Autopilot RayMarine vs Garmin

[TruNorthSailing]

We are looking to purchase a new 2016 Helia 44. We just sailed a 2015 with a Garmin autopilot and it sailed like a drunken sailor. Any feedback on the Raymarine?

Much Appreciated!

TruNorthSailing

[Cap Erict3]

It is the boat tracking and sail trim on my shoal draft full keel boat that makes all the difference. When my rudder position is on centerline ftmp, the AP has little to do..

In tight quarters I turn the response level high and it travels straight but adjusts constantly and quickly when needed.

I prefer wide open spaces, lowest response level and letting her dance. Much like I hand steer.

I have a RM wheel pilot core pack running a below decks hydraulic piston pump with an unbalanced hydraulic ram. I am real fond of it.

Knock wood

[Cruisingscotts]

Thats interesting, 2nd post in few days with some not so good feedback on Garmin AP, pun intended. I have all Garmin nav elec right now, which I'm pretty happy with and have been on the fence about using their AP. I put a Simrad Robertson on our last boat and loved it, it was one of the few items I never had to touch after commisioning. Will be interested in feedback from others. Never have liked Raymarine due to its propriety nature so no help there.

[NSboatman]

I just (as of 2 days ago) finished installing a ghp 12 package, driving an L&S hydraulic ram, on our 42,000lb boat. I've done a lot of work on a lot of different boats, but this install took a huge range of skills to complete - from welding in new mountings, to adapting the rudder shaft, to creating mounts for the feedback sensor, to hydraulics (needed to re-route the hydraulic lines) to nmea interfacing fun, to the more usual wiring and fitting stuff. not a trivial job! I probably have about 80 hours all in on it. I'm glad I'm not paying someone else to install it! none of that was really due to any issue with the unit (Except the ECU was DOA - bought it 'new' on this forum and I"m still trying to see if the seller is going to come clean with original receipts... it is alleged to have come direct from West Marine - and indeed the boxes all had seals on them - but the ECU had two case screws sheared off and a capacitor was floating around inside the case when i opened it...). Anyway - we'll see how that turns out. In the meantime I've been forced to shell out another $800 for a new ECU. Caveat Emptor. About to leave for 4 weeks on a cruise, so I'll report back on our experiences with it. it did fine for the half hour sea trial, but we haven't pushed it yet. I like the garmin gear, have used it exclusively elsewhere. In my opinion, they are punching above their weight these days. maybe it's a bit of the aircraft equipment mentality sneaking in to the marine world? we can hope...

bg

[barnakiel]

If I remember well, Garmin makes autopilots that match Raymarine ones. Something called Reactor Solid State something.

BTW how the AP manages is nearly always a function of good sizing and commissioning, not of which make you have.

Cheers,
b.

[Opie91]

Originally Posted by TruNorthSailing

We are looking to purchase a new 2016 Helia 44. We just sailed a 2015 with a Garmin autopilot and it sailed like a drunken sailor. Any feedback on the Raymarine?

Much Appreciated!

TruNorthSailing

Personally I have not installed or sailed a Garmin Autopilot installed in a sailboat.

That being said, it is likely that the Garmin Autopilot was not set up properly to the boat you sailed on.

I have installed more than my share of Raymarine units and a Raymarine will wander like a drunken sailor too if it is not set up right.

Personally we have a Raymarine S1G wheel pilot. Motoring it does great, sailing it is OK. Sailing down wind with following seas it just cant keep up (not many can, especially wheel pilots). Upwind in the chop it can have problems too. This probably has a bit to do with by boat design also. Bottom line if you can balance the boat and keep the helm load fairly constant it will do good.

A below deck autopilot would deal with these issues much better. Next time Ill probably get a Simrad.

[RaymondR]

I have had a couple of Raymarine wheelpilots and my experience is that the electronics was very good and the mechanicals flimsy plastic rubbish. My new boat has a Simrad hydraulic drive autopilot and I was very impressed by the hydraulic components which look very solid. I have two sets of Raymarine electronics and will be transferring one of them to the new boat to adapt to the Simrad unit. No experience with Garmin autopilots.

[ErikFinn]

" (Except the ECU was DOA - bought it 'new' on this forum and I"m still trying to see if the seller is going to come clean with original receipts... it is alleged to have come direct from West Marine - and indeed the boxes all had seals on them - but the ECU had two case screws sheared off and a capacitor was floating around inside the case when i opened it...) "

---------------

Whom did you buy it from? From a newbie or old member? I wish to beware.

[chuckr]

We have a Raymarine on our Jeanneau DS40 and all we can say is wow. In over 9 years of cruising and over 30k miles our Otto Pelo (we named it - it is French boat after all) has worked flawlessly. It ran without a hiccup on a 21 day Atlantic crossing. It does most of the work on all of our voyages once we are safely beyond our last port/anchorage and before our entrance to the next when we hand steer.

The only exception in when the seas are on the stern and I think that will occur with any auto pilot.

[Emerald Sea]

TruNorth, you don't mention anything about the setup of the Garmin AP on this boat you sailed. And as with other posts, all elude to a proper setup to gain the most effectiveness from the system. Are you sure this particular Garmin was correctly setup? Can you describe the settings? Then perhaps you'd get a more defined answer.

We have a 2014 cat with Raymarine SPX30 and no issues whatsoever. I also know other cat owners with Garmin system, also without any ill effects.

[ColdEH]

Never sailed a boat with a Garmin AP , but sounds like they have a few bugs to work out . Proper initial setup is paramount with any autopilot. All my boats have had Simrad Robertson setups up . The last one with a linear drive that worked very well this boat has a MAMBA rotary drive with a rack and pinion drive , so far flawless.

Regards

[Steve O]

I have the Garmin AP (GHP12 & below deck ram) on a 37 ft Tartan Sailboat and it works flawlessly but had a Raymarine wheel AP and it was terrible. The reason, I was told, was the Raymarine was undersized for the boat.

[artisanmach]

I love my Garmin GHP10. easy install, works flawlessly. I kept my Raymarine Type II linear actuator. the only thing I had to do to use the Ray marine Ram was install a rudder position sensor. it is so easy to use...

[Caleb C]

We installed a Raymarine Evolution AP this spring to replace an old unit that was having issues. Ours is the EV-200 Sail with Linear Drive and p70 control head.


We've put approx. 350 miles on boat since install. Love it! There are 3 steering response levels of sensitivity that you will want to experiment with.


We especially like using Wind angle mode while sailing. Makes singlehanded tacking a breeze.

[robert sailor]

I'm probably going to put the kiss of death on our pilot but we are using a Raymarine and it's been flawless. It steers our boat with ease in any conditions including dead downwind offshore. We have Garmin electronics on our light aircraft and they have given very good service, not sure about their marine stuff but no reason they would not build a good product. Make sure the pilot,whatever the brand, is sized properly as its always better to have a more powerful unit taking it easy than a smaller one working it's ass off.