goldie
02-23-2001, 05:18 AM
tr-1 autopilot will it work well in the wind at slow speeds? does it drain the battery? any cons?
Larry
02-23-2001, 08:02 AM
Most steering units will work in wind and slow speeds...the key is....how slow and how much wind. Whatever unit you use only points the motor in the direction that it needs to go to stay on a given compass point. The motor still has to be going fast enough to overcome the wind pushing the boat off that course. The larger the boat, the more the wind acts against it.
Likewise, all units draw power from the battery and the more compensating the unit has to do, the more power is drawn. Many kickers lack an alternator or if equipped, don't put out much of a charge at low rpm's. If you plan to troll all day at slow speed, cold weather, high wind, and lots of electronics operating...you might want more battery capacity.
Sparky
02-23-2001, 11:52 AM
I have spent most of an afternoon, approx. 5-6 hrs. slow trolling with dodgers in 3-5' swells on Lake MI. When I got back to the marina the charger was plugged in and it shut down within 10 minutes so it didn't need much charge time. The key is what charge output your kicker is capable of? I don't believe that the TR1 is a heavy draw but, you could check their web site and contact the company directly. I'm sure that they could give you more specifics than I can. Their address is www.nautamatic.com .
If you network your TR1 to a GPS/Loran you can compensate for crosstrack error on a trolling pass with the unit also. You aren't limited to just a compass heading with this unit. Check with them on that and they'll let you know how to do it. No, I'm not a dealer or sponsored just a happy owner.
Sparky