Stargazer or Ridesteady Cruise?

So my 2005 Sanger V215 that I just bought didn't have cruise on it so I plan to add that this winter. I am looking between the two and debating. Right now, based on what I see the ridesteady is cheaper, has a bigger LCD, more features and more pre-set options. What I don't know is what the installation is like between the two? Reliability? Everything I see is Perfect Pass and all the dealers I have talked to have only done perfect pass, many dealers never even heard of ridesteady. I am just trying to figure out if there is something I am missing here.

On a side note I am also debating installing this myself or the dealer. One dealer estimated $500 labor. Another just quoted $1600 for perfect pass and installation. I am fairly mechanically inclined being a mechanical engineer. I am debating on if I want to do this on my own, how long it may take to do. I don't jeep my boat at my house right now so if its a several day project it wouldn't be worth the $500

Iam also curious if either one of these units will show current speed like a speedometer? My speedo is not working and I couldn't get the lines off to blow out the pitot tubes. If I cant get the speedo working I would want to use the perfect pass as a speedometer as well.

I installed the Stargazer version of Perfect Pass in my own boat and it was not hard at all. I think it took me less than 4 hours and I always take my time and try to do everything the best I can. The instructions they included made it very clear. The stargazer LCD display will show your current speed and I believe in most cases their display replaces your existing speedo display. If you do install Perfect Pass make sure to mount the servo motor somewhere where it will not get wet. I mounted mine where bilge water was slung onto it by an alternator belt and it rusted and froze up. Perfect Pass customer service is great and they mailed me a replacement motor for free along with instructions about how to refurbish a rusty frozen motor. Navigating through the perfect pass menu is very counterintuitive and gets annoying for me. Also I have had times where the Perfect Pass has been slow to correct the speed when it is slower or faster than the set speed. This may be an adjustment that I just need to play with some more to speed it up. I still have that new ACME 911 prop for sale if you are looking for one shoot me a PM.

install it yourself, it's an easy install. took me 2-3 hours taking my time.

Thank you for the replies. Does anyone know of the differences between the stargazer and ridesteady for installation. Are they both just as easy? The ridesteady looks like it has a lot more going for it compared to the stargazer unit and its less expensive.

I would think the resale is better with Perfect Pass. Like you encountered no one really knows the ride steady name. Not saying its better, but the name recognition is. Something to think about. Perfect Pass is the industry standard. That and Zero off. As far as I know Ride Steady doesn't come OEM in any boat. It's only $45 cheaper for the GPS based versus Stargazer so cost really shouldn't be a factor. If your gonna do it ,with GPS now being the standard, no use to install an old technology paddle wheel unit. Unless your a river rider.

I purchased the Ridesteady unit 2 years ago and installed it myself.. The install time I would say is 2-4 hours depending on your boat and dash layout.. Yes, it has a bold speedometer display and that is all I use for checking speed anymore in my Supra . I couldn't be happier with the performance of it and how it matched the rest of my gauges. When I did have a question about the install, Justin was quick to respond and sent many pictures of similar boats to help me. I was somewhat concerned as well with the name not being known for resale purposes but I think they are getting more and more popular and it's not like most buyers won't have a smart phone in hand to do some quick research on it.

Originally Posted by boardman74

If your gonna do it ,with GPS now being the standard, no use to install an old technology paddle wheel unit. Unless your a river rider.

I'm a big fan of Stargazer having owned and installed it myself on my last boat and I realize the OP isn't going to cut a hole in his hull...nor would I...but...
Old technology...? LOL...how about 100 percent reliable every time? (can't say that with GPS)

Boardman74, the ridesteady is a GPS unit like the stargazer. One of the benefits to the ridesteady is that it is a GPS system and has the option for the paddlewheel (optional add on) so you can switch between the paddlewheel and the GPS. Something I don't believe the stargazer can do (somebody chime in if that's wrong). Other than brand name I haven't seen anything the stargazer does better than the ridesteady. The ride steady also has the air and water temp to it where the stargazer doesn't. I haven't used or installed either but simply from a price , specifications and features the stargazer really doesn't match up but I am trying to take into account using the unit and installation into account. From all the searches I have found it seems the ridesteady is actually easier to use as well. Has anyone used both systems?

I have used both systems and found the Ridesteady much easier to use and navigate through the settings.

Having owned stargazer (and liking it a lot as I mentioned...) I will say navigating through it is a little painful. It almost seemed like they went out of their way to make that part of it ridiculous.

Sounds like you have your answer...now go buy it and install it so next time I can get a consistent pull LOL

Lol...That's the way I'm leaning toward Tim...I know how much you liked my speedometer not working.