Marine Autopilots, were originally the realm of Ships or very large Sailboats, but today Autopilots for Boats are integral to any properly equipped vessel. Boat Autopilots take your crew to distant fishing holes, an Autopilot can track a preset trolling course, hold your vessel on a pre-set compass course, or direct your craft through a multipart track via pre-determined waypoints. Boat Autopilots make the most of all available on-board Navigational Instruments and environmental sensors. The Best Modern Autopilots today using GPS information, should maintain a constant course regardless of wind or current effects.

Most Marine Autopilot systems consist of several core elements:

• Heading Sensor - central control unit
  
• Central Processing Unit (or Course Computer on Raymarine units)
• Drive Unit - steers the boat
  
• Rudder Sensor - feedback unit
  
• Masthead Wind Sensor - on-board wind instruments (sailboat relevance).
• Remote Control - increasingly popular