Controllers
Autopilot Controllers & Control Heads for Marine
Autopilot control heads and remote controllers for marine steering systems. Our collection features displays and controllers from Raymarine, Simrad, Garmin, and B&G for complete autopilot control.
Autopilot Control: Part of our Autopilots collection. Essential for inboard autopilots, autopilot computers, and cable drive systems. Integrate with chartplotters and instruments via NMEA 2000.
Primary heads versus remote autopilot control
An autopilot control head is only ever half of the system: it sends commands over the network to a separate course computer, which does the actual steering, so the control head has to be compatible with the computer already fitted, or being fitted alongside it. Most manufacturers tie their control heads to their own course computers rather than an open standard, so a Raymarine head generally will not drive a Simrad or B&G computer, even though all three can share position and heading data over NMEA 2000.
Secondary and wireless remotes extend control to the cockpit or flybridge without running a full network drop to a second helm, useful for singlehanded sailors adjusting course from the rail rather than returning to the primary station. Response and rudder gain settings are usually configured through the control head, so it is worth knowing whether a given unit exposes full pilot calibration or is a display-only slave to another head.
We are happy to check compatibility between a control head and an existing course computer before you order.
