Biggles Wader
Well-known member
Sounds like he possibly needs a more experienced "helper" on the trip. That way it wont matter too much if some of the techy stuff doesnt work.
Not speaking.
- Thread starter veshengro
- Start date
Chiara’s slave
Well-known member
Preferably one experienced in multihull sailing. A trip round Lands End isn’t ideal as your first experience of performance multis.
Baggywrinkle
Well-known member
Got all these bits talking to each other on my last boat, a mix of Seatalk, and both NMEAs ... the Raymarine (Seatalk1) autopilot could steer to a waypoint from the Standard Horizon (NMEA0183) plotter ... it worked flawlessly for many years - then I added a WiFi router to make all the info available on all the busses and the Tablet ... apart from a horrible bug - the Seatalk network was overloaded by the default Gateway settings which resulted in erratic behaviour of the autopilot compass and even more erratic behviour of the autopilot itself - I switched off the NMEA200 routing to Seatalk and got it all working superbly.
To connect a plotter to an autopilot do the following ...
First check which plotter interfaces are available and if the autopilot has an equivalent input? Is a gateway needed?
Next check - does the plotter broadcast the necessary sentences on its output? - usually cross track error, heading to waypoint etc. - most do by default as this is a standard use-case.
Then - are the sentences enabled for output? Dependent on plotter but again usually enabled by default.
Wire them together correctly (plotter TX to autopilot RX and connect the common grounds) or simply plug in properly terminated NMEA2000 network connectors - NMEA2000 makes connection so much simpler but some supliers have bespoke connectors and a Brandname - adapters are usually available.
.. and finally, just work out how to operate the autopilot to steer to a waypout - usually you set up the plotter and start navigation to the next waypoint - it then starts broadcasting the info required by the autopilot - then you go to the autopilot and activate it's navigate to waypoint function - they vary as to how you achieve this so read the manual. Hot tip - make sure the boat is heading in roughly the right direction before switching on the autopilot or you could end up with your G&Ts on the cockpit floor.
Many charter companies disable this feature by switching the transmission of the info off in the plotter as they don't trust their clients to operate it correctly.
I did have brain fade at the beginning of a season once, and dismantled the whole system looking for connection problems between the plotter and autopilot, after around 3 hours of tracing connections, I discovered I had mis-remembered how to use the autopilot. Felt like a right tw@t. Put it back together and it worked fine.
To connect a plotter to an autopilot do the following ...
First check which plotter interfaces are available and if the autopilot has an equivalent input? Is a gateway needed?
Next check - does the plotter broadcast the necessary sentences on its output? - usually cross track error, heading to waypoint etc. - most do by default as this is a standard use-case.
Then - are the sentences enabled for output? Dependent on plotter but again usually enabled by default.
Wire them together correctly (plotter TX to autopilot RX and connect the common grounds) or simply plug in properly terminated NMEA2000 network connectors - NMEA2000 makes connection so much simpler but some supliers have bespoke connectors and a Brandname - adapters are usually available.
.. and finally, just work out how to operate the autopilot to steer to a waypout - usually you set up the plotter and start navigation to the next waypoint - it then starts broadcasting the info required by the autopilot - then you go to the autopilot and activate it's navigate to waypoint function - they vary as to how you achieve this so read the manual. Hot tip - make sure the boat is heading in roughly the right direction before switching on the autopilot or you could end up with your G&Ts on the cockpit floor.
Many charter companies disable this feature by switching the transmission of the info off in the plotter as they don't trust their clients to operate it correctly.
I did have brain fade at the beginning of a season once, and dismantled the whole system looking for connection problems between the plotter and autopilot, after around 3 hours of tracing connections, I discovered I had mis-remembered how to use the autopilot. Felt like a right tw@t. Put it back together and it worked fine.
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jimi
Well-known member
My autopilot only talks to me, and that's the way I like it ;-)
Baggywrinkle
Well-known member
Does it whisper sweet northings in your ear?
jimi
Well-known member
Only when going due north
Iliade
Well-known member
Surely a 30' tri is too much for most autopilots, most of the time, anyway? I guess he could fill her up with stuff to slow things down...
Chiara’s slave
Well-known member
My 30ft tri steers with a finger and thumb. Even if it’s blowing a bit.
veshengro
Well-known member
Just logged on, saw Baggy's wiring diagram and had a mild panic attack, thought at first it was the Moscow Underground map.. In fact I think the Underground map makes more sense to me..
Just to update. The lad with the Trimaran sailed on Tuesday evening according to the Boat Yard crew. One other young man and an older chap turned up to help him. I asked if he had fixed his electronics and was told by the yard man that the older man had a Laptop or Plotter of some kind that would see them safe round to the Solent where electronic whizzes are believed to abound.
At my yard there are shackles, stainless or galvanised, anti fouling paint by the gallon and rope with coloured specks but that's about as modern as it gets, although I did see a packet of 10amp fuses on a shelf...once.
Just to update. The lad with the Trimaran sailed on Tuesday evening according to the Boat Yard crew. One other young man and an older chap turned up to help him. I asked if he had fixed his electronics and was told by the yard man that the older man had a Laptop or Plotter of some kind that would see them safe round to the Solent where electronic whizzes are believed to abound.
At my yard there are shackles, stainless or galvanised, anti fouling paint by the gallon and rope with coloured specks but that's about as modern as it gets, although I did see a packet of 10amp fuses on a shelf...once.
jamie N
Well-known member
Having the information required to navigate around the SW is great, but having them not "talk to each other" isn't a crisis, surely?
Given that he's new to a 30' cat, it might be argued that the fewer distractions he has, the better.
"Aviate, navigate, communicate".
Given that he's new to a 30' cat, it might be argued that the fewer distractions he has, the better.
"Aviate, navigate, communicate".
dunedin
Well-known member
Why? 100 foot foiling tris sail round the world on autopilot most of the way.
veshengro
Well-known member
" but having them not "talk to each other" isn't a crisis, surely? "
I agree, but I know it was his first 'big boat' and his intention was to single hand it with the assistance of the electronics installed.
I think when he realised that it would not just be a question of 'switch everything on and away you go' he understandably had second thoughts. No criticism from me, he just let his enthusiasm run wild a little that's all, and at least he listened.
I agree, but I know it was his first 'big boat' and his intention was to single hand it with the assistance of the electronics installed.
I think when he realised that it would not just be a question of 'switch everything on and away you go' he understandably had second thoughts. No criticism from me, he just let his enthusiasm run wild a little that's all, and at least he listened.
Iliade
Well-known member
I understood that, when conditions were stronger, tris were demanding of faster autopilots than the normal stuff out there?
Chiara’s slave
Well-known member
That may be true of 100ft foiling tris. Dragonflys, Corsairs etc sail perfectly well with off the shelf tiller pilots. I have an ST2000.
