Autopilot for PNW usage, really needed or not

funangler said:

The slower the boat the more important the autopilot. I rarely will drive mine by hand buy a autopilot with a dial in the control head and life is more enjoyable.

Click to expand...

Agree with all of the comments supporting using an AP in BC coastal waters. You arrive just a little more refreshed and ready for anchoring, docking, or whatever.

Our last two APs had rotary dials that are a real bonus over pushing buttons for course changes. Typically one click per degree of course change can be quite useful, especially in busy moments.

hollywood8118 said:

not exactly... the kayakers make a deeper thunk than the pot buoys..

HOLLYWOOD

Click to expand...

..and are less likely to get caught around the shafts.

I use the autopilot anytime I am going to stay on a single heading for more than just a few minutes. AND I remain at the helm to keep a lookout. (OK, a 30-second pee break a mile offshore, throttled back to idle, and having scanned a long way ahead prior to answering the call of nature excepted.

Autopilot is indispensable in fog. Yeah, you can rely on GPS to let you know where you're at, radar and AIS to know what is around you...but most of us steer like a drunk when we're in a fog bank without any visual references. Some of us sometimes steer like a drunk for other reasons, fog or no....but no need to go into that.

Any time you are in reduced visibility or a confusing area, just put the chart plotter cursor on where you want to go. Turn on the autopilot, and tell it to navigate to the spot. Then keep a lookout on both the radar and chart plotter while looking and listening outside the boat. Sure makes it easier.

Moonstruck said:

Any time you are in reduced visibility or a confusing area, just put the chart plotter cursor on where you want to go. Turn on the autopilot, and tell it to navigate to the spot. Then keep a lookout on both the radar and chart plotter while looking and listening outside the boat. Sure makes it easier.

Click to expand...

I do that almost every where I go, even in good weather.

We have routes built for our favorite places. We can turn on the autopilot and it'll do the rest, steering through the course changes.

We have ours set up as a fail safe that if a course change is over 15 degrees it'lll sound an alarm and wait for you to push the button to confirm the new course.

Greetings,
Unfortunately our Wood Freeman won't/can't talk to anything or be programmed. Good pilot though.

Unfortunately our Wood Freeman won't/can't talk to anything or be programmed.

But it will last 50+ years and can easily be repaired ,,,forever!

Greetings,
Mr. FF. Yup, +1 on that. No plans to replace. NEVER even considered it....

Darn,
You guys just talked me into repairing mine. I only have three of them for parts. Just have to get motivated again.
But it won't talk to the gps, oh well, another project

With the autopilot, I sometimes have the opportunity to leave the pilothouse and enjoy the scene from the deck.



(1/5/2014 on San Pablo Bay)

markpierce said:

With the autopilot, I sometimes have the opportunity to leave the pilothouse and enjoy the scene from the deck. (1/5/2014 on San Pablo Bay)

Click to expand...

Thats why they make flybridges.

Yeah, but after a little while, I return to the pilothouse's protection from wind and sun.

markpierce said:

Yeah, but after a little while, I return to the pilothouse's protection from wind and sun.

Click to expand...

Exactly, with a flybridge you have the best of both worlds.

But you'll miss being close to the rush of water passing by at six knots if you're way up on the flying bridge.

markpierce said:

But you'll miss being close to the rush of water passing by at six knots if you're way up on the flying bridge.

Click to expand...

Oh you got me there, umm....

N4712

How do you deal with footprints on the monitor? If it's a touchscreen, how do you do a pinch maneuver to zoom in and out?

Tom

tpbrady said:

N4712 How do you deal with footprints on the monitor? If it's a touchscreen, how do you do a pinch maneuver to zoom in and out? Tom

Click to expand...

My feet don't actually touch the monitor, they are rested on that wood trim. It's an illusion. The chart-plotter Is not touchscreen, there's a little remote to the left of the display that controls the black box that drives the monitor.

The last two seasons we have put more than 1,500 miles under our keel running back and forth to the San Juans many times, and did Hood Canal and all of South Sound last summer. Without a working autopilot! We have an older Furuno model that appears to be working (self-diagnostic program says all is good), but it will not steer. It does, however, make a great rudder angle indicator...

It is getting close to the top of our list of things to repair and/or upgrade. Our last boat, a 33' pilothouse cutter sailboat, had an AP that we used quite extensively here and in the islands. Not all the time, mind you, but when conditions were optimal for that type of underway enjoyment, and for pee breaks, etc. On this boat, where we have yet to exceed 8 straight hours of running (2-6 hours is "average") having my wife relieve me at the helm for a bit has sufficed.

In short, yes, I think you will want one!

markpierce said:

But you'll miss being close to the rush of water passing by at six knots if you're way up on the flying bridge.

Click to expand...

I really don't think the terms "rush by" and "6 kts" should be in the same sentence!

HOLLYWOOD

hollywood8118 said:

I really don't think the terms "rush by" and "6 kts" should be in the same sentence!

Click to expand...

It works for this former sailor, leading a flotilla through the often narrow and shallow Petaluma River:

markpierce said:

It works for this former sailor.

Click to expand...

our last sailboat cruised at 6kts... that is one reason we moved to trawlers..
HOLLYWOOD

I must be in the minority here, but I love hand steering. It's too easy to get complacent on auto-pilot, and for me the real joy in boating is the driving. Why turn that over to a machine? That said, it does have its place and it's a useful tool if you have it.

Greetings,
Mr. c. Welcome aboard.

I saved money by putting in a relatively low cost plotter, bottom machine and radar. But I put some serious money into the AP. Best money spent on the boat. Don't get a cheap one. Only thing worse than no AP is one that does not work well. The AP is on most of the time, even most ditch travel.

Ski in NC said:

I saved money by putting in a relatively low cost plotter, bottom machine and radar. But I put some serious money into the AP. Best money spent on the boat. Don't get a cheap one. Only thing worse than no AP is one that does not work well. The AP is on most of the time, even most ditch travel.

Click to expand...

Yep, if you do get one go Simrad!

Yep, Simrad. Got an AP35, probably a little overkill. It's nice because I tuned one set of parameters for ditch travel, another for low speed offshore, and another set for offshore fast running (20-25kts). All separately tune-able. Once dialed in, it really keeps a good heading. It is not state of the art anymore (by a longshot), but I was used to it running a commercial boat with same unit. Not sure what the best unit is now, as tech has gotten way better.

Ski in NC said:

Yep, Simrad. Got an AP35, probably a little overkill. It's nice because I tuned one set of parameters for ditch travel, another for low speed offshore, and another set for offshore fast running (20-25kts). All separately tune-able. Once dialed in, it really keeps a good heading. It is not state of the art anymore (by a longshot), but I was used to it running a commercial boat with same unit. Not sure what the best unit is now, as tech has gotten way better.

Click to expand...

IMO Simrad is still the best.

Big fan of Auto Pilot

However they do fail from time time. Lost my tiller sensor half way to the Farallons and the boat did a 180. WTF! You still need someone on watch.

Very happy with our Simrad AP28.

Simrad used to be tops, especially in autopilots...recent mergers have taken their toll...we'll have to see how they do in the long run now.