Setting Response and Rudder Gain on Autopilot

  • Thread starter Thread starter Deleted User YDKXO
  • Start date Start date
D

Deleted User YDKXO

Guest
On a recent trip on our boat we found ourselves in a moderate quartering sea and our Raymarine autopilot was struggling a bit to hold a steady course so I increased the Response level and Rudder Gain adjustment to near their max settings which improved the autopilot's performance significantly. The received wisdom seems to be that you shouldn't leave the autopilot on these settings because it will increase steering gear wear. But is this really the case? Anybody know of this having happened on their boats or others?
 
if it's being behaving correctly on previous settings, wouldn't it be simpler to store these "hi" settings on one of the autopilot presets and use it when needed? I guess the less stress on the pumps and all the equipment the better. No case to demonstrate though
 
interesting question Mike, I dont really get on well with auto pilots feeling that its a waste of fuel if Im not holding the wheel having fun!

When I use mine(while plotting or hoisting a courtesy flag etc for a few minutes only) its the mid setting I use.

In a heavy sea I find the high level setting does hold the track better but at the expense of making us all nauseous.

I too will be interested what others have to say.
 
Deleted User said:
On a recent trip on our boat we found ourselves in a moderate quartering sea and our Raymarine autopilot was struggling a bit to hold a steady course so I increased the Response level and Rudder Gain adjustment to near their max settings which improved the autopilot's performance significantly. The received wisdom seems to be that you shouldn't leave the autopilot on these settings because it will increase steering gear wear. But is this really the case? Anybody know of this having happened on their boats or others?
Click to expand...

As a matter of interest what model of autopilot have you got and if it's a Raymarine ST6000 can you tell me if "1" has the quickest response or is it "3"?
 
Deleted User said:
On a recent trip on our boat we found ourselves in a moderate quartering sea and our Raymarine autopilot was struggling a bit to hold a steady course so I increased the Response level and Rudder Gain adjustment to near their max settings which improved the autopilot's performance significantly. The received wisdom seems to be that you shouldn't leave the autopilot on these settings because it will increase steering gear wear. But is this really the case? Anybody know of this having happened on their boats or others?
Click to expand...
At which speed, M?
In a quartering sea, any A/P struggle to keep a steady course, particularly at slow speed.
The problem is that the degree of rudder reaction vs. the course deviation (often defined "rudder ratio", which I suppose is what you call "gain") has to be inversely proportional to speed.
Many A/Ps allow you to store your preferred settings for rudder ratio - possibly with other parameters which can also be critical to the boat behaviour, like counter rudder, angle limitation, deadband, etc.
Once you've done that, using one of the pre-defined settings is just a matter of pushing a button.

Anyway, balancing between the need to hold a steady course and the wish to limit the steering gear wear is actually a fine art.
As a rule of thumb, in rough quartering seas and at D speed, I tend to either accept a not so steady course on A/P, or steer manually if I'm in the mood.
Otoh, at 20 kts or so, the A/P should struggle MUCH less. If it does, I suspect that it needs some tuning.
 
Last edited:
Thepipdoc said:
As a matter of interest what model of autopilot have you got and if it's a Raymarine ST6000 can you tell me if "1" has the quickest response or is it "3"?
Click to expand...

ST6001+

1 gives the least response and 3 gives most.
 
Thanks Mapism and virtuvas. I can't find any method of 'saving' settings on my pilot. In fact, every time I switch off the pilot from the switchboard, the pilot loses any previous settings and reverts to minimum response and gain, which is irritating
 
Deleted User said:
Thanks Mapism and virtuvas. I can't find any method of 'saving' settings on my pilot. In fact, every time I switch off the pilot from the switchboard, the pilot loses any previous settings and reverts to minimum response and gain, which is irritating
Click to expand...

I think there is something in the manual that the user settings are lost when switched off and if you want more permament adjustments you have to go through a different set up. I dont have the manual at home but I was reading it last weekend because mine oversteers by some 25 degrees before it starts to correct and it was causing me to get quite stressed at times. Still did not see how to adjust though
 
Deleted User said:
On a recent trip on our boat we found ourselves in a moderate quartering sea and our Raymarine autopilot was struggling a bit to hold a steady course so I increased the Response level and Rudder Gain adjustment to near their max settings which improved the autopilot's performance significantly. The received wisdom seems to be that you shouldn't leave the autopilot on these settings because it will increase steering gear wear. But is this really the case? Anybody know of this having happened on their boats or others?
Click to expand...

on switching off it will reset to default
 
Powersalt said:
I think there is something in the manual that the user settings are lost when switched off and if you want more permament adjustments you have to go through a different set up. I dont have the manual at home but I was reading it last weekend because mine oversteers by some 25 degrees before it starts to correct and it was causing me to get quite stressed at times. Still did not see how to adjust though
Click to expand...

On my ST5000 you have to hold some buttons down for a good 10 secs whilst biting your lip and shutting one eye.. - or something, to go into the calibration settings. The you scroll through the myriad of variables until you get to the ones you want. Once set in there, they'll stay set even after switching off.

I've had real fun setting mine up in the past, I had to keep a record of all the different variations I had tried so I didn't get confused. As said above, it's quite an art. Which I'm still not convinced I have acquired fully:rolleyes:
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Share this page

Top