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James427 · 05-08-2008, 20:44

I am totally new to ocean going boats. I am moving to Florida and have a house on the Channel leading to the gulf with a dock in the back yard. I'm not made of $$, so I bought an old boat to fix up. A 1969 Bertram 25 Sport fisher with twin Chrysler 240's. It has been sitting for a little while but it came with TONS of stuff and it looks like it is in really clean and solid shape. Nothing a little cleaning can't make look a LOT better. It was repowered in 1985 and also restored with new upholstery, some electronics and new hull paint so really there is not that much work to do. I might have to do some engine work but that's not too hard on a Chrysler 318 engine.

What I am posting about here is that one of the things that came with the boat is a brand new in the box Wagner autopilot. It is designed for hydraulic steering and this boat has cable steering so it was never fitted.

Does this unit have any value? I know that there are much better units available now that work off of GPS and not a magnetic electronic compass. Maybe someone just needs some replacement parts for there existing unit. Any ideas on its value??

Thanks in advance!
James

I also posted in the Meet and Greet "NEWBIE" section with a picture of my boat and a poll on if you think I got a good deal! Check it out!

cmp · 06-08-2008, 12:12

let me know what model it is, I need parts for a wagner mark 4. what parts do you have or is it complete?
thanks chris fishyarns@yahoo.com

James427 · 06-08-2008, 14:12

I'm not sure exaclty what is in all of the boxes since I did not take it out and look at it, but here are some pictures of what I have. I do thinki it is 100% complete and as you can see it is brand new and never been out of the box.

Oh, and my first post about my boat in the meet and great section was deleted by the admin. If anyone is interested in seeing a pic of it it is also in the upgrade and maintenance section.

Chief Engineer · 06-08-2008, 18:02

Go back to meet and greet ans tell us mo'

James427 · 06-08-2008, 18:22

Thereis more about the boat in the following post if anyone is interested.

http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/...m-i-17967.html

JufairD · 11-01-2009, 05:21

Ive only just seen this posting and as it was from August you may already have the answer...

The Autopilot shown in the pics is a Wagner Micropilot, manufactured around 1987/88 before Wagner Engineering Ltd went bust. They reformed as the Wagner Autohelm Corporation and built a successor to the Micropilot called MP320 but that company didnt last long into the 1990s. There are lots of Micropilots still about and I would bet that people would be interested in getting their hands on spare parts. May be worth you contacting Marine-Plus.Com* "Sea Chest Of Treasures"wagner/wagner.html as they seem to sell these parts.

I think you have the following:

Micropilot Control Head
MP-F fixed remote control
PV100-12-TR pumpset (great hydraulic pumpsets, and the drive pcb in the junction box on top of the motor is worth money)
Rudder feedback unit
Electronic Fluxgate Compass
MOJB - Multi Option Junction box

The touch pad keys on the front of the Control head wear out, as do the LCD displays - so the front panels of the Control Head and RC-F are useful. The rudder feedback unit on this autopilot was a low cost automotive sensor (I think from a cruise control) and also subject to failure so could be useful to anyone that has a Micropilot or MP320 with a failed unit.

The Electronic Fluxgate Compass was an early version and pretty crude. They either worked well for a long time or failed fast.

mike d. · 11-01-2009, 06:28

there is nothing wrong with a flux gate compass autopilot. they are self contained. what more could you ask? if you have your autopilot connected and run off your gps (i know it is convenient) and something goes wrong with your gps your out the autopilot also. if you run only off your flux gate and your gps goes south your autopilot will still function. having your eggs in one basket is never a good thing. if it were me i would try to find the components to change your unit to a cable steered boat, then if you eventually go to hydraulic steering you have the components to convert back!

JufairD · 11-01-2009, 07:22

Yes - Mike D - I agree that theres absolutely nothing wrong with a flux gate autopilot.

I was only comenting on the particular electronic fluxgate compass that Wagner built in the mid-late 1980s, as shown in the photo from James427.

When it worked - it worked well, but that particular electronic fluxgate compass had issues regarding its reliability and wasnt particularly robust (and it wasnt well sealed and a number of people put it on the wheelhouse roof only to find it failed after water ingress)

Incidentally - this Autopilot was made well before GPS was available. It did have an optional interface to a Loran Tracker NMEA 0180 output which was only cross track error, but advanced technology at the time!

sailinggoodnews · 01-05-2009, 14:59

Hi
Do you still have the Wagner Autopilot for sale?
Ours just broke and we need one for parts.
thank you
michael gallagher
sailinggoodnews@yahoo.com

JufairD · 02-05-2009, 09:38

Hi Michael

If you follow the thread you will see that the seller of the Wagner Micropilot is James427. I just responded to his request to identify what type of Autopilot it was. (I worked for Wagner in the 1980s & early 1990s and was quite familiar with these)

Cheers
jufaird

Quote:

Originally Posted by sailinggoodnews