NSW · Regional guide
Marine autopilots NSW South Coast, Jervis Bay to Eden
Autopilots between Jervis Bay and Eden: bar entrances, east coast lows, long coastal legs, cold water and the boats that stage here before Bass Strait.
- State
- New South Wales
- Waters
- Jervis Bay, Ulladulla Harbour, Batemans Bay and the Clyde River
- Recommended
- 4 systems
- Reviewed
- September 2026
South of Jervis Bay the coast changes. The shelf comes closer, the water gets colder, the marinas thin out and the rivers are fronted by bars that only work on the right tide in the right swell. Autopilot use here is less about convenience on a harbour cruise and more about sustaining a watch on legs of 40 to 60 miles between places you can actually get into.
Jervis Bay is the last big all-weather bolt hole before Eden, and Eden is where boats sit waiting for a Bass Strait window. Between them you have Ulladulla, Batemans Bay, Narooma and Bermagui, each with its own entrance quirks and none of them somewhere to arrive at dusk in a southerly swell.
That makes this a region where the pilot needs to be trusted in a seaway and where the crew needs a rehearsed plan for taking it off. It is also a region where a windvane or a second steering solution earns its space, because help is a long way away.
Waters covered
- Jervis Bay
- Ulladulla Harbour
- Batemans Bay and the Clyde River
- Narooma and Bermagui
- Montague Island
- Eden and Twofold Bay
Browse all places on this map
Local planning notebook
Autopilot passage and installation planning in NSW South Coast: Jervis Bay to Eden
For a passage along the South Coast, include manual-steering capacity and alternative destinations in the plan for each leg. A pilot can reduce routine effort but should not be the only reason a small crew considers the itinerary achievable.
What to ask at the handover
Brief the incoming watch on the next decision point and any change in weather or steering behaviour. Keep the operator’s manual and service contacts available without mobile reception.
Weather and steering workload →Before leaving NSW South Coast: Jervis Bay to Eden
This is planning context, not a live forecast or navigation instruction. Check the information that can change before each trip.
Transport for NSW (NSW Maritime) ↗Bureau of Meteorology marine forecasts ↗Prepare a brief for a local installer →Regional equipment suggestions are editorial starting points. They do not identify a local branch, approved installer or business affiliation.
NSW South Coast swell, weather and cold-water planning
The dominant weather event is the southerly. In summer it comes as a change behind a nor’easter; in autumn and winter it comes as an east coast low that can put a four metre southerly swell on the coast for days. Those systems close the bars and make every south-facing entrance untenable, so passage planning here is about waiting for weather rather than beating it.
The East Australian Current is weaker and more eddy-ridden down here than off Sydney, but it has not gone away. You will often find a knot or more of set, sometimes against you, and it will change between Montague Island and the shelf edge. Track steering removes the guesswork; heading steering leaves you wondering why the waypoint keeps moving.
Water temperature matters more than people expect. It is cold enough south of Jervis that a person overboard has minutes, not hours, of useful function. That is an autopilot argument as much as a clothing argument: a boat steering itself while the crew is below is a boat that will keep going at six knots without you.
- Southerly changes year round, often 30 knots plus behind the front
- East coast lows delivering large southerly and easterly swell
- Bar entrances at the Clyde, Narooma and Bermagui that shoal and shift
- Cold water and long exposure times in a man overboard situation
- Few all-weather refuges: Jervis Bay, Ulladulla and Eden do the heavy lifting
Clip on, and set the alarms
NSW South Coast cruising and fishing boat autopilot needs
Two quite separate fleets share this coast. The first is cruising yachts of 36 to 48 feet moving north or south, often shorthanded, frequently staging in Eden before crossing to Tasmania. They are wheel steered, carry below-deck pilots of varying age, and burn through drives because the gear works hard in a following southerly swell.
The second is the local trailer and game fishing fleet at Batemans Bay, Narooma, Bermagui and Eden, running outboard boats and small inboard cruisers out over the shelf, which is unusually close here. Those boats cross bars twice a day in season, so every conversation about autopilots has to start with when not to use one.
- Shorthanded coastal cruisers 36 to 48 ft: below-deck drive, plus a backup plan
- Tiller-steered cruisers heading offshore: heavy duty cockpit pilot or windvane
- Outboard game boats working the shelf: hydraulic or cable outboard pilot
- Local fishing boats crossing bars daily: manual helm, pilot for the run out
Recommended
Systems that suit NSW South Coast: Jervis Bay to Eden
Reasonable on a 35 to 38 foot cruiser doing day hops between Jervis Bay and Batemans Bay. Past that size, or once you are running the swell south of Montague, it is working at its limit.
The workhorse choice for a 40 to 46 foot cruiser staging for Bass Strait. Below-deck authority and a proper rudder reference are what keep a boat tracking in a following sea on the long leg to Eden.
Well suited to the hydraulic outboard boats fishing off Bermagui and Narooma. Safe Helm and Power Assist mean the transition between pilot and hand steering is immediate, which is what you want as you approach a bar.
Worth importing for a tiller-steered boat that actually goes offshore from here. A submersible external actuator does not care about a cockpit full of cold water, and it can be serviced by the owner a long way from a dealer.
Passages
Typical local passages and the autopilot on each
Jervis Bay to Ulladulla
A short, exposed 30 miles with no shelter in between. Set the pilot on a track that keeps you well off Point Perpendicular and the naval exercise areas, and monitor broadcasts for firing activity. Ulladulla is small and the entrance is tight, so hand steer from outside the breakwater.
Batemans Bay to Bermagui via Montague Island
Montague concentrates current and swell, and there is rock and reef closer in than the chart impression suggests. Give it room, keep the pilot in so the set shows up early, and expect the boat to roll heavily in the lee where the swell wraps. Seals and diving boats work this area constantly.
Eden and the Bass Strait window
Twofold Bay is deep and easy, which is why the Tasmania fleet gathers here. Use the last daylight hours to prove the pilot under load rather than at anchor, since a drive that buzzes in a chop is telling you something before you commit to 200 miles of Bass Strait. Plan power for two or three days of continuous steering.
Crossing the Narooma or Bermagui bar
Both entrances shift and both can break on a big southerly swell with an ebb running. Hand steer, take local advice, and if in doubt stand off and wait for the tide. No mode on any autopilot handles a wave lifting the stern at the wrong moment.
- Bar entrances at the Clyde River, Narooma and Bermagui that break on a southerly swell
- East coast lows closing the coast for several days at a time
- Naval exercise and firing areas around Jervis Bay and the Beecroft Peninsula
- Reef and current around Montague Island, with seals and dive boats nearby
- Rock lobster pot floats in shallow water along the whole coast
- Cold water and long distances between rescue resources
NSW South Coast autopilot training and service planning
There are Australian Sailing affiliated clubs at Jervis Bay, Batemans Bay and further south, and sailing schools in Sydney and Canberra will send instructors to teach on your own boat if you ask. Electronics installers are thinner on the ground than in the capitals, so book commissioning well ahead of a departure window rather than hoping someone can fit you in the week the forecast looks good.
If you are staging for Bass Strait, spend the waiting days usefully: run the pilot in different modes, check the drive fasteners, and have a crew briefing on manual override. Indicative costs: half-day handover $300 to $600, private on-water tuition $90 to $150 an hour, RYA Day Skipper practical over five days $1,800 to $2,600. Confirm before you commit.
- Book installers and commissioning weeks ahead, not days
- Ask for spare drive belts, pins, fuses and a hand pump kit while you are at it
- Brief every crew member on how to disengage, from either side of the cockpit
- Check bar and weather advice with the local volunteer marine rescue service
Questions
NSW South Coast: Jervis Bay to Eden: frequently asked
How far apart are the safe entrances on this coast?
Jervis Bay, Ulladulla and Eden are the entrances you can use in most conditions, and they are spread across about 150 miles. The river bars in between are fair weather options. Plan legs between all-weather refuges and treat the bars as a bonus.
Do I need a windvane to cross Bass Strait from Eden?
Not necessarily, but you need a steering plan that survives an electrical failure. A windvane gives you unlimited steering with no power draw, which suits a shorthanded crew on a three or four day passage. The alternative is a robust electronic pilot plus genuine spares and a charging system you trust.
Will my autopilot cope with a following southerly swell?
A properly sized below-deck unit will, once the gain and counter-rudder are set for that sea state. An above-deck wheel pilot on a heavy boat will not, and it usually shows up as increasing yaw and a drive that never stops running. If you are correcting the pilot repeatedly, it is too small.
Is there autopilot training available locally?
There are clubs and instructors, but fewer than in Sydney. Most owners get their instruction as part of a commissioning handover, or bring an instructor down from Sydney or Canberra to teach on their own boat for a day. Book ahead, particularly in the Bass Strait season.
Recommended systems at a glance
- Wheel pilotRaymarine
Raymarine Evolution EV-100 (Tiller, Wheel and Power)
- Indicative
- $2,900–$3,900
- Editor score
- 77
- Below-deck systemRaymarine
Raymarine Evolution EV-200 (Sail and Power)
- Indicative
- $5,900–$7,600
- Editor score
- 80
- Outboard / trailer boatFuruno
Furuno NavPilot 300
- Indicative
- $3,600–$5,200
- Editor score
- 77
- Tiller pilotPelagic
Pelagic Autopilot
- Indicative
- $2,800–$4,800
- Editor score
- 60
Nearby regions in New South Wales
Instruction in NSW South Coast: Jervis Bay to Eden
The training section explains what a good instructor covers and the ten questions that sort them. Ask for a session on your own boat, in a seaway, with a failure drill.