky on its mounting locations. I have mine mounted 180° from the bow. I don’t think you can do this with the Raymarine.

[Splitshot]

I had a very difficult time finding someone to install my auto pilot. Finally found a guy at Bear Lake Marina in Bear Lake that did an excellent job. Had to fabricate a bunch of stuff too. When this one fails perhaps I could get you to install the next one.

Now on to another question. I just decided on purchasing the new Lowrance 332c depth finder and GPS and I decided on the Navronic 1' contour maps for the unit over the Hot Spot maps? Any advice would be appreciated especially since I will pick up the unit on the 7th of March.

[SalmonBum]

As you may know, I’m not a big fan of Lowrance electronics. I have seen a lot of issues with there stuff, from screens going, poor GPS tracking and blown out Transducers. I have a GM 2000 right now and hate it. I have 5 different chips for it, but never use them. When using the chips, it will only give you the option of “North Up”. I prefer Course up, so “up” on your screen is always where you’re heading. This may have changed with the new models. In my opinion, Garmin will give you the best bang for your buck while giving you years of trouble free use. I see less go wrong with Garmin than any other unit. If you wanna be a Balla and drop some cheese on a Hi–Dolla unit, then Simrad is the way to go. For something in the Midrange category, Furuno would be the choice. If I had to go out and buy a unit today and money wasn’t an option, it would be a Simrad unit, but I wouldn’t count out the Garmin 3010C. That is one bad **** piece of equipment. I know a guy with one now, and a few others with last yrs 2010C and they work fantastic.

One thing to remember, a fishfinder is only as good as it is set up. You can take a $3000 unit and do a poor job mounting the transducer, it won’t do you much good.

[fishin addiction]

Salmon Bum have you noticed any problems from interference with the transducer on your Garmin FF and a Fish hawk unit or vice versa. Just trying to pick your brain. Also have you ever tried a Cetrek autopilot?

[SalmonBum]

I don't run a Fish Hawk, so I couldn't answer that. Fish Hawks are very touchy when setting up with any FF, but mainly Lowrance. I have never heard of, or experienced interference with any auto pilot and FH on boats I have been on. I have been on boats with older Cetrek autopilots, but nothing newer nor have I installed one.

Back to the Fish Hawk, Things that will help you.....
1. Make sure the Feq. of the two units are different.
2. Mount the transducers on opposite sides on the boat
3. Run power from the FH directly to a different battery than the FF.

[fish-on]

i have several friends that got the sp and they all have had problems.the only one i've seen work worth a dam was the bem-mar.good luck