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autopilot review

Brian, I can offer an excellent beta testing boat site on the Oregon coast :) Heavy displacement boat with big unbalanced rudder. :) Heavy quartering seas on demand. :)
 
:) so how often do you get out ? One issue I have had with some folks is they don't actually do all that much sailing so feedback can be sparse. Or they always have crew so the AP isn't used. Is your boat a fin keel or full keel ? I am entertaining a couple more trial testers so let me know.
 
I get out quite often, last week 3 times (Friday, Saturday, Sunday) Just completed a singlehanded trip from Brookings, OR to Columbia river (Ilwaco, WA) and return, going 100 miles offshore and covering 360 miles (on the return portion) I'm an ABYC certified electrician and have 25 years in industrial controls and automation. My boat has a full keel. We also have a small local race series that runs through the spring/summer/fall...unfortunately it is not well attended. We race every 2 weeks. I can film the pilot with a gopro....I have tuned PID loops for Boiler level control and things like that...might be useful.. also done quite a bit of motion control.
What do you think Boss?
 
Gary,

I am sending you a PM.

Brian

WBChristie said:
I get out quite often, last week 3 times (Friday, Saturday, Sunday) Just completed a singlehanded trip from Brookings, OR to Columbia river (Ilwaco, WA) and return, going 100 miles offshore and covering 360 miles (on the return portion) I'm an ABYC certified electrician and have 25 years in industrial controls and automation. My boat has a full keel. We also have a small local race series that runs through the spring/summer/fall...unfortunately it is not well attended. We race every 2 weeks. I can film the pilot with a gopro....I have tuned PID loops for Boiler level control and things like that...might be useful.. also done quite a bit of motion control.
What do you think Boss?
Click to expand...
 
Jim - a first key things to watch for no matter what AP system you end up choosing...

Get a good understanding of likely power usage - especially if you have a heavy helm that pilot will be "wrestling". You could end up running your engine/generator as little as 4 hours per day or as many as 9 hours per day depending on your AP power draw.

Budget for buying two of them. Over half of all SHTP racers lose their first autopilot. No matter how good an AP you have, you really do need a second one - and the second one needs to be a good one too.

Get an AP "one size too large" for the job. As you found out already, adverse conditions can really strain the AP. If your primary AP burns out in a day or two, its likely your secondary one will too. Those AP manufacturers tend to quote "one size too small" for what you really want/need.

I have an alpha spectra... its not cheap (though not the most expensive)... uses relatively little power... and can swing the wheel fast enough to steer under chute in 25k of wind. Though I have no idea what the "special" requirements might be for for an AP for a multihull... and I suspect for a performance multihull, AP requirements might be a bit different then for a monohull.
 
LUcie,
It is I, Jim Bates. I have been away from the forum since my original inquiry about autopilots, due to unscheduled clinical depression over sinking my boat shortly after making the inquiry. I just wasnt up to thinking about it. Good news was that it was only in 15 feet of water, bad news of course being that it was still over my head. I just saw Brian and Cliffs very helpful responses, and wanted to thank them for their detailed and very complete and helpful posts.
I have the boat docked back behind my house, and am trying to get motivated to get back on that horse. My wife was my crew that day, and was down below looking for lifejackets when it flipped. I hate the way that looks when I read it by the way, although, it may not rank in the top ten of stupid things I have done in my 69 years. It is the first boat I've sank at least. Well, the second if you count the NOYC Flying Scot regatta boat.
The other good news is that besides a few tears in the sails, and a broken sleeve in the mast, and a destroyed electrical system, it is repairable. I am installing two automatic bilge pumps in each ama before it leaves the dock again.
I guess the other good news is that I will not have the expense of supplies to feed the wife, as it will be a cold day in hell before she gets on a boat again.
The bad news, in all seriousness, is she was traumatized enough that she will never enjoy sailing again. That breaks my heart.
Jim
 
back from the deeps

Mewes said:
Good golly, is this you, Jim Bates? I've been looking for you since Ben and I chaired the TransPac in 2006!

Lucie Mewes
Click to expand...

Lucie,
I replied to you on page 5. Sorry for the delay. You will understand.
Jim Bates
 
OMG!

Now there's a worthy news story, Jim. I am so sorry for your wife, and luckily, I have recovered from my sailing terrors. Recovery took about ten years. My new husband and I are about to depart for a quick cruise to Mexico.

Please keep me up to date on your back to the water progress.

Lucie
 
Good golly, this is such a great thread for folks who understand it!

Gary, are you planning to enter the TransPac?

Lucie
 
one way to solve the problem

Mewes said:
OMG!

Now there's a worthy news story, Jim. I am so sorry for your wife, and luckily, I have recovered from my sailing terrors. Recovery took about ten years. My new husband and I are about to depart for a quick cruise to Mexico.

Please keep me up to date on your back to the water progress.

Lucie
Click to expand...

Lucie,
My concern is that my wife might want to solve her problem the same way as you, i.e.-get a new husband.
I dont know where I would find again such a good cook, that looks that good in a bikini. Of course now that she is not getting on a boat with me again, the bikini part is kind of moot.
Jim
 
No, Jim, the new husband wasn't the solution to liking sailing.

Some racing, some ocean sailing helped. And some classes. The split was over teenagers.

Good to see you here.
 
A fix for broken Ray Marine tiller pusher.

It's not if, it's when, the plastic tip breaks off the RayMarine 1000 or 2000 tiller pusher. Go to a hardware/plumbing supply and find:
brass adapter 3/8 x 3/8, flare x mip
124833 , lincoln product.
Fill the body of the brass adapter with epoxy or whatever. Drill a hole into, but not thru, the filled adapter. I used 7/64 to fit the tiller pin. Wrap the threads with teflon plumber tape. Thread it on the tiller pusher and enjoy using your auto pilot again. SDK
 
There is some collective opinion that for the Raymarine Autopilot, especially the previous X-5, to work well in apparent wind mode, it requires wind data from a Raymarine wind transducer via SeaTalk. More specifically, wind data from another manufacturer and input into the NMEA port on the X5 was inferior to Raymarine wired wind data via SeaTalk.

Has this changed now that there is a newer model of Raymarine Autopilot, Evolution EV-1, that occupies the similar market spot to the X-5? The Raymarine Evolution does not have an NMEA input, only SeaTalkNG (next generation) that is somehow similar to NMEA 2000. Raymarine now has acquired Tacktick and does not seem to market a Raymarine wind transducer speaking Seatalk. Further, Seatalk has been replaced by SeatalkNG (next generation). Raymarine offers a T122 wireless interface that will convert Tacktick wireless instruments to NMEA 0183. But the Raymarine Evolution Autopilot does not have an input for NMEA. There is a Raymaine product called iTC-5 Instrument Transducer Converter that would convert wired transducers to SeatalkNG, and that seems like it would work for wired transducers, but I cannot see how the Tacktick wireless system can work with the Raymarine Evolution Autopilot. Raymarine does have a NMEA 0181 to SeaTalk converter, so theoretically, the Tacktick wireless T122 could make NMEA 0183 that could be converted to Seatalk1 by the Raymarine converter, and Seatalk1 could be converted to SeatalkNG by the Seatalk 1 to SeatalkNG converter, but that seems silly to have 3 different things between the wireless instruments and the autopilot. Is there a way to more efficiently get the data to the autopilot?

Thanks,
Todd
 
Todd, I'm using ST50 wind (seatalk 1) with an Evolution (EV-100 tiller pack) for steer to wind (apparent or true) The interface is Seatalk to seatalk ng (part number E22158)
It all seems to work quite well so far. The kit puts the seatalk 1 info onto the seatalk ng backbone. Caution, when doing this the seatalk ng backbone backpowers the seatalk 1 instruments. If you don't disconnect the old seatalk instrument power source, it is possible to indirectly power up the autopilot through the backbone. Not good.
 
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WBChristie said:
Todd, I'm using ST50 wind (seatalk 1) with an Evolution (EV-100 tiller pack) for steer to wind (apparent or true) The interface is Seatalk to seatalk ng (part number E22158)
It all seems to work quite well so far. The kit puts the seatalk 1 info onto the seatalk ng backbone. Caution, when doing this the seatalk ng backbone backpowers the seatalk 1 instruments. If you don't disconnect the old seatalk instrument power source, it is possible to indirectly power up the autopilot through the backbone. Not good.
Click to expand...

Thank you. If I understand correctly, any Raymarine instruments up to ST60 are able to do Seatalk or Seatalk NG with the backbone, but I do not see a straighforward way for the Tacktick wind transducer to get to SeatalkNG. I will post this to the Raymarine Technical Forum, as well.

Todd

raymarine_setup.jpg
 
WBChristie said:
Sorry Todd, I misunderstood what you were asking. Would this NMEA 0183 to Seatalkng bridging device work?
http://www.imarineusa.com/actisensengw-1-stng.aspx
Or if the tacktic outputs nmea 2000 this could work -
http://www.blueheronmarine.com/Raymarine-A06046-Seatalk-NG-To-NMEA-2000-Male-Adapter-Cable-5962
Click to expand...

Thank you WBChrisitie-

Yes, the Actisense NMEA 0183 to SeatalkNG bridge device would combine two of the three steps. Previously, Tactick to NMEA 0183 with T122, followed by NMEA 0183 to Seatalk1 with Raymarine converter, followed by Seatalk1 to Seatalk NG with the Raymarine Seatalk1 to SeatalkNG converter. The last two steps are combined with the Actisense bridge.

It sounds like it would be too slow. I did post this to the Raymarine Technical Forum, so perhaps that will come up with something. http://raymarine.ning.com/forum/topics/how-can-tacktick-mn100-series-wind-instrument-and-speed

Todd
 
RM X5 tiller pilot repair under West Marine extended warranty.

My experience to aid others:

I purchased the extended warranty via Protection Plus who then hands off claims to AMT warranty in Texas. They were a little slow in responses, corrections and actions.

My X5 went into "Sea Talk" failure on the return of Longpac 2013. I tried some diagnoses but did not find the problem. It then returned to normal after a few weeks and was operational for 6 months and a few races. Then it went back into Sea Talk failure the day before 3BF.

Star Marine said that it was traced to sea water intrusion of the remote controller box. They could not see how water could get to it and neither could I, but there was dried salt residue on the electronic board. It must have been those wispering Gremlins with squirt bottles.


JB
 
JB,

Just to clarify, by "remote controller box" do you mean the control head, the object with the lcd screen that is used to control the AP. Or do you mean the course computer (the brains of the whole deal)? Or do you mean something else?
 
To clarify my "remote controller box" is not the LCD control/display or brain box, but rather the $400 dollar wireless remote control accessory that can be plugged into the brain box. Ray Marine S100, http://www.raymarine.com/view/?id=848. About $200 for a new wireless remote control box. Not covered under warranty.

I also asked Ian at Star Marine about the urban myth that the AP would shut down if the hand remote was immersed in water. He never heard of it or could NOT see how it could be done with the S100. For MOB situation. Part of my self recovery plan is to carry the remote on my vest.

Related to that is this snipet from the S100 wireless remote brochure.

"Warning signaled when the remote is out of range of the base station and automatically drops autopilot to standby" I will try this at the dock.

An additional thought about my X5 AP & West Marine inspired warranty. In my particular case, the cost of the warranty likely equalled the diagnostic labor of the AP system. If I had to purchase a new system, I would be inclined to NOT purchase the extended warranty. RM provided 2 years warranty from defects and then I coud get a third year by registering the product.


JB
 
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