Need help from 330 & Marlin owners

[jip40]

My 2002 vintage autopilot seems to have finally crapped out. It is a Robertson AP-11 & it was on the boat when I bought it 5 years ago. The other electronics were Furuno and nothing was interfaced. The best I every got out of the Robertson was reasonable performance in fairly calm seas, any heavy seas would cause it to "FAIL" (which it did quite a bit). Now it will not hold a course in the best of conditions.

Over the past 5 years I have replaced the Furuno gear with Garmin - configuration now are twin 5212 chart plotters, 24" HD radome 4 kw radar, 1500' sonar and Sirius weather radar. I want to replace the autopilot with something reasonably priced but really good tracking. I am not nearly as concerned about interfacing with the 5212's as I am about it holding the course that I dial in.

From your experience with boats similar to mine, which units have performed well and which haven't. Looking forward to the sage advice this group c an offer.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Bayhouse]

Your setup sounds exactly like my last boat, a 30' Pro-line. I have the AP-11 on my current 2003 330 express and just can't seem to get the AP dialed in, even in calm seas. Heading SE, the pilot seems to work pretty well, but on the way back, BIG swings and frequent fails. On the pro-line, i added the Garmin AP and the integration with the rest of the system was very nice, could activate the AP from any MFD so that's a big benefit (especially if you have 2 stations like I now have). I will likely replace my AP11 with a Garmin pretty soon.

 

[SmokyMtnGrady]

I have a similar set up on my 228. I don't have the Garmin heading sensor for the radar. It seems to me adding a heading sensor will provide safety with collision avoidance and I think going all Garmin would help assure compatibility with the AP to the system.

 

[g0tagrip]

I have a Garmin GHC 10 on my Marlin. It does pretty good except in a quartering following sea. It over corrects. It does interface nicely with my 4212.

 

[Angler Management]

Garmin GHP-20. Not often and only in big big seas, occasionally a decent bump will turn the boat and activate the "shadow drive". Otherwise super easy to install and push button simple. I love it, although have no experience with other brands...

 

[jip40]

Thanks for the responses. I ran the same question on THT (The Hull Truth) and the consensus came back with Simrad AP24 specifically AP2404VRF. I had a problem with the Garmin network recognizing the radar & had a tech come on board to fix it. I ran the same question by him & his response was that the pump and the plumbing should all be good for any Simrad autopilot. He suggested that I do the dockside calibration and then the open water calibration. If that didn't correct the problem call Simrad cust service and see what they reccomend.

Considering that all I want out of the unit is to hold a straight course with the lowest outlay of $$, I think that is the approach I am going to take. Unfortunately because of personal & business travel it will be mid to late July before I get back down to the boat. I have a feeling that I'm going to be living with this situation for quite a while.

 

[Meanwhile]

I have the Simrad AP28 on my Marlin, interfaced with my Furuno Navnet II electronics. It was the best money spent. I use the straight line, but also use the circle and zigzag function when hunting for schools of albacore. I had it installed and had to have them check a leak. It was only a loose hose. I did switch to an aviation red fluid to spot future leaks easier. You may want to specify that on installation.

Randy

 

[Meanwhile]

Jeff, what did you decide?

My Simrad pump was installed on the shelf over the bilge on the starboard side and it became very corroded. It is like a sauna in there. On my raising the question of the installation location with Simrad , using an authorized installer, Simrad authorized a replacement pump. Darned good customer service. The installer did not charge me for time, only for different hoses to relocate the pump under my seat, nice and dry there.

I'm sold on Simrad if only for their customer service. I'm looking forward to using the AP for albacore this summer. It is difficult to run a 6 pack without a working AP when I don't have a deckhand.

 

[jip40]

Jeff, what did you decide?

My Simrad pump was installed on the shelf over the bilge on the starboard side and it became very corroded. It is like a sauna in there. On my raising the question of the installation location with Simrad , using an authorized installer, Simrad authorized a replacement pump. Darned good customer service. The installer did not charge me for time, only for different hoses to relocate the pump under my seat, nice and dry there.

I'm sold on Simrad if only for their customer service. I'm looking forward to using the AP for albacore this summer. It is difficult to run a 6 pack without a working AP when I don't have a deckhand.

Blaming it on old age - I forgot that I had posted this as I seem to have found a simple solution to my problem. I took the advice of the tech that told me to re-do the dockside setup and then run the sea trial procedure. A couple of months ago I went through the procedure and the AP was responding much better at least in fairly calm seas. About a month ago I was fishing by myself and the AP held perfect headings at trolling speed - which it would not do in the past. In the next two weeks I am going to make a 400 mile relocation run & that should be the real test - time will tell.

 

[Bayhouse]

I ended up replacing the AP11 on my 2003 330 with the AP24 VRF. I was able to use the same pump and plumbing, only changed out the displays and computer. Wired everything to my Garmin N2K backbone and everything works great together. I re-powered with 300 Zukes last year and I especially like that I can change the display brightness of the C-10 gauges via the AP24 control unit (night/day mode). The Garmins are independently controlled.