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Simrad
Autopilot Guide
Drive Units for Marine
Autopilots
A marine autopilot drive unit translates instructions from your autopilot system
into movements of your rudder or outboard. The drive unit you’ll need depends on
the type of steering system you have and the size of your boat. There are two
main types of drive unit:
-
Hydraulic steering pumps add autopilot capabilities to outboard or sterndrive
(inboard/outboard) vessels with existing hydraulic steering systems.
-
Mechanical drive units add autopilot capabilities to cable-steer runabouts and
larger rudder-steered vessels with inboard engines.
|
Steering System |
Size/Capacity/Compatibility |
Recommended AP Drive |
Required Computer |
|
Outboard/Stern Drive with Hydraulic Steering |
Hydraulic cylinder < 15 cubic in or 250cc |
RPU80 |
NAC-2 |
|
|
Hydraulic cylinder(s) 10-33 cubic in or 160-550cc |
RPU160 |
NAC-3 |
|
|
Hydraulic cylinder(s) 17-58 cubic in or 290-960cc |
RPU300 |
NAC-3 |
|
Outboard/Stern Drive with Mechanical Steering |
Compatible with Morse 290,304411 and TeleflexSSC52 cables. |
Helm-1 |
NAC-2 |
|
Inboard with Hydraulic Steering |
Hydraulic cylinder < 15 cubic in or 250cc |
RPU80 |
NAC-2 |
|
|
Hydraulic cylinder(s) 10-33 cubic in or 160-550cc |
RPU160 |
NAC-3 |
|
|
Hydraulic cylinder(s) 17-58 cubic in or 290-960cc |
RPU300 |
NAC-3 |
|
Inboard with Mechanical Steering |
Boats up to 9000kg |
T0 |
NAC-2 |
|
|
Boats up to 12000kg |
T1 |
NAC-3 |
|
|
Boats up to 20000kg |
T2 |
NAC-3 |
|
|
Boats up to 36000kg |
T3 |
NAC-3 |
|
|
Boats up to 55000kg |
T4 |
NAC-3 |
|
Sailing Boat with Quadrant or Tiller |
25ft to 37ft |
SD10 |
NAC-2 |
|
|
Up to 45ft |
DD15 |
NAC-3 |
|
|
Boats up to 9000kg |
T0 |
NAC-2 |
|
|
Boats up to 12000kg |
T1 |
NAC-3 |
|
|
Boats up to 20000kg |
T2 |
NAC-3 |
|
|
Boats up to 36000kg |
T3 |
NAC-3 |
|
|
Boats up to 55000kg |
T4 |
NAC-3 |
|
|
|
