A Disturbance in the Force

[AlaskaProf]

Enroute to Meyer's Chuck this morning my autopilot in heading mode made a hard-over to starboard, definitely making me sit up and pay attention. Turned it off and on, got same response....hmmm. switched it at the breaker; no help. Turned it on to see if there was a limit. It rolled out 120 degrees off course...hmmm.

Then I recalled, we are passing a place called Magnetic Point, and sure enough, there's an explanatory chart note...AAH!

So, I hand steer for a half hour or so and it slowly dawns on me that the compass isn't doing anything dramtic...hmm. Hand-bearing compass is equally stable.

I cast an accusatory glance at the autopilot flux detector and realize that while moving stuff off my chart table I had moved my Bose bluetooth speaker (think two-pound magnet) a critical foot closer to the...you guessed it: flux sensor.

DOH!

 

[dhays]

Thanks for sharing.

This is the type of story that I like to read. It is always very instructive to me and reminds of things, or informs me of things that I may have forgotten or didn’t know.

My flux magnet is in a under step storage location in the center of the boat. There is a label in the locker that says “Place no metal in this storage”. A reminder that I would probably need.

 

[AlaskaProf]

Thanks for sharing.

This is the type of story that I like to read. It is always very instructive...

We all learn from mistakes, but I would really rather learn from someone else's.

...which reminds me, thanks for the Shirttail Reef pix.

 

[GFC]

I had to chuckle about your post because it reminded me of a goof up we made while crossing Prince William Sound in AK in the 70's on a friend's boat. We started out heading to Whittier, set our course and got underway. It started to rain so I flipped on the wipers.


We ended up running way beyond the time we figured we'd be there and no familiar locations in sight. Pretty soon we were spotting small ice bergs. Oops. We found a fishing boat and asked where the heck we were and were told we were about 20 miles north of the entrance to the sound Whittier is in.


Apparently when the wipers were turned on it set up a magnetic field that froze the compass. Oops.

 

[OldDan1943]

Enroute to Meyer's Chuck this morning my autopilot in heading mode made a hard-over to starboard, definitely making me sit up and pay attention. Turned it off and on, got same response....hmmm. switched it at the breaker; no help. Turned it on to see if there was a limit. It rolled out 120 degrees off course...hmmm.

Then I recalled, we are passing a place called Magnetic Point, and sure enough, there's an explanatory chart note...AAH!

So, I hand steer for a half hour or so and it slowly dawns on me that the compass isn't doing anything dramtic...hmm. Hand-bearing compass is equally stable.

I cast an accusatory glance at the autopilot flux detector and realize that while moving stuff off my chart table I had moved my Bose bluetooth speaker (think two-pound magnet) a critical foot closer to the...you guessed it: flux sensor.

DOH!

Here's a hint for you. NOTHING goes on the chart table except for the chart and navigational tools.
Nothing passes over the chart table including but not limited to coffee cups. You do not want to set up a catastrophic spill on the chart.
Now, tells us all way you knowingly had a bluetooth speaker near the flux magnet?

 

[tiltrider1]

Once apron a time I called my auto pilot Evil Auto. Every time we crossed the wake of a 50+’ it would make a 90 degree turn, right or left was random. After a year I some how figured out that it was to close to a speaker but only became a problem when the bow pitched up significantly.

 

[Wayfarer]

Years ago I worked with an Able Seaman who had been a captain on coastal cargo ships on the west coast. He told me a wonderful sea story about something like this.

They had a deckhand. He was a bit special, a bit slow. He was also an extremely hard worker, and very friendly. He tended to salivate a lot more than the average person for some reason. Well, one day, deckhand was working his ass off down in a very dusty cargo hold, moving heavy cardboard containers around. The dust in the air had adhered to the ring of moisture around his mouth.

From that moment forward, deckhand was known as MudRing.

One day, MudRing decided to visit the pilothouse. The ship was transiting a very busy river with a pilot aboard. It was dark, and there was a lot of big commercial traffic around. Everyone was busy, so no one noticed when MudRing set his sawzall down on the magnetic compass.

The compass didn't like that one bit. Cue the massive course change, and several confused sailors wondering what the hell was going on, followed by a chorus of people chanting 'Oh, god dammit MudRing! Get that thing out of here!'

Oops!

 

[SaltyDawg86]

How old was that ship? Their auto pilot is usually connected go the gyro.

 

[AlaskaProf]

Now, tells us all way you knowingly had a bluetooth speaker near the flux magnet?

Have I not humiliated myself enough already?!

 

[Peter B]

....One day, MudRing decided to visit the pilothouse. The ship was transiting a very busy river with a pilot aboard. It was dark, and there was a lot of big commercial traffic around. Everyone was busy, so no one noticed when MudRing set his sawzall down on the magnetic compass....

I get the Mudring monicker, but what's a 'sawzall'..?

Must be a North American thing..?

 

[mahal]

I get the Mudring monicker, but what's a 'sawzall'..?

Must be a North American thing..?

A reciprocating saw.

 

[markpierce]

Here's a hint for you. NOTHING goes on the chart table except for the chart and navigational tools.
Nothing passes over the chart table including but not limited to coffee cups. You do not want to set up a catastrophic spill on the chart.
Now, tells us all way you knowingly had a bluetooth speaker near the flux magnet?

In familiar water, my lunch plate is on the chart table, covering part of the chart while electronic chart is not. Drink is berthed in a cup holder next to the pilothouse door.

 

[AlaskaProf]

We ended up running way beyond the time we figured we'd be there and no familiar locations in sight. Pretty soon we were spotting small ice bergs. Oops. We found a fishing boat and asked where the heck we were ...

Look at it this way: but for this error, youd never have had the extraordinary experience of College Fjord.

Or as Mister Whitekeys sings, "Nothing could be sh1tt1er than to find yourself in Whittier. .."

 

[Boatfever]

A reciprocating saw.

As opposed to a "Gas Axe"

 

[BruceK]

I get the Mudring monicker, but what's a 'sawzall'..?

Must be a North American thing..?

Here you go Peter:
https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Ryobi-C...058456308?epid=1634256610&hash=item4d5039f0f4.
Mine is a 240v version, different brand, cuts metal nicely,vibrates a bit though. Very useful tool in tight areas.

 

[Wayfarer]

How old was that ship? Their auto pilot is usually connected go the gyro.

I’m not sure. That was my first question too. I was also curious as to why they were using autopilot in that scenario in the first place. Sounds like hand steering waters to me. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

 

[SaltyDawg86]

I’m not sure. That was my first question too. I was also curious as to why they were using autopilot in that scenario in the first place. Sounds like hand steering waters to me. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Wayfarer that's also very true. They absolutely should have been hand steering.

 

[firstbase]

Maybe the story is apocryphal at best and...well, completely made up at worst? Good story though. Sometimes it doesn't matter.

 

[Alaskan Sea-Duction]

Or as Mister Whitekeys sings, "Nothing could be sh1tt1er than to find yourself in Whittier. .."

God bless Mr. Whitekey.......

 

[JDCAVE]

We all learn from mistakes, but I would really rather learn from someone else's....

Exactly! More efficient and less pain!

 

[AlaskaProf]

God bless Mr. Whitekey.......

"When anyone does something dumb..an Alaskan can do it dumber."

 

[Al]

"When anyone does something dumb..an Alaskan can do it dumber."

Hummmmmm I resemble that remark!!

Thanks for the report Bill, having recently installing a ComNav unit, clues to potential issues filed away in the absent memory bank for future forgetfulness is welcome. Wish we had discussed the subject of a auto pilot at lunch.

My installer required mounting the compass involved in the lowest point forward and centered. As a result, the location will remain isolated from any intrusions, however as we are a small craft, what assumption should I hold regarding distance from that isolated compass to any foreign items such as a bluetooth speaker as you indicated. (2 feet?)

As to the installing of a pilot, even in this small of craft,is a god send. should have done so years ago!!

Al-Ketchikan

 

[AlaskaProf]

Hummmmmm I resemble that remark!!


As to the installing of a pilot, even in this small of craft,is a god send. should have done so years ago!!

Al-Ketchikan

Absolutely indispensable, especially if you do any solo operation. The ability to delegate the maintenance of a heading while you plot the next leg, grab the kid, or start the coffee pot is essential.

I was amazed when I bought my 45 year-old trawler to discover there was no autopilot; the first omission I remedied.

 

[Alaskan Sea-Duction]

Absolutely indispensable, especially if you do any solo operation. The ability to delegate the maintenance of a heading while you plot the next leg, grab the kid, or start the coffee pot is essential.

I was amazed when I bought my 45 year-old trawler to discover there was no autopilot; the first omission I remedied.

Same here. No AP in a 30 year old boat. Don't know why I didn't have it installed earlier. Pairadice let me run his and that polluted my well being. After 12 hours in fog and following the seas, the Admiral mentioned how much better an AP would be. now I have one.

 

[jimisbell]

Exactly! More efficient and less pain!

But often not as memorable. Sometimes when I am teaching a point I will suggest the wrong thing first and when questioned about it I will say, "If I hadnt told you the wrong way first, you would not have learned a thing." You have to experience failure to learn the value of success.......as long as it doesnt kill you.

 

[jimisbell]

Same here. No AP in a 30 year old boat. Don't know why I didn't have it installed earlier. Pairadice let me run his and that polluted my well being. After 12 hours in fog and following the seas, the Admiral mentioned how much better an AP would be. now I have one.

I dont trust electricity. I would rather do it myself.

 

[rgano]

Well do I remember the GOD (good old daze) of piloting and dead reckoning before we all got "fired" by modern electronics. Running along with a well set up chart table with a parallel motion protractor, gyro-fed pelorus, and a radar (or not), and some reasonable sort of visible (or not, as long as there was radar) reference points was a joy. And if you were really cooking and had your set and drift figured out and put out an estimated position your next terrestrial fix landed right on your EP. For the uninitiated, DR positions use the speed rung up and the course steered while EP factors in set and drift to give the estimated actual course and speed to lay out the EPs. A professional looking plot shows both a series of DRs as well as EPs along with the fixes.

All this required enough people to both conn and navigate, and the "gator" was constantly watching his plot and the fathometer (Navyese for sounder) alert to anything that started to look a bit "off." My guess is that in the previous post about getting lost in Alaska there we probably no visible reference points either visual or by radar? That is the piloting navigators worst scenario, no references to get a clue about how things are going.

One of my favorite memories was piloting on a startlingly clear fall day down the Straits of Magellan at 25 knots in a war game. We were going so fast that traditional terrestrial fixes were too time-late to be able to offer up my usual time to turn and next course to the conning officerso I took to taking a radar range and bearing over the pelorus to the next promontory and using the radian rule backwards in my head to come up with an appropriate course to steer to clear the points by a safe distance. The guy plotting our position on the chart simply marked each point as we rounded it so we could know where along the track we actually, sort of like buoy counting. That helped me identify the next point to radar range on.

I still have a nicely varnished plotting board with a PMP sold by the Maptech people which exactly fit their old chart books. I can,t bear to part with it. I think I should put a local paper chart on it and nail it the wall!

 

[jimisbell]

I navigated across the big bend of Florida in stormy weather with visibility of less than 1/4 mile using compass, watch and knot meter for over 24 hours. I was always surprised when the next marker appeared dead ahead and on time. I couldnt believe my good luck. It wasnt luck. After the first few I began to believe in my capabilities. I will never trust an Auto Pilot. I dont like ROBOTS and love outwitting them on the telephone.

 

[AlaskaProf]

I will never trust an Auto Pilot. I dont like ROBOTS and love outwitting them on the telephone.

Neither do I. My autopilot doesn't navigate, it keeps a good heading while I work at the chart table, radar display, or the coffee pot. I find it indispensable.

 

[jimisbell]

Neither do I. My autopilot doesn't navigate, it keeps a good heading while I work at the chart table, radar display, or the coffee pot. I find it indispensable.

My wife does those things,,,,,,,,