Auto Pilot install

[Don W]

Hello everyone,

I purchased a 2000 Sea Ray Amberjack 290 in the fall. I am having all new electronics installed this spring. I asked the electronics installer about putting in an auto-pilot, he said it's too hard to get back there - he mentioned something about cable steering as opposed to hydraulic? I have twin Mercruiser 5.0 EFI's with B3's. Is this boat normally equipped with cable steering? If so, how hard is it to install an auto-pilot? I noticed Si-Tex has some "behind the helm" auto-pilots (see link) but honestly, I have no idea what I'm looking at. Any help or ideas would be appreciated.

https://www.si-tex.com/item/dashdriveforsitexautopilots

Thank You,

Don W.

 

[Skybolt]

So you are asking a very big question that really only you can answer. Given your boat year if your MFD(s) haven't been replaced you might want to consider that as well. But I would not wander from what ever you decide to upgrade with. There are too many auto pilot integration features that are brand specific. I would look at Garmin for your MFD and AP choice. There are two great threads going on now that speak to this. Read through the active threads and see what you think.

As too installation, it sounds like you may need another choice of installers if he doesn't want to install an auto pilot for you.

 

[stg099]

Autopilot isn’t a readily available option for cable steering boats. The newer axis boats have the auto heading option because they are hydraulically or electrically steered as opposed to cable. Not sure if there is an economically feasible option out there to convert to a hydraulic set up but I would imagine it would be cost prohibitive. Most AJ’s were inboard v drive with hydraulic steering for that exact reason

 

[OllieC]

Octopus has mechanical options for cabled steering. It's looks like there's an option for multiple drives as well. I am looking into this for my Weekender. These are just the drives. As others have posted, you would also need an autopilot electronics package like Garmin or Raymarine, to attach to this mechanical drive unit.


https://octopusdrives.com/products/type-r-mechanical-remote-drives/?wpdmc=installation-guides

https://octopusdrives.com/download/oc15280-rev-a-oc15suk12c-type-c-multi-io-connection-kit/

 

[OllieC]

Not sure if you're still around Don, but I reached out to Octopus. They have speed ratings on their mechanical drives and I was curious about that. I told them I was mainly going to use the autopilot for trolling and maybe an occasional cruise but never at 40+ MPH. The Type T is rated at 40mph and the Type R i believe is rated at 43mph. This is what I received back, so I will be moving forward with it this Spring.

"Thanks for your enquire!


The only reason we put in the speed limit is to ensure people do not rely on the pilot in general at such high speeds and steer by hand for better reaction times…


Hope this helps."

You should be able to install the Type R system onto your drives without issue. If you're somewhat mechanical, this seems like a pretty straight forward job.

 

[sea hare]

I have an Octopus type R drive.. Works great. B3's Cable steer