Can I connect a chartplotter to the existing equipment I have?

[Mort]

As I know very little about yacht electronics, I would like some advice please,

I have a Moody 29, which I sail single handed most of the time. All lines are fed back to the cockpit which is a great help, and I make good use of my Navico TP300C Tiller Pilot.

What I would like to know is do I have the equipment already to add a chartplotter to, to operate the tiller pilot?


I have this mounted in the cabin ceiling


The TP300C


Current Instruments

I am on a budget, and with the age of the Instruments, quite happy to buy something second hand to suit.

Thank you for looking, After 27 years with a Westerly22 and no more than a ropey old depth sounder, it's not something I know much about!

Many thanks,

Phil

 

[PaulRainbow]

What are you hoping to be able to do ? Control the tiler pilot or get it to steer to a waypoint ?

 

[Mort]

Hi, thanks for your reply, ideally to steer to a waypoint, thanks

 

[PaulRainbow]

Hi, thanks for your reply, ideally to steer to a waypoint, thanks

The only thing you need for the AP to steer to a waypoint is a chart plotter/MFD that can output data over NMEA 0183 (not sure that your AP can receive N2K, although the later Simrad models could).

The manual for the AP will detail what connections need to be made, just two wires.

If you fitted a plotter/MFD which has NMEA 0183 in/out, (such as a Garmin Echomap (other MFDs available, not all support NMEA 0183)) you could connect the Navstar out to the plotter the plotter will display a wind rose. If you then connect the plotter out to the AP, the AP should also steer to wind.

 

[pvb]

Hi, thanks for your reply, ideally to steer to a waypoint, thanks

To get the tiller pilot to steer to a waypoint, you'll need a plotter which outputs NMEA0183 data - not all of them do!

 

[davidej]

I have a chartplotter which will steer to a waypoint and then change course to the next one. But in thousands of miles of cruising, I have never used that feature.

I think it is better to work out the compass course ypu want and set the autopilot to follow that, while monitoring progress and making adjustments from time to time.

Relying an autopilot do do everything for you seems to be a recipe for inattention and possibly disaster. Except perhaps when you are hundreds of miles offshore and away from shipping. And then you don't really need a waypoint anyway.

 

[LadyInBed]

I have a chartplotter which will steer to a waypoint and then change course to the next one. But in thousands of miles of cruising, I have never used that feature.

I think it is better to work out the compass course ypu want and set the autopilot to follow that, while monitoring progress and making adjustments from time to time.

Relying an autopilot do do everything for you seems to be a recipe for inattention and possibly disaster. Except perhaps when you are hundreds of miles offshore and away from shipping. And then you don't really need a waypoint anyway.

I'm of the opposite opinion.
Pop in a wp, press GoTo and Track on the AP, that allows me to trim sails, then when that's done I knock it off Track and make any fine adjustments to the course.

 

[LadyInBed]

Navico TP300C Tiller Pilot

Does your TP support a 'Track' function?

 

[pvb]

I have a chartplotter which will steer to a waypoint and then change course to the next one. But in thousands of miles of cruising, I have never used that feature.

I think it is better to work out the compass course ypu want and set the autopilot to follow that, while monitoring progress and making adjustments from time to time.

Relying an autopilot do do everything for you seems to be a recipe for inattention and possibly disaster. Except perhaps when you are hundreds of miles offshore and away from shipping. And then you don't really need a waypoint anyway.

What's the subtle difference between letting an autopilot steer to a waypoint, and letting an autopilot steer to a manually calculated course? Except, of course, that the autopilot will allow for XTE when steering to a waypoint.

Using an autopilot frees the skipper to do other things, and certainly isn't a recipe for disaster. I use my autopilot a lot, even in marina situations if singlehanded, and find it invaluable.

 

[davidej]

What's the subtle difference between letting an autopilot steer to a waypoint, and letting an autopilot steer to a manually calculated course? Except, of course, that the autopilot will allow for XTE when steering to a waypoint.

Using an autopilot frees the skipper to do other things, and certainly isn't a recipe for disaster. I use my autopilot a lot, even in marina situations if singlehanded, and find it invaluable.

I think one of the differences is that I am unlikely to be disturbed while having a cup of tea below by a big clang as the yacht hits the buoy I have carefully chosen as a waypoint.

Seriously though, while the effect of the two is the same. i think the need to monitor regularly is less likely to lull you into a false sense of security and hence inattention.

 

[pvb]

I think one of the differences is that I am unlikely to be disturbed while having a cup of tea below by a big clang as the yacht hits the buoy I have carefully chosen as a waypoint.

Seriously though, while the effect of the two is the same. i think the need to monitor regularly is less likely to lull you into a false sense of security and hence inattention.

Nobody with an ounce of common sense would ever set the coordinates of a buoy as a waypoint!

 

[RupertW]

What's the subtle difference between letting an autopilot steer to a waypoint, and letting an autopilot steer to a manually calculated course? Except, of course, that the autopilot will allow for XTE when steering to a waypoint.

Using an autopilot frees the skipper to do other things, and certainly isn't a recipe for disaster. I use my autopilot a lot, even in marina situations if singlehanded, and find it invaluable.

My main issue with letting an autopilot steer to a waypoint is exactly what you mention - that it steers to an XTE instead of making an efficient S-curve across a changing tide to reach the bouy sooner. So only a disadvantage using the feature on a longer distance.

 

[SteveA]

Nobody with an ounce of common sense would ever set the coordinates of a buoy as a waypoint!

You may be surprised to hear a wind farm boat locally did just that and yes they did hit the legs of a leading light they had put as a waypoint (the skipper was sacked!!)

 

[PaulRainbow]

My main issue with letting an autopilot steer to a waypoint is exactly what you mention - that it steers to an XTE instead of making an efficient S-curve across a changing tide to reach the bouy sooner. So only a disadvantage using the feature on a longer distance.

Surely it's the same if you set a compass heading and keep tweaking it as you go, which is what was suggested here ?

Automatic tweaking versus manual tweaking ?

 

[ithet]

As I know very little about yacht electronics, I would like some advice please,

I have a Moody 29, which I sail single handed most of the time. All lines are fed back to the cockpit which is a great help, and I make good use of my Navico TP300C Tiller Pilot.

What I would like to know is do I have the equipment already to add a chartplotter to, to operate the tiller pilot?

View attachment 103180
I have this mounted in the cabin ceiling

View attachment 103181
The TP300C

View attachment 103182
Current Instruments

I am on a budget, and with the age of the Instruments, quite happy to buy something second hand to suit.

Thank you for looking, After 27 years with a Westerly22 and no more than a ropey old depth sounder, it's not something I know much about!

Many thanks,

Phil

Quick answer yes, probably.

Those Navman/NorthStar instruments output to NMEA0183 (as well as their own proprietary 'NavBus'), which the special Navman interface box in your first picture provides access to. This would provide wind and boatspeed data to a plotter with NMEA0183 interface. Provided the plotter has a suitably configurable NMEA0183 output it will be able to provide 'waypoint' and 'wind' steering.

I am assuming that the Navico TP300C was the same as the Simrad TP32, in which case the NMEA0183 input sentences used (which you want the plotter to output) are:

 

[PaulRainbow]

Quick answer yes, probably.

Those Navman/NorthStar instruments output to NMEA0183 (as well as their own proprietary 'NavBus'), which the special Navman interface box in your first picture provides access to. This would provide wind and boatspeed data to a plotter with NMEA0183 interface. Provided the plotter has a suitably configurable NMEA0183 output it will be able to provide 'waypoint' and 'wind' steering.

I am assuming that the Navico TP300C was the same as the Simrad TP32, in which case the NMEA0183 input sentences used (which you want the plotter to output) are:

The quick answer was post #4

 

[ithet]

BTW,

It seems a little odd to have the Navman repeater next to the instruments it repeats, wouldn't this be more useful mounted at the chart table?

 

[RupertW]

Surely it's the same if you set a compass heading and keep tweaking it as you go, which is what was suggested here ?

Automatic tweaking versus manual tweaking ?

I suppose the main difference is that you don’t need to tweak at all, except perhaps very close to the end, if you set it to steer a compass course based on the expected S-curve from the tide tables, whereas if you put in a course on the plotter between you and the waypoint you have to plot every single change in curve along the S, and then track to that, which seems very complicated.

But the cross-tide distance is less than perhaps 2 hours sail it’s negligibble.

 

[PaulRainbow]

I suppose the main difference is that you don’t need to tweak at all, except perhaps very close to the end, if you set it to steer a compass course based on the expected S-curve from the tide tables, whereas if you put in a course on the plotter between you and the waypoint you have to plot every single change in curve along the S, and then track to that, which seems very complicated.

But the cross-tide distance is less than perhaps 2 hours sail it’s negligibble.

I was thinking of the common way people seem to just engage the AP then tweak it when they get off course, same as steering to a WP. Although post #6 did say "work out the compass course ", which is a different thing and no doubt what you meant

 

[Mort]

Thanks for all your replies, I'm not really think over long distances, just as others have said, I was just thinking about an easier way just to give me time to do other things, and not have to keep going back and tweaking the Tiller Pilot,