Garmin Autopilot Drive Units
Garmin Autopilot Drive Units
Garmin pairs decades of GPS heritage with some of the most capable sonar and chartplotting on the water. This is the Garmin autopilot drive units range: the drives that turn the rudder under autopilot control.
Browse the full Garmin range or Autopilot Drive Units from every brand.
Sizing an autopilot drive to your boat
The right drive unit depends on how the boat is steered, not just its length. Hydraulic steering needs a pump matched to the existing helm's displacement per turn, mechanical cable or rack and pinion systems need a linear or rotary drive sized to the load on the rudder, and outboard-steered boats generally use a dedicated outboard pilot rather than an inboard drive at all. Getting the drive undersized for the boat's displacement and rudder area is the most common reason an autopilot struggles to hold a course in a following sea.
A drive unit alone does not make a working autopilot; it needs a course computer and a control head, and on Garmin systems these communicate over NMEA 2000 along with a heading sensor. If your boat is currently steered by an older cable or rod system, check compatibility with the drive before assuming a straight swap, since not every steering type has a direct Garmin equivalent.
