Navico Autopilots?
Jonathan W.
I am considering a Navico WP5000 for my Islander 44 because the latest
M&E Marine cataloge I received "says" it will handle up to a 45 foot
boat.
My guess is that it would not work in any kind of major chop or above
(being a wheel pilot) but then I'm more interested in light to medium
wind or power anyway.....
Does anyone have experience with this autopilot they would care to share
or other recommendations (BTW a serious below decks system is out of the
question at the moment)
Thanks for any and all input....
Jonathan
David Wells
It is better to go by the boats displacement. The WP5000 is rated to
17,000lbs. This is the fully laden weight. Also important is how the boat
handles, heavy, light, so on. The West Marine catalog indicates 40 ft or
17,000 lbs.
Dave
David Wells KD6TO (KD6 Teletype Operator)
FCC GROL with Radar and GMDSS Maintainers License
NMEA Certified
INTERNET: da...@cruzio.com
OPINIONS EXPRESSED ARE MY PERSONAL ONES AND
DO NOT REPRESENT THOSE OF MY EMPLOYER
Todd
I just installed the WP5000 on my Ericson 35. It works well, but this is a
12000# boat that can be balanced to steer with a few inches of wheel motion.
It also works quite nicely in chop, except 'way downwind. I had a loose
cover on it, so I had a chance to see the motor, which is well made but
small. So unless your boat steers lightly I would wonder about 44' for this
unit.
Todd
meuz...@mail.marc.utah.edu
jons...@tiac.com wrote:
>
> I am considering a Navico WP5000 for my Islander 44 because the latest
> M&E Marine cataloge I received "says" it will handle up to a 45 foot
> boat.
>
> My guess is that it would not work in any kind of major chop or above
> (being a wheel pilot) but then I'm more interested in light to medium
> wind or power anyway.....
>
> Does anyone have experience with this autopilot they would care to share
> or other recommendations (BTW a serious below decks system is out of the
> question at the moment)
>
> Thanks for any and all input....
>
> Jonathan
>
We started with a WP 5000 on our 43 ft, 25,000 lb boat and found it to be
marginally sufficient in waves up to 6 ft. The belt would tend to slip,
causing irritating whining, much wear and poor control behavior. However, we
liked Navico and their first class service. So we traded the WP 5000 for
their heaviest tiller pilot (then TP 5500) which can generate more torque and
was attached directly to the rudder shaft by means of a short tiller under
the helsman's seat. This worked well enough to get us to Hawaii and back,
although we went through two TP 5500 units due to excessive wear of the
internal (nylon) cam wheel. The advantages of the TP units over the WP units
are fourfold: (1) more power, (2) more precise steering (faster and less
play); (3) permanent availability of an emergency tiller; and (4) direct
compatibility with windvane systems (if you eventually decide to get one). We
now use the TP 5500 with a Scanmar Autohelm windvane and are very happy with
this combination. Throughout it all, Navico has kept giving us great service
(above and beyond their warranty obligations).
Flying Dutchman
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meuz...@mail.marc.utah.edu
David Wells
In article <6gkjsl$jba$1...@nnrp1.dejanews.com>,
The Navico and Autohelm "cockpit" pilots are what I refer to as "toy"
autopilots. They are not meant for long crossings such as WC to Hawaii. If you
can live with the fact that they will fail then OK. Keep a spare
onboard. Otherwise buy a "below deck" pilot that will work and last longer.
meuz...@mail.marc.utah.edu
da...@cruzio.com (David Wells) wrote:
>
> meuz...@mail.marc.utah.edu wrote:
> >
> > jons...@tiac.com wrote:
> >> (snipped)
> >> Does anyone have experience with this autopilot they would care to
> >
> > So we traded the WP 5000 for their heaviest tiller pilot (then TP 5500)
> >which can generate more torque and was attached directly to the rudder
> >shaft by means of a short tiller under the helsman's seat. This worked well > >enough to get us to Hawaii and back, although we went through two TP
>
> The Navico and Autohelm "cockpit" pilots are what I refer to as "toy"
> autopilots. They are not meant for long crossings such as WC to Hawaii. If
> you can live with the fact that they will fail then OK. Keep a spare
> onboard. Otherwise buy a "below deck" pilot that will work and last longer.
If you read the first post a little bit more carefully, you will see that the
author aks (a) for experience (not undocumented opinions) and (b) has already
stated that a below decks autopilot is out of the question. Furthermore, even
if you have the space and the money to mount one, a below decks autopilot has
one big disadvantage: power consumption is approximately 10 times that of the
"toy" pilots. On that same Hawaii trip we lost our engine (blown starter
motor) barely 5 days out but were able to provide sufficient power for
radios, lights and autopilot with a (towed) generator. If we would have had a
below decks a.p. we would have been handsteering the rest of the way.
If you also read my own post carefully, you will discover that I am not
advocating the stand-alone use of electromechanical autopilots for offshore
passages, but rather the combination with a windvane. The beauty of that
combination (as opposed to below deck pilots) is that the windvane gets
better when the wind gets stronger and that the electromechanical pilot can
help the windvane out when there is too little wind.
When you visit foreign harbors where cruisers congregate after offshore
passages, you will nearly always find boats waiting for autopilot (below or
above deck) parts to come in. A good windvane can be repaired with simple
tools and the cost of having a spare electromechanical pilot or two
(remember, even the smallest model will do the job of controlling the
windvane) is trivial compared to that of a below deck system.
Tom Baker
I was running out of money equipping my Hylas 44 but wanted an autopilot for
coastal cruising. The Navico wheel pilot was rated for far heavier a boat
that the Autohelm. I had used an Autohelm 3000 on an Endeavor 37 (20000
lbs) for over 8 years with no problems but an Autohelm 4000 on my Ericson 34
was always crapping out so I decided to go with Navico WP5000. I have one
on my Hylas 44 which displaces 22320 lbs. The Hylas has a long modified fin
keel that tracks very well. If you adjust the sails so there is minimum
weather helm, any wheel pilot does much better. The Navico has handled our
boat off the coast in 10 to15 foot seas without any problems ONCE you:
adjust the autopilot lock to lock ratio for your boat
adjust the autopilot play for the sea conditions
adjust the belt for tension properly at install time
adjust the sails for minimum weather helm
Tom Baker S/V Warm Rain
Jonathan W. wrote in message <352C3C...@tiac.net>...
>I am considering a Navico WP5000 for my Islander 44 because the latest
>M&E Marine cataloge I received "says" it will handle up to a 45 foot
>boat.
>
>My guess is that it would not work in any kind of major chop or above
>(being a wheel pilot) but then I'm more interested in light to medium
>wind or power anyway.....
>