Simrad SD10 Autopilot

[JNorseman]

I am presently considering a replacement for my old ST3000 autopilot that works for about an hour only if it feels like it and then sends me in circles and doesn't work again for anywhere between an hour to a month. It will be installed on my 33' 1973 Contest. So far the candidates are:

Raymarine X-5 Wheel Pilot - seems pretty reliable from what I have red
Raymarine X-10 drive three times the price of the X-5 - some good feedback on the web
Simrad SD-10 w/ AP24, AC12, FC40 for about the same price as the X-10 setup.

There is no feedback that I can find on the SD-10 drive. It being a cable drive has the not so wallet friendly requirement of needing to replace the drive cable every 150-200 hours or every two years. Considering that I would comply with the periodic lubrication requirement and my usage being about 75 hrs per year I could probably get another year or so out of the cable.

I do not see myself doing many offshore passages with this boat so the X-5 would probably serve me well.

However I do see myself doing a few and hence the thought of going with something more robust. If anyone has any experience with the SD10 or Raymarine linear drive I would love to hear from you.

Regards,

JNorseman
Morpheus
Contest 33

[e37duff]

which pilot did you go with?

[diz]

I too am looking for any firsthand experience w/ the SD10. Looking for a below deck autopilot for my Pearson 36. Have a NSS in the cockpit.

Thanks!

[diz]

In case anyone else comes looking for this info, here's a bit more I found:

According to this writeup:
http://www.octopusmarine.ca/content/...0printcopy.pdf

The SD10 is the same drive as the Octopus RS from here:
Canada Metal - Octopus - Mechanical Autopilot Drives

[funjohnson]

Diz,

Are you going to control the AC12 computer with the NSS or are you going to have a separate ap24 head? I'm looking into getting the NSS/AC12 and skipping the AP24 head unit. From the manual, it seems like the dedicated autopilot buttons of the NSS will work out just fine.

I looked into getting the Sd10 too, but after looking it over and the torque it makes, decided to go with a Raymarine type 1 linear drive. I figure that if I'm going from the Raymarine 4000+ wheel pilot to a below deck, I should have a higher capacity then the SD10 could offer. I'm only at a displacement of 12,000 pounds, but like having the high buffer.

Thanks,

Matt

[diz]

Hi Matt,

I intend to skip the AP24 as well. I got the NSS7 in the summer, and it does indeed have dedicated autopilot buttons, so I see no reason not to use it for that.

I'm also going from a raymarine 4000 wheel pilot. Will look at the raymarine drive, thanks!

[funjohnson]

Diz,

I looked at Raymarine's new E7 touch screen chartplotter which can run the autopilot too, but what pushed me towards Simrad is the dedicated buttons. I'm waiting until spring to pull the trigger on anything just in case someone comes out with something else new.

A day after I made the decision that I wanted a Raymarine linear drive, I found a used one at my marina for $200.

[diz]

Doh! Is it still there?