Autopilot on a CD

Do you have an autopilot on your C-Dory?

  • Mechanical autopilot

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Hydraulic autopilot

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • No autopilot

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Trolling autopilot only (e.g., TR1)

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Spouse/crew is autopilot

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Total voters
    0
Not yet, but I keep feeding him so one day I just might :lol:

I want he TR-1 Galdiator. Of course I need to send Junior ot college so a few more cheeseburgers might be cheaper for now.
 
As soon as I get the funds I'll have a TR1-gold ;) Those things are awsome... Then I want the TR1Gladiator for the main motor... Yeah right.
 
Did ya'all hear about the guy down here who was moving his 65' cruise from Marina Del Rey to Newport single handed? He put it on autopilot while he went aft to let out the painter for his dinghy. Boat took a sharp wave. Man falls overboard with no PFD. Boat autopilots itself onto the rocks at Catalina. Man spends 5 hours in the water (58 degrees) near a buoy. Couldn't get on because the sea lions owned it. Massive SAR exercise. Very luckily found before dark by a passing boater.

This was the "It can happen" opening to the Boating Skills & Seamanship class we started last week.

Bob Cat
 
Bob being that most auto pilots wont turn until you tell them to I really doubt the story. the raymarine systems won't turn at the waypoint until you push a button saying O.K. theres no boats to run into and we can turn know. Good feature if not a little annoying when fishing.

p.s. its a good reason to have a hand held wireless remote, wonder if the wife would buy that one as a "saftey feature"
 
"autopilots itself onto the rocks at Catalina" sorry bob I read "docks"not rocks. yes I beleive that it could find the rocks by its self. lucky for him it did not miss and keep going west.... It would have beena lot longer before they missed him.
 
Tom,

I'm pretty sure the TR1-Gold will actually do a cloverleaf all by itself. That is one of its main selling features.

One cool thing you can do with the TR1-Gold is to set a way point a bit ahead of the boat. Then set your trolling speed to the speed of the current. The Autopilot will then hold you in one spot! OR set the speed slightly slower than the current and back bounce down river!
 
gljjr":36rroz65 said:
Tom,

I'm pretty sure the TR1-Gold will actually do a cloverleaf all by itself. That is one of its main selling features.

One cool thing you can do with the TR1-Gold is to set a way point a bit ahead of the boat. Then set your trolling speed to the speed of the current. The Autopilot will then hold you in one spot! OR set the speed slightly slower than the current and back bounce down river!

CAn't wait to start playing with mine. It's all installed but I need a calm day to calibrate it.
 
The tr-1 is a great unit and i wish I had the cash for it, but its only good for trolling and not running on the main. I was hoping the new fishing features of the raymarine wireless would work on my st6001 but it will not. if yu get the s100 system them you will have the features of the tr-1 and the cruising of the raymarine system. the only advantage of the tr-1 is the speed control but they make a speed control called troll-masters. The thing that gets me about the tr-1 is the price. its what ? 3 grand. I paid only four grand for my whole raymarine system, gps, auto pilot, fishfinder,and chart plotter.
 
That TR-1 system is quite a sweet piece of equipment. At about $2.5k it ought to be!

One of the guys I fished with had a different approach to a trolling system that might be a little less expensive. He had a jet boat (river boat style) with a Yamaha T-8 for a kicker/troller.

Instead of having a the TR-1 autolilot trolling system, he had a bow mounted electric trolling motor with a similar built in autopilot system on it with remote wireless control. Such auto-pilot bow mounted motors cost from $750-$1000, approximately, quite as bit less than $2500!

The T-8 was used just to provide most of the forward thrust, and the bow mounted electric motor with it's brains and controls did the steering
through its lesser vectored thrust. Worked very well in freshwater lakes.

Might or might not have enough power in the front electric guide motor to stay on course in the ocean or strong currents, though(?).

Final deciding factor would be to consider if any cost differential was worth the performance differential.


Something more to mull over!

Joe.
 
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