*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!
Always been a garmin person. New boat (33'hydrasports with (3) 250 Evinrude DI's) has a Ray C120. I like the ray fishfinder better than Garmin and the radar isnt bad,but I dont like the GPS anywhere near as much.
I miss having autopilot. I am looking into Ray and Garmin but I trust garmin better based on past experiences.
How hard is it to install the Garmin Autopilot. Ive done almost everything on my boats and my first inclination was to have it done until I got the quote. Now Im thinking about doing it myself. Anyone out there install a Garmin Autopilot? How did it go?
I installed my GHP10 myself. I had the hoses made by Andy at Ship Yard Island. The install was very straight forward. I did have to chase down a couple hydraulic leaks which were the result of a connection or 2 that were not tight enough but that was my own fault. If you plan aboout 8-10 hours of work and are comforable doing wiring and bleeding the hydraulics, than you should have no issues. I used a hand pump vacuum bleeder that I picked up at west marine which made bleeding the steering a breeze.
I also installed my Garmin chart, radar and all my other electronics myself as well. For me, that stuff is easy and straight forward and remotely enjoyable. I just hate cleaning up my mess.
If you actually operated both AP's BEFORE you bought one, you would hands down go with Raymarine's. The integration with the plotter is awesome. Nowhere near is the Garmin....
You owe it to yourself to check out someones system BEFORE you buy. But I'm telling you, the integration is where it's at. Besides, now Raymarines AP is rudderless and the on water setup is EXACTLY like the Garmin AP's.
Just advice, take it for what its worth. I've run them both....
I've installed both rm and garmin ap's integrated with chartplotters/radar/etc.
Neither was particularly difficult, but both took a while in terms of wall time. The advantage to having done it before is efficiency. You know what fittings you need, where to get them, how to bleed the system correctly, etc.
For example, my new boat has a vetus steering system, which uses Metric threads. All of the AP and hose threads are standard. It took me some noodling and hunting to mate everything together properly. Not rocket science, but it was a treasure hunt for a while.
The most critical step is finding a good place for the compass. Otherwise, it's just following directions, making trips to the hardware/plumbing/marine/internet stores, following more directions, making more trips.......
I also second getting your hoses from andy. They are first rate and priced well.
__________________
Terry Jason 35, Yanmar 370 hp, Lots of fun at a leisurely pace
I recently installed a GHP 10 on my Sailfish and most of the installation was pretty straight forward. I would also recommend using Andy at Shipyard for hoses. My issues were hydraulic leaks do to incorrect thread sealant (Buy the exact kind that Garmin recommends!!), finding the correct NMEA 2000 cable for my Command link tach signal (See Jim @ BOE) and integration with my C120.
Now that I've installed the first one, I would definitely do it again.
The differences between the amount of button pushing between the two is night and day.
Raymarine's system is the same as Garmin's as to the route acknowledge (moving cursor to spot and hit either "goto" for Ray or "route to" for Garmin) ...but, the difference is after that. The Garmin you have to goto another menu on the GMI's display, and accept the route "via GPS". The Raymarine would have initiated the second you hit the "go to" command and then "Auto". So, you are doing everything via the plotter on the Raymarine and not having to reach and mess with another device. It is alot of additional button pushing. For some people having dash space and reaching is not as easy, so the plotter being in reach is a VERY nice advantage.
I just wanted to make sure that people know that there really is a difference between Raymarine's intergration and Garmin's. They really are different.
That's not correct. In an OLD version of the Garmin software, that is how I remember it working. But as of the last v\few versions of software, you don't have to push ANY buttons on the Garmin GHP10 auto pilot display. When you hit Goto, Route to, OR (Best yet!) GUIDE TO (the Garmin chartplotter MAKES a Route from your current location to point B where you want to go, using nothing but the chart), the plotter simply askes: "Do you want to engage the AP? Y/N Press YES on the plotter display and off you go. And, when you reach any turns in the route, the AP just turns the boat to the next heading. No confirmations, no notta.
I actually haven't hit any of the buttons on my AP display in months. Oh wait, not true. You have to hit the Power button to dim the backlighting when it gets dark. That's it.
As for the install, they are not that hard. But they do take some time. I think 8 hours is only for a advanced installed who has done it several times. If it's your 1st or second time, I'd say 2 FULL days for mounting pump, mounting display, mounting compass (CCU), the black box, and then running the hydrolic hoses. Then running the wires: NMEA 2k wires, network wires, power wires, fuses.... Bleading hydrolics, then an hour playing with the software, and settings, calibrating connection to tachometer, then lastly the seatrial.
Garmin Autopilot 
