Inboard Pilots
Marine Inboard Autopilots - Hydraulic & Mechanical Systems
Professional inboard autopilots for hydraulic and mechanical steering systems on larger vessels. Our collection features heavy-duty autopilots from Raymarine, Simrad, Garmin, and Furuno.
Professional Autopilots: Part of our Autopilots collection. Includes hydraulic pumps and linear drives, control heads, and autopilot computers. Compare with wheel pilots or cable drives. Add spare parts.
Matching pump and drive to a bigger boat
Inboard autopilots on hydraulic steering need a pump sized to the volume of oil the existing helm moves per turn of the wheel, not simply to the boat's overall length; an undersized pump will struggle to hold course in a following sea even on a boat well within its rated displacement. Mechanical and rack steering typically use a linear drive instead, mounted directly to the rudder quadrant or tiller arm, and sizing follows the load on the rudder rather than the pump displacement figures used for hydraulics.
A drive alone will not steer the boat; it needs a course computer to interpret heading and rate of turn data, along with a control head at the helm, and on most systems these communicate over NMEA 2000. Spare parts, such as drive belts, clutches and pump seals, are worth keeping aboard on a boat that relies on autopilot for long passages. Contact us if you need help matching a pump or drive to your existing steering gear.
