# Installing an (Hydraulic) Autopilot in Your Boat



## Workdog (Jan 10, 2007)

*I* finally got the go-ahead to buy an autopilot for the Grady. Hopefully, this quick tutorial will give you an idea of the autopilot equipment, extraneous parts, cost, and effort to self-install one of these devices in your boat. I am talking here about a hydraulically-actuated autopilot pump and control equipment installed between a helm pump and steering cylinder to steer your boat (not a bow-mounted electric motor).

1) *What Autopilot to Install?* I did a fair amount of research on autopilots. To keep it short, the general consensus on The Hull Truth (thehulltruth.com) website is that there are several APs that will work fine for slow trolling: Simrad AP-24 and derivatives, Garmin GHP-10, and Raymarine SPX-5 and SPX-10. Older units could include the Simrad AP-12 and 14. None of these are inexpensive! To slow troll, don&#8217;t be tempted to go inexpensive with a Raymarine S-1000. I&#8217;m sure they work fine above a couple mph, but, have been told (with the latest software) with the S-1000 engaged if your boat slows to less than 1 mph for just a second the S-1000 shuts down and you have to go over 3 mph for over 3 minutes to reset the AP. The S-1000 is cheaper because it doesn&#8217;t have a rate gyro needed for slow speed piloting (plus some other neat features). I searched around for a dealer, and found that BOEMarine http://www.boemarine.com/categories/marine-navigation-equipment/autopilots.html had the best prices I could find (they also had a sale at the time for an added bonus). BOE has a very knowledgeable staff, and their recommendation for my boat (Grady Gulfstream 23&#8217;, Seastar I helm pump) was either the Garmin GHP-10 or the Simrad AP-2403 VRF. Since I bought from BOE before and trust their judgment, I decided to go with the Garmin GHP-10. Garmin APs have a great reputation, they have user friendly controls and displays, and an NMEA-2000 interface with itself and other units (such as my Lowrance GPS, etc.).

2) *Garmin GHP-10: *You&#8217;ll find autopilots don&#8217;t come in just one big box. That would be too easy. Typically, you can either buy the autopilot electronics, cables, etc., in piece-parts which is the most expensive way to go, or in a &#8220;Corepack&#8221; such as Garmin sells. You also need to buy the steering pump unit as a separate item. The size of the pump depends on the demands of your existing steering system (helm pump size primarily), so that is why they don&#8217;t come packaged with the Corepack. I also wanted to be able to operate my AP from the back of the boat, so I bought a remote also. So, here are the components/fittings/tools required for a GHP-10 installation (see pics of the Corepack, pump, and remote at the end of the tutorial):

a) *GHP-10 Corepack:* The Corepack includes a GHC 10 helm control display, Electronic Control Unit (ECU), Course Compass Unit (CCU), Shadow Drive, CCU/ECU interconnect cable, Buzzer, ECU power cable, NMEA 2000 cables and connectors (including an NMEA-2000 network power cable and 120 ohm terminators), and mounting hardware (screws--most of which I couldn&#8217;t use for my application). The Shadow Drive gives you the ability to take control of the boat with the wheel without disengaging the autopilot first. Once you maintain a straight course the autopilot will automatically take control of the boat again. This is a very nice feature that other autopilots may not have.
*$1,530*

b) *Garmin 2.0 Liter Pump:* The pump also includes brass hydraulic fittings and mounting hardware (screws--of which I couldn&#8217;t use for my application).
*$765*

c) *Remote Control: * The remote control can do all the pilot functions that the GHC-10 helm control display can do. This unit is not essential to make your autopilot run&#8230;it is for convenience of the operator. The package comes with two holders you can mount in the boat to place the remote in, or, carry it in a pocket or around your neck. The unit is waterproof and floats.
*$236*

d) *Hydraulic Lines:* The pump does come with hydraulic fittings. However, with my particular existing lines to the steering/helm pump, I could not use any of the fittings that came with the autopilot pump. I went to a hydraulic shop and had three 7&#8217; lines with fittings and two 1&#8217; lines with fittings built, and bought other required connectors. The shop charged me 4 times the cost of the hydraulic lines I could have gotten on the internet. The connectors were closer to cost. Even so, I did not have the capability myself to crimp the fittings on the hydraulic lines, and, figuring out what connectors and lines were required took me and the shop owner an hour to decide. So, you might have to suck it up on hydraulic lines and fittings cost. The cost will vary, depending on where you mount the pump (distance from helm), and what materials you use (braided lines cost around $7/ft, standard rubber lines with one internal braid wrapping is around $4.50/ft, and flared copper tube (if you want to go that route) is cheapest yet. Figure on about $200-$300 for hydraulic lines (my setup cost $285).
*$285*

e) *Other various Requirements:* It&#8217;s hard to put a cost on this category. Everybody&#8217;s boat is different. Some of my other expenses included: $33 for 12 AWG wire to extend the pos and neg power lines from the battery to the ECU up in front, approx $10 for heat shrink wire connectors, approx $7 for stainless bolts to mount the equipment, $5 for zip ties, and $25 for Seastar hydraulic steering fluid. I&#8217;m not counting stuff I already had on hand to complete this project, including fiberglass matt and epoxy to build a shelf for the pump, liquid tape, etc.
*$80*

f) *Tools:* Besides the standard screwdrivers, wrenches and sockets, you will likely need a drill with typical drill bits and maybe a hole saw like my installation required; maybe a rotozip; heatgun for the heatshrink connectors; wire connector crimper; wire stripper; plastic zip ties; maybe a multimeter; shoplight(s); I needed a table saw to cut lexan for a panel backing for the helm display and for the shelf to mount the pump on; other tools may be required depending on your application. Lastly, you need knowledge (or access to someone with) on DC electrics, hydraulics, NMEA-2000 networking, and maybe on fabricating panels or fiberglass reinforcements to mount your equipment.

3. *Total Cost:* The cost of an autopilot can vary greatly depending on what you buy and how your boat is layed out. Some boats will be a lot easier to set up than others. In my case, as described above, it cost me close to $2,900 for the GHP-10 (including remote), parts, and doing the whole install myself and paying someone to build my hydraulic lines. In another boat, this project could run as little as $2,500 (w/o remote) to over $3,000.

4. *Lessons Learned:*
a) Before you start a project like this research the hell out of it. Once you determine what type autopilot to install, go online and thoroughly review the installation instructions before you buy to ensure the pilot will fit in your boat. The Garmin GHP-10 installation instructions can be found at: http://support.garmin.com/support/manuals/manuals.htm?partNo=010-00705-00&language=en&country=US

b) If you have an &#8220;unbalanced&#8221; steering cylinder at your motor (meaning--the steering cylinder is mounted to the side of the motor and not centered at the front), you will need to buy and install an &#8220;unbalanced valve kit." I don&#8217;t know how much one of those costs. Read about this on the pump installation instructions: http://static.garmincdn.com/pumac/1.2L_2.0L_Pump_Install.pdf

c) *THIS IS IMPORTANT&#8230;*Make sure you have room for all the modules in the system. The pump is heavy at 10 lbs and should be mounted flat. You have to be able to route hydraulic lines from the existing steering lines to the autopilot pump. The ECU needs to be mounted next to the pump because of a fixed length cable and neither can be mounted in standing or splashed water. The Course Compass Unit (CCU) needs to be mounted away from standing or splashed water and must be mounted away from any magnetic interference in the front third of the boat. The helm control unit is a 4 ¼ by 4 ¼ flush-mount unit. It must be located at least 9 ½&#8221; from a magnetic compass. Make sure you have a spot for this on your instrument panel. The helm control unit, ECU, CCU, and Shadow Drive must be located such that they can be wired together.

d) The Garmin GHP-10 autopilot will require an NMEA-2000 network in your boat. If you already have an NMEA network in your boat, just connect the provided cables and &#8220;T&#8221;s into your existing network. The GHP-10 will interface with your NMEA-2000 capable GPS and plotter. If you don&#8217;t already have NMEA-2000 in your boat, the Corepack comes with all you need to install a network.

e) The Garmin pump has a real nice feature in that you can disconnect and remove the pump for repair without disconnecting hydraulic lines by engaging shutoff valves on the pump head.

f) Hope you&#8217;re friendly with the shop making your hydraulic lines cause they can really bend you over a table on parts $$$.

g) If your helm pump (steering wheel unit) is vented, i.e., if it has a vented fill plug like most hydraulic steering units, make sure your hydraulic lines are all below the level of the helm pump. You won&#8217;t see this tip in the manual, but could cause seeping hydraulic oil out the vent plug.

5. *The End (or should I say, the beginning): *Hope this tutorial helps you with your autopilot install, or helped you decide whether to have someone else put it in or skip it entirely. Good luck! You may need it&#8230; 


*Picture Attachments:* 
GHP-10 Corepack, 2.0L Pump, and Remote Control


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## Misdirection (Jul 16, 2012)

Workdog, thanks for the post. I've been considering an autopilot on my boat but get a little frustrated when looking at all the options/ configurations out there...but their definitely worth it for the troller who spends many of hours up on the pond...

posted using Outdoor Hub Campfire


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## Workdog (Jan 10, 2007)

Misdirection said:


> Workdog, thanks for the post. I've been considering an autopilot on my boat but get a little frustrated when looking at all the options/ configurations out there...but their definitely worth it for the troller who spends many of hours up on the pond...
> 
> posted using Outdoor Hub Campfire


Give the BOE folks a call and tell them what you are looking for (I am not affiliated with them...they just have great prices and service). They can tell you what you need, or give you options, based on your boat's setup. They aren't pushy on the phone either. I called them up weeks before I decided to buy from them, so that I could research pilots and prices more.


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## Workdog (Jan 10, 2007)

Here's a follow up to my autopilot install which might further help you decide whether to attempt this project. When I installed the autopilot (Garmin GHP-10), I was having problems getting through the Dockside and Seaside Wizards which sets up the autopilot to my specific platform. It turned out that the Garmin autopilot *pump *was defective from the factory...it would not operate (everything else checked out fine). 

I initially called Garmin with my problem and the tech rep started giving me the runaround. I called BOE, and they really went to bat for me. They called Garmin, and I immediately got a call back from Garmin, with a shipping label in an e-mail. Shipping the pump to Garmin and back to me didn't cost a cent. My real beef with Garmin, besides the less-than-enthusiastic tech support guy I talked to, was, even though I was promised either my repaired never-used unit back, or a brand new unit, I got a refurb unit in the mail yesterday that looked like it spent some time on the bottom of Chesapeake Bay. The bolt pattern on the refurb'd pump required a new hole pattern to mount it (required drilling new holes in the mounting platform), and, three proprietary O-rings between the pump manifold and the refurb'd motor are worn, so now I have a small hydraulic leak. Other than that, my autopilot passes the Dockside Wizard, finally. Now to get Garmin to send me some new O-rings.... 

Looks like I will have to wait till Spring to get the boat on the water to check it through the Seaside Wizard to have a fully functional autopilot.

*CHANGE 1:* I just called Garmin to get a new set of O-rings, and they said I should have been given a *new *pump in replacement of my original pump which was INOP out-of-the-box. They are sending me a shipping label so I can send the refurb back (after I unbolt it from the boat). Bolting and unbolting is about a one hour project due to where mine is installed. Even so, I'm happy Garmin stepped up.


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## Uncle Paul (Jul 10, 2004)

Workdog-I have the Garmin TR1 Gold on my boat and can I give you a FYI, use Biodegradable oil in it.If you get oil leak its much easier to clean up with soap and water. Also if you get one that has a colored dye in it so you can find the leaks.


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## ezbite (May 25, 2006)

Looks like you got off pretty cheap, I hope it works


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## sherman51 (Apr 12, 2011)

all i can say is congrats workdog on getting you a auto pilot. and im glad they are stepping up with a new pump. you bought new, you shouldnt get stuck with a refurb. maby some day you,ll have an open seat and i,ll get to see how its working for you.

my little brother did most of our driving, but he passed on to the walleye capital in the sky. now my daughter n law has stepped up and doing most of our driving. maby if everything elce stops braking some day i might be able to invest in an auto pilot. but for now i,ll let my daughter n law do our driving,LOL.
sherman


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## Workdog (Jan 10, 2007)

Thanks guys! Paul, with the new pump I hope not to have any more leaks.  But thanks for the info!

Tom, it'll definitely work...cuz I installed it! 

Sherm, be glad to have ya on my boat! My son was my autopilot, but he is in love now, and I had to rely on other drivers. 

To Patrick, Ryan, Barry and Lloyd, if it looks like we might collide out on the big lake this coming year...I'll be on autopilot...it'll be your fault. haha


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## Workdog (Jan 10, 2007)

So, I've used my Garmin GHP-10 autopilot for a whole year now. Here are my impressions of fishing with this pilot one year on:

After my issue with the original pump being inop from the factory, and installing a brand new pump from Garmin at no additional cost, the Garmin autopilot worked without error throughout the year. I used the autopilot in all conditions and have no complaints.

Starting off; bleeding the hydraulic system takes twice as long to purge air out of the lines. This is probably the case for any A/P system out there. Additionally, you may find that you have to add a little hydraulic fluid to the helm pump for the next five to six trips on the lake. This could be a function of my helm pump or steering cylinder on the motor.

The hydraulic system on my boat is 24 years old now, and it seems the strain of running an autopilot for six straight hours a day may have resulted in some blow-through of hydraulic fluid in my steering cylinder at the motor. This winter, I will be taking that apart and installing new O-rings internally. I also replaced the helm pump under the steering wheel during the summer. When I talked to the guy at Seastar about replacing seals in the helm pump instead, he said: Your pump is 24 years old...don't you think you've had enough use outta that one?  A newer system shouldn't give you any trouble as I've had.

The Remote for my autopilot is worth every cent. I make all course corrections from the remote...no matter where in the boat I am. The remote can punch in one degree corrections, 15 degree corrections, or any of the pre-programmed profiles the pilot is capable of. The battery lasted all year.

The pilot tracks true at any speed, and in most wind conditions. I've slow trolled down to 1 to 1.5 mph (I need bigger bags to get slower), right along the breakwalls in Cleveland with a 10-15 mph North wind. Once you set the heading you want, the pilot keeps the boat on a straight track regardless of the wind. The autopilot will crab the boat into the wind (even with wind changes) to track straight along the wall with no additional user inputs. I've trolled for miles, with my outer board 20' off the wall without touching the autopilot. 

When my helm pump went bad, I fished several times almost strictly using autopilot inputs. My steering wheel during those trips was ineffective above 2-3 mph. So, once away from the dock, I engaged the autopilot and headed out the channel and 14 miles up the lake, trolled all morning, and autopilot all the way back to the dock. I ran on the autopilot all the way back in, 14 miles, with a 20 mph left crossing headwind doing 25 mph SOG. My track back to the harbor was straight as a ruler. It is impossible to steer a straighter track manually with a steering wheel than my autopilot can.

Momentary gusting winds can momentarily cause my boat to diverge from designated heading, but, this only happened a couple times this past year. The more important thing to be careful of is leaning against something with your remote control in a pocket. Had several instances where I accidentally disengaged the pilot and got the "WTF" from the crew. 

Noise: The Garmin itself does not make any noise while operating. Under some periods of high pump demand (such as when it is very windy), you will hear hydraulic lines vibrate as hydraulic fluid is being pushed thru them. This vibration is not very noticeable! The better you can secure your hydraulic lines, and the shorter the runs are from the helm pump to the autopilot pump, the quieter this vibration will be...maybe totally silent.

My first year with the Garmin GHP-10 has been almost all positive. Looking forward to year two on this pilot!


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## Misdirection (Jul 16, 2012)

I would second the remote control. A friend I fish with has a 37' fly bridge. With the remote, we can all stay down on deck fishing a d he can control the boat from there (you just gotta keep a look out which you would be surprised how easy it is to forget once your on autopilot and the fish are biting). I would also add that on occasion we have turned the boat the wrong direction due to facing the back of the boat instead of forward whole using the remote. But we'll chalk that up to rookie mistakes.

Also, as far as the Ray Marine Sport Pilot that goes behind the steering wheel, those are junk. I had one on my Baha Sportsman and it just didn't work well at trolling speeds.

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Ohub Campfire mobile app


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## Queen Bee (Feb 22, 2010)

I had a Ray Marine sports pilot on my 24 ft baha that gave me issues also
and started chattering mid season,i complained sent it back they sent another had the same problem until they upgraded the sports pilot and sent me the new upgraded version used it all last year with no problems,
and hopefully this year will be the same problem free,,
oh and 1 of my buddies had the same issues as I and did the same,
:T


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## Queen Bee (Feb 22, 2010)

SPX-5R is the new updated 1 I have now
Has been working fine so far


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## da-animal (Aug 19, 2010)

Damn Jeff lol, I'll just stick with my terrova! A lot of good info though, thanks


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## Workdog (Jan 10, 2007)

Thanks for the tips guys! Hope this thread helps anyone with autopilot questions.


da-animal said:


> Damn Jeff lol, I'll just stick with my terrova! A lot of good info though, thanks


Andy, you ain't livin till you're hands free above planing speed.


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