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I am having a Simrad Autopilot priced out for Fin Chaser. I need help from any of the faithful who have a fairly recent Simrad system. My question is do you have an 80 or 160 pump? and if you have the 80, does the boat steer straight in choppy seas or does it tend to zig-zag. I can save nearly $600.00 by going with the 80 pump but were are not sure it will perform as needed. THANKS for any help.

Dan
866-OC-FISHN (866-623-4746)

Dan,

Sounds to me like your problem isn't pump size, but one or both of the problems below:

1. Rudders are too small which causes the autopilot to over steer and it's continually trying to catchup to itself.

2. You have the sensitivity set too high, also causing an over steering condition.

UV had the same problem with the B28 style "postage stamp" rudders. Once the oversized rudders were installed, no more problem. He also had to adjust his sensitivity way down after the installation.

If you can't turn a circle against the running engine, when running on only one engine, then rudder size is the issue...

Br,

Patrick

Capt. Pat,

I have not yet purchased the pilot, the dealer and I are just trying to determine if I need to spend the extra $$$ for the 160 pump. I hate to spend the extra $600.00 if a 80 pump will work. I was thinking one of the faithful must have run into this issue before. According to Simrads Specs the 80 works for boats up to 35' and the 160 is for boats 35 to 50'. I am running your rudders and the boat steers way, way, way better than with the stocks. If anyone reading this has a Simrad system I would love to hear from you.

Thanks!
Dan

Dan,

Since you have my rudders, the 80 is all you need... With some where in the neighorhood of 300 pairs of my rudders out there, it's hard to remember who has them & who doesn't.

Br,

Patrick

i have the ru-80 pump and it works perfect with the captain rudders.save the $600.00 and buy the ap-27.go to the post on divinycell with mica and see my bridge that is a installed ap-27 it is movable with 20' of cord you can steer boat from cockpit as well as take up no precious space on bridge.far superior to ap-16 and is the same electronicly as ap-28 except ap-28 is a permanent mount.------look at picture!!

Thanks guys! I am leaning toward the AP-24 since it replaced the 16 but now has some added features I am looking for. Bob, does you boat hold steady in a quartering sea off the bow and what type of steering system do you have, Hynautic or Teleflex?

Dan

i have hy-drive head made in that land down under .totally superior to hynactic ----all 316ss.the hydralic cylinder is also hy-drive all 316ss.the steering is my own design similar to race car all ss. ball bearings.ends steering wheel feels like race car zero play.auto pilot holds steady in small craft warnings in any sea.never use it last weekend when small craft warning went to gale warnings 9 to 12 ' lucky for me i was only out a few miles with waves quartering to beam the bert was down to 12knots and taking a beating ,refrig. open and spill milk in the bilge, broken beer bottles,micro in sink,what a mess.

the difference with bewteen the pumps is not the "power" of the pump, but rather the capacity.. the 160 pumps more fluid faster than the 80. The pump that you need is dependent on the volume of the cyclnder. Somewhere on the simrad website you will find a list of the common teleflex and hynautics cyclnder models and it will tell you if you should use the 8o or the 160. The simrad pilots have a rate sensor that tells the pilot how quickly the boat is reacting to changes in rudder movement, so in most cases, i would bet either pump could be adequately controlled by the electronics - but, like you said, why spend the extra $$$ if you don't need it.

I have a hynautics k-19 cylinder on my boat and use the 80 pump...it works great. If you know the model of the cylinder in your boat, the answer to your question is easy. My previous boat was a 29 topaz and had a teleflex cylnder...i forget the model, but the specs from simrad showed that the volume of the cylnder was large, and i should go with the 160...it worked great as well.

Joef,

Exactly, I just didn't quite know how to word it. I can't seem to find any numbers on my Hynautic cylinder. The only thing I know is the steeeing head number. It is my understanding that the cylinder is the number I need.

Dan

..and post it here...i'[d bet one of us will know just by looking at it what model it is...if its the k-19, i'll know as soon as i see it

joe

All I can find seems to be a serial number right on to the Hynautic sticker. Any idea where I can find the k-19 or k-22

Dan

I'mheaded to my bat tomorrow or monday...i'll take a look...i remember having a hard time finding my number as well...i think it was stamped on one of the end caps...but not sure...will take a peak and let you know

Joe

That would be great! Last trip of the season today, ready for a break and some treestand time.

Dan
www'finchasersportfishing.com