Auto pilot.

[knotflyn2day]

Hello,

I have a 263 Chase, 2001 model. About to re-powered with a pair of Suzuki 200 AP fly by wire motors. I am seriously considering adding an auto pilot during this process. I enjoy offshore fishing and find the convenience of an auto pilot a nice feature to have. My question is simply does anybody have advice as to a standard pilot that would work well for this configuration. If you are currently running the Chase model and have an auto pilot I would be curious as to your thoughts. Many thanks

 

[SkunkBoat]

You might consider going with the same brand as your Display/GPS/FF.
The new Suzuki displays are SIMRAD I believe.

I added a Garmin Reactor 40 with SmartPump to my 265 and it is the best money Iv'e spent in years.
I have a thread or two on here about the install.
https://www.greatgrady.com/threads/autopilot-upgrade-from-manual-hydraulic.26808/

https://www.greatgrady.com/threads/field-replaceable-fittings-for-seastar-5-16id-hose.27057/



PS...Please tell me everything about those Suzuki200APs!!!! many people here want to know....

 

[Doc Stressor]

Any of the autopilots designed for outboards (Garmin, Navico, Humminbird, Furuno, Raymarine) will work fine. You just have to make sure that the pump you install is matched to the volume of your hydraulic steering cylinders. They will all work with any multi-function display on an NMEA 2000 network.

I shopped them all recently and went with the Furuno NavPilot 300. The Furuno appears to have a higher build quality than the others. For example, the NMEA connectors are metal rather than plastic and everything is bigger. It also has a Sabiki mode that will hold your boat in place and a gesture feature that will set a heading anywhere you point the remote. The heading sensor is also very robust and appears to be resistant to all but the strongest magnetic interference. The only downside is that it isn't waterproof like some of the other units. What I like best about the Furuno is that it automatically adapts to different sea conditions. I don't know if the other brands do this or not. My old Raymarine S1000 did not do this.

But I'll second Skunkboats recommendation to go with the same brand as your MFD. That will simplify integration. I can run my Furuno from my Simrad EVO3, but I don't have all of the features of the AP 44. But once I got the Furuno is so easy to use with either the dash controller or the remote that I have no desire to run it form the MFD. But if you are short of helm space to mount a dash unit, you will want to be able to address all of the functions through the MFD.

 

[knotflyn2day]

Thank you all for your feedback. I will look into all of the recommendations. regarding the Suzuki's, once I get them installed I will be happy to provide an update. I can't say I recently changed out the fuel tank and if anyone needs information on that I would be happy to supply it as well.