Auto tack and steer to wind

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I've an ST6000 a/p. I friend tells me that I should have a "steer to wind" (rather than heading) facility and that I should have an "autotack" feature where the boat tacks through 100 deg automatically. He had B&G; I've obviously got Autohelm/Raymarine. I've looked in the manuals and can't find either feature - should I have the aforementioned features? And if so how do I find/use them?

rob
 
I, too, have a ST6000 and Pete is right about auto tack.

Yes, you will have a steer to wind feature provided, at the risk of stating the obvious, you have the wind instruments and the autopilot plugged into the HSB bus. I'm racking my brains as to how you engage it, 'cos I've used it quite a few times. I've a feeling that it is combination of keys such as the auto button at the same time as standby. I'll bet that someone here will give you answer in short order.
 
Auto tack is there but may not be too much use. I find it brings her about too slowly so she loses way and fails to start sailing on the new course. The end result is sitting there dead in the water with the off course alarm beeping. It may work better with a heavy boat.
 
The autotack question was already answered in another reply. I never use ours however because it generally takes the boat through too big an angle and then takes ages to get back where it should be. It is easier to press standby, tack to a pre-selected visual target, press auto and winch in the last bit and tweak the new pilot course as required.

The steer to wind function will only work if you have a Seatalk wind instrument in the system and of course the data circuit includes the autopilot. I'm not sure of the button press sequence to engage this feature and our manual is on board, I don't remember it because I never use it! Even sailing on the wind (and we sail very close) I still use the pilot on magnetic, I watch the analogue closehauled meter and or multi meter which shows apparent wind angle digitally and tweak +/- from there.

The reason I don't use 'wind' is that the pilot doesn't react immediately to a windshift anyway, it compares the magnetic course that was used when 'wind' was selected with what the revised magnetic one would be with the new wind angle, then waits some time to see if this is a definite shift or just a temporary one before reacting. As a result 'wind' doesn't prevent the headsail backing in an unfavourable shift any more than 'magnetic' does, it takes it's time and reacts to major change only which is no better than I can do manually. I find that on 'magnetic' but sailing hard on the wind the boat still follows a 'lift' from a gust as pilots can only react after rather than anticipate change, so we rarely get caught with a backed sail nor do we lose much ground over the human helm especially over long periods when said human loses concentration.
 
I'd generally agree with Robin's answer above and would add that we use autotack usually only when single handing. As it happens the 100 degree tack range is just about right for our craft.

Not that we do too much of that nasty tacking stuff /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif
 
Been a while since I did this, but I believe there is a way of changing the tacking angle.
 
I have the st4000+ MkII and it has both features so i'm sure yours will too.

neither of the two features worked very well at first but after spending an hour or so going through the calibration as described in the manual I find that both features are now A1.

Do not believe that the defaults in config are good for your boat.

I had to move them way off defaults before things became better.

Have a play and you will be surprised how good things get.

Cheers

Wayne
 
tacking manually and then resetting AP .....

As I understand it ... if you revert to stby and then tack ... reset AP after tacking - you lose "sea-state" which has been built up on AP ... ??
OK - I don't have same AP - but I use auto-tack and find that AP settles quicker than if I stby / tack / reset .....

Yes it does tack slower than manually - but as long as you back genny before letting sheets go - shouldn't be a problem.
 
Re: tacking manually and then resetting AP .....

[ QUOTE ]
As I understand it ... if you revert to stby and then tack ... reset AP after tacking - you lose "sea-state" which has been built up on AP ... ??
OK - I don't have same AP - but I use auto-tack and find that AP settles quicker than if I stby / tack / reset .....


[/ QUOTE ]

It seems to me to start again after a tack but I might be wrong. However although the tack angle IS user adjustable it deliberately over-tacks anyway then slowly comes back up, presumably as this allows speed to build up and avoids the possibility of a stall. This means that when you would prefer it to be pinching up a bit to make winching in the last bit easier it is actually sailing free and making it harder. These days (just me and SWMBO and a 585sq foot genoa) our routine is that SWMBO takes the wheel, switches the pilot to standby, tacks whilst watching me and the genoa so that we take in as much sheet as possible on the new tack as we turn, then she will sometimes pinch up a tad whilst I get the last bit in if it is really windy (we have 2 speed Lewmar 53 Self tailers), then she switches the pilot back on. I will then monitor wind angle on the analogue C/H meter or digitally on the Multi and tweak George appropriately, usually to around an average 28degs apparent,, before going back to doze mode.

[ QUOTE ]
Yes it does tack slower than manually - but as long as you back genny before letting sheets go - shouldn't be a problem.

[/ QUOTE ]

Our genoa is a tri-radial in Hydranet (Spectra reinforced woven Dacron) which cost a LOT of money, enough for SWMBO to remember for many years. On our boat 'backing the genoa' is never necessary and risking damage by backing it onto the spreaders is considered a hanging offence!
 
Points taken ... but I was really talking more general ...

But appreciated your PoV

Cheers
 
Re: Points taken ... but I was really talking more general ...

The wind mode on my a/p (a Raymarine S1G and ST7001 control head) works well. I'm very happy with it.

The auto-tack on the other hand is way to slow. Even single-handed, I switch to stand by, turn the boat, tack the jib (juggle hauling in the new sheet and steering), reset the a/p, then trim the sail.
 
Re: Points taken ... but I was really talking more general ...

This auto-tack facility, to me, is one of the more important features of the a/p when singlehanding surely.... if this is a consistent problem, why haven't the manufacturers fixed it yet? or is there a setting somewhere that you can speed this up I wander?
 
Re: Points taken ... but I was really talking more general ...

Wow it must be slow.

I consider it an offence to have to winch when tacking my Fulmar. We always tack slowly so the sheet is fully home before it gets any tension on it.

Usually means we also steal a boat length or two to windward as we turn.
 
on many its a fucntion of how far the tiller is put over ...

On Tiller Pilots often the amount of throw the arm pushes / pulls the tiller is a lot less than max that you or I would push tiller - therefore turning moment is less.

On wheel AP .... it may be speed of turning the wheel via the geared belt etc.
 
Re: Points taken ... but I was really talking more general ...

To be a little more reassuring, I use the auto-tack feature a lot and find it generally works OK. I do hold the genoa backed until I'm sure we'll go through the wind, then release the old sheet and pull all or most of the new one in fast, hand over hand, before using the winch handle. If it's judged right, in most cases there is little cranking required, just fine trimming really. Maybe I'm just lucky and the boat (Etap 30) and autohelm (2000+) suit each other.
 
I use Autotack on my heavy old boat ...

Which can be a pain to tack sometimes ... reason I always back the genny to push the bow round. If you don't she just stops dead into wind .....
Even with AP not putting tller hard over ...the genny backing trick is fine and she sails on very well ....

In fact I even use it when under engine !! As a quick turn order etc.
 
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