Marine Electronics Reviews
Marine Autopilots, Pick the Best

We've run the Simrad AP12H, Coursemaster CM80i, and Raymarine S1000 marine autopilots through their paces aboard our 25' Contender test boat.

We don’t know what we’d do without one of these electronic helmsman installed aboard our boat. It is always standing by at the ready to take the wheel at the push of a button.

It takes us to far-off fishing holes, trolls a straight line while putting out lures, and just plain handles the steering chores when we don’t want to.

Just like upgrading from standard television to high definition, once you’ve done it, you see how big the difference really is and you wonder how you lived without it for so long.

Autopilots are the same way, once you have one installed on your boat you won't want to own a boat without one again.

Australia based, Coursemaster Autopilots, built the Coursemaster CM80i autopilot for boats up to 32 feet in length. The CM80i is one of just a few small boat autopilots currently on the market that can perform and function properly without the use of a rudder interface unit. You can read our review here.

The Simrad AP12H autopilot package comes with a course computer, control head, compass, hydraulic pump, and linear feedback unit. This autopilot is also available in another version for boats with mechanical cable steering. Read our review of the hydraulic model here.

Raymarine, headquartered in the UK, hit the entry level powerboat autopilot market hard with the Raymarine S1000 designed for boats up to 25' in length equipped with hydraulic steering. It also features wireless operation with its S100 controller. You can read our full review here.

Every autopilot listed above was tested aboard our 25' center console Contender powered by a single 250 HP outboard. This boat is equipped with Seastar hydraulic steering and each autopilot was installed according to the autopilot manufacturers' instructions. Normally we keep an autopilot installed on our boat for at least one year to complete a full evaluation.

The logistics of removing then reinstalling an autopilot aboard the same boat for each test is time-consuming, expensive, and in the long run unsustainable. So going forward testers at Marine Electronics Reviews will try to expand our small boat autopilot coverage by doing shorter duration reviews aboard other boats.