*THE HULL TRUTH is the world's largest FREE network for the discussion of Boating & Fishing. Whether you're researching a new boat, or are a seasoned Captain, you'll find The Hull Truth Boating & Fishing Message Forum contains a wealth of information from Boaters and Sportfishermen around the world.
Welcome to the updated THT!
If you are having trouble signing in, please email feedback@thehulltruth.com with your username and we will help you. We thank you for your patience as we help you access the new site!
Random Quote: You touched the leader its a catch! (as I cry from the bridge)
IMHO TR1 is top notch, just purchased another unit, for my 33 Blackfin. MY first one is on my 28 Mako which has 250 Verado's for power the pilot is the best thing science sliced bread and the support and service you get is the best I have ever experienced in the marine industry.
I have the Furuno installed on my Grady and have been using it since it first came out some two years ago. It was easy to install and it works very good. It attached easily to my Furuno chart plotter and radar and has made the 100 mile round trips looking for blue whales off the coast of San Diego enjoyable. It works well at low speeds and does a nice job in following seas. I will easily buy another one for my next boat.
I had considered the TR1, Simrad and Raymarine and they all look like they would do the job. In the end it was the price and having all other Furuno electronics that tipped my decision to buy the Furuno auto pilot. From what I read here on THT all APs seem to do the job they were intended for well. If you have Furuno electronics the decision should be made easier since the rate compass directly connects to the chart plotter and you get with NavNet radar/chart overly for free.
I have the Furuno installed on my Grady and have been using it since it first came out some two years ago. It was easy to install and it works very good. It attached easily to my Furuno chart plotter and radar and has made the 100 mile round trips looking for blue whales off the coast of San Diego enjoyable. It works well at low speeds and does a nice job in following seas. I will easily buy another one for my next boat.
I had considered the TR1, Simrad and Raymarine and they all look like they would do the job. In the end it was the price and having all other Furuno electronics that tipped my decision to buy the Furuno auto pilot. From what I read here on THT all APs seem to do the job they were intended for well. If you have Furuno electronics the decision should be made easier since the rate compass directly connects to the chart plotter and you get with NavNet radar/chart overly for free.
Guess what, the TR1 also connects to the NavNet chart plotter and chart overlay is free too. I just baught the NavNet vx2 and Larry at TR1 said so.
I have the Furuno installed on my Grady and have been using it since it first came out some two years ago. It was easy to install and it works very good. It attached easily to my Furuno chart plotter and radar and has made the 100 mile round trips looking for blue whales off the coast of San Diego enjoyable. It works well at low speeds and does a nice job in following seas. I will easily buy another one for my next boat.
I had considered the TR1, Simrad and Raymarine and they all look like they would do the job. In the end it was the price and having all other Furuno electronics that tipped my decision to buy the Furuno auto pilot. From what I read here on THT all APs seem to do the job they were intended for well. If you have Furuno electronics the decision should be made easier since the rate compass directly connects to the chart plotter and you get with NavNet radar/chart overly for free.
Guess what, the TR1 also connects to the NavNet chart plotter and chart overlay is free too. I just baught the NavNet vx2 and Larry at TR1 said so.
...........and guess what...The simrad also connects to the navnet vx2 for the free overlay,too..
i think brand matching is more important when dealing with commercial type equipment. for instance, a simrad ap26 will only display and output magnetic heading. a furuno far2127 radar will only display a true heading. in this case, we always use a furuno autopilot because it will display/output in true or magnetic.
the nice thing about having a furuno autopilot with your navnet, is that the cable from the AD10 connector on the PG500 compass, will plug right into data 3 on the navnet. There is no splice involved. With another brand of autopilot, you would have to cut the plug, not a big deal, but it is one extra thing that could go wrong.
in any case, all the autopilots mentioned are only as good as the installation.
I have the navnex vx2 and the simrad AP26 and I didnt have to cut any plugs and there was no splicing. All the interfacing from the navnet to the AP is done with interface cables that tap right into the imput strip of the AP computer. All of the navnet interface cables are a plug on one side that will fit into one of the data ports behind the navnet and bare wires on the other side of the cable that easly tap into the computer.
Well, I went with the Furuno and I'm glad I did. The radar/plotter interface is great, particularly the overlay feature. Tracking at all speeds is fantastic. We were out last week in some strong quartering winds and the response was super.
First let me say they all work well, unlike 3 or 4 years ago.
You cannot buy a tr-1 anymore - You can only buy the Garmin GHC 10 and they are different. But the shadow drive is still there and it's worth more than any of the advantages listed above by any other pilot. The new Raymarine is in 2nd place with solid engoneering and a great display. The Furuno still needing rudder feedback and the Simrad having poor parts supply/support puts them behind the 1st two.
Just my opinion, and I sell and more importantly, install them all...I do expect Furuno to bring out a new generation soon....we'll see what Navico does with Simrad...
After following these AP threads, it seems the Furuno takes flack for the rudder feedback being necessary, not for performance of the actual autopilot. Does the standard rudder feedback unit fail with any frequency? More importantly, has anyone tried the commercial grade rudder feedback unit? Is this primarily an outboard issue? Thanks.
Furuno 511 versus TR1 autopilot 
