Forgetful old fart and autopilot

[jen1722terry]

Back in the 80s (that's 1980s, not 1880s) I sailed my little Bristol 26 around the Chesapeake almost exclusively single-handed. My little tiller auto pilot was the best thing I bought for the boat. It was simple, but allowed me upteen hours to do a lot of small maintenance jobs in the cockpit that might not have gotten done if I was constantly steering.

Jenn and I live aboard all summer and use our AP in all but heavy air and very thick fog. Wonderful invention.

We echo Stu Jackson, above: we'd kill each other (figuratively, I hope) without the AP.

Cheers!

Terry

[hzcruiser]

Originally Posted by Pete7

Same here, 14 hours hand steering back from France through a filthy black night into the teeth of a gale. We fitted a tiller pilot on the next trip when faced with another long trip home. Now upgraded to the latest Raymarine wheel pilot, pure luxury.

I can now make tea, go to the loo and plot the position etc.

Pete

There is no doubt an AP is most useful on longer passages, however, the OP stated:


My longest cruise time will be 8 to 10 hours, but that will definitely be the exception, not the rule.



Hence my suggestion would be to not fit one for now; if you feel after one of those occasional 10 h trips that it's worth the time and expense to fit and maintain one, just go ahead then.

[JerrySte]

My AP has a wireless remote which proves very handy, especially during nasty weather or when I need to go forward for some reason. I have a Delphia 33 Sailboat with s dodger so this proves very handy here in the PNW. When it comes to going below, I drop engine speed to idle because, as you say, there is a LOT of stuff in the water not to mention some fast moving traffic.

[hpeer]

I use kitchen timers so that I remember to take a look around. That forgetful old fart thing.

[jrd22]

Two local, fairly recent incidents to consider:
1. San Juan ferry runs over sailboat. Sailor was on autopilot and went down below to use the head.

2. Large power boat ran up the beach and into the brush. Two elderly gents were up top "steering" and both fell asleep.
We use autopilot all the time, but someone is on watch at all times also.

[dotgone]

Auto Pilot Mistakes. They are wonderful but don't forget to keep a good eye on traffic. Here is a link that shows you exactly why you should not leave the helm for more than one minute. Enjoy

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mtZJ__8PVDU

[jmschmidt]

A wireless remote for your autopilot does not meet the regulation for the requirement to "maintain a proper watch." I think it means human eyeballs.

[Dooglas]

Originally Posted by jmschmidt

A wireless remote for your autopilot does not meet the regulation for the requirement to "maintain a proper watch." I think it means human eyeballs.

Certainly an autopilot is not, in any sense, an alternative to keeping a proper watch. On the other hand, the whole point of a remote for your autopilot is the ability to control the boat from other positions besides at the helm - such as the forward deck. That is in no sense contrary to the need to keep a proper watch as far as I can see.

[rsn48]

Okay, thanks for the input. I have used a simplified autopilot on my (sort of) Tanzer 26 sailboat. Its was one of those simple jobbies, where you set it and that's it, the AP just maintains that course.

By the way, thought I'd throw this in; in a terrible shipping accident that cost two lives and the loss of the Queen of the North (BC Ferries), part of the problem was the autopilot. The ship had been in for refit and the old AP replaced with a new one. The person at the helm, in the looming crises didn't know how to turn the AP off, crazy I know. I have a link for a short review of a book written about this tragedy by the Captain who was aboard at the time and was dismissed, went to court and appealed the dismissal and won - twice.

https://vancouversun.com/entertainme...aused-disaster

So I ran into a problem with the engine and leg of the current equipment, and to cut to the chase, I'm re-powering for an amount that would buy me a new BMW (3 series). I'm excited about this as the boat had some steering issues going in a straight line, I believe due to definite over propping by the previous owner. I'm looking at a Volvo with duoprop so I am certain my steering problems will disappear.

I will be installing hydraulic steering so that I can install AP next year or in the near future if I find I really need it. I've only had the boat since early august 2018 and did one longer trip of four days and three nights with three of us. We just set a one hour alarm on a watch, and each took turns spelling the other off at the helm.

If I remember correctly, the Pardy's spent ocean crossings with something like a Timex set to somewhere between 7 - 10 minutes, the time they estimated a ship could come from below the horizon to potential collision avoidance. All this on their non-motor 24 foot heavy displacement sailboat that took them half way around the world.

[atoll]

auto pilots are for pussies!
hand steering teaches the crew to handsteer a proper course even in big seas.
this is especially important,even if you have an auto pilot,that the crew actually can steer the boat and keep a watch at the same time ,if and when the auto pilot fails.
hand steering also is a great way to occupy crew if you have more than three people onboard on a long passage.

[Tillsbury]

Originally Posted by hpeer

I use kitchen timers so that I remember to take a look around. That forgetful old fart thing.

Don’t think it’s anything to do with forgetfulness. I have an Apple Watch and it is just a single tap to repeat a 10-minute timer (or whatever time you prefer). You can’t miss it because it keeps tapping your wrist until you acknowledge it. And of course it’s always with you. I take care to do a thorough 360 lookout and check instruments/course every time it goes off, regardless of whatever other lookouts I’m doing. That way it cannot be more than 10 minutes since the last time. I’m talking about offshore, of course, where down here it’s unlikely you’ll see more than one other boat all night.

[FREEDOM60]

My auto pilot control unit is mounted on the cabin facing the cockpit, so I can sit in the companionway under the dodger for shelter from sun and rain while I monitor the situation ahead. I can easily reach the kill button, or move back to adjust throttle if necessary, but rarely need to use the wheel as steering is easy with the control unit. It's great for automatic 90° turns while dealing with the jib, and for holding into the wind while hoisting the main.

[Delfin]

Originally Posted by rsn48

So I've toyed with an autopilot and so far have decided against one. I cruise the Inside Passage area so change of course requirements usually occur sooner than latter. I tell my guests they are my autopilot and I often do an hour on and an hour off schedule for daylight running on the helm.

It has occurred to me I could use an autopilot when running solo on my power boat, top speed currently 11 knots. But I could see going down below to the galley and V birth area and then getting caught up in some task I had not intended to do while my boat cheerfully carries on without my attention and ....

So is there some benefit of autopilot I'm not taking into account? My longest cruise time will be 8 to 10 hours, but that will definitely be the exception, not the rule.

Safety would be the main advantage, IMO. On the same route you tender to we might override the AP once a day, if that. We slave the AP to the route before starting out from an anchorage. This gives us the chance to zoom in on the route on the chart plotter and think about obstacles, currents, etc. Watch keeping is then enhanced because you aren't steering - you're just watching for boats, logs, crab pots, etc. If you're not distracted with steering, you're keeping a better watch.

[Delfin]

Originally Posted by atoll

auto pilots are for pussies!
hand steering teaches the crew to handsteer a proper course even in big seas.
this is especially important,even if you have an auto pilot,that the crew actually can steer the boat and keep a watch at the same time ,if and when the auto pilot fails.
hand steering also is a great way to occupy crew if you have more than three people onboard on a long passage.

You're joking, right?

[Dooglas]

Originally Posted by atoll

auto pilots are for pussies!
hand steering teaches the crew to handsteer a proper course even in big seas.
this is especially important, even if you have an auto pilot, that the crew actually can steer the boat and keep a watch at the same time, if and when the auto pilot fails. Hand steering also is a great way to occupy crew if you have more than three people onboard on a long passage.

I would think that rowing with long sweeps would be an even better way to give the additional crew members something to do all day on extended passages.