Auto pliot

Groucho

Groucho

Well-Known Member
Jun 11, 2008
1,614
Albany/Lake George NY
Boat Info
2004 320 DA
Engines
6.2 V-Drives
Looks like my new to me 04 320 has autopilot. It's pretty much the end of the season so I won't have a chance to see if and how it works. We are on a 32 mile long inland lake with 120 islands and plenty of hazards.
Question is...how hard is it to use?

what are the steps to set it? Does it do the follow the breadcrumbs tracking back?

Thanks...I'm a newbie to this.
 
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You don't say you what kind it is, but they are easy to use. Raymarine APs have a button you push that says navigate or something similar. When you push it, the boat maintains the heading you are on. There is a large knob that you can turn. Turn it left the boat goes left. Right, boat goes right. The bigger the turn, the bigger the course correction. They are programmable to follow a route with multiple way points. I used mine all the time in the manual mode on our small lake because steering was accomplished by the mere turn of the knob. Also ran routes of 100 to 250 miles with it as well. APS save you fuel and a lot of work.
 
I will add this, as I have a 2004 vintage Sea Ray, too. I use "auto-pilot" in the "hold heading mode" only. When I am in a no wake zone, or on a long trip, for the life of me I cannot drive a straight line. I will usually engage the autopilot and use it to hold a heading. I will adjust +1 or +10, either Port or Starboard to maintain my good course. If in a congested area, of course, I disengage the autopilot.

I do not use it to follow a pre-determined course to change way points.

Jaybeaux
 
Sounds logical. I think it is the Raymarine as it had a gray cover, the same as the radar.
I am not near the boat and when I picked it up it was raining so I was distracted and didn't pay much attention. Just trying to stay dry and get the mooring cover on before I was cold and wet.
 
sbw1 said:
View attachment 75596 You don't say you what kind it is, but they are easy to use. Raymarine APs have a button you push that says navigate or something similar. When you push it, the boat maintains the heading you are on. There is a large knob that you can turn. Turn it left the boat goes left. Right, boat goes right. The bigger the turn, the bigger the course correction. They are programmable to follow a route with multiple way points. I used mine all the time in the manual mode on our small lake because steering was accomplished by the mere turn of the knob. Also ran routes of 100 to 250 miles with it as well. APS save you fuel and a lot of work.
Click to expand...

Just found a pic I took....Raymarine ST6001.
Funny....prior owner didn't even mention it as a selling point. or the Radar for that matter.
 
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Groucho said:
Just found a pic I took....Raymarine ST6001.
Funny....prior owner didn't even mention it as a selling point. or the Radar for that matter.
Click to expand...
I believe you will enjoy having an AP and will use it a lot. Even in crowded traffic, you just place it on standby with the push of a button and then re-engage it when traffic clears. At no wake speeds it steers the boat better than you will using the helm.
 
Up until a few months ago I only used it to hold a steady course and make changes to the course with the plus and minus buttons on long trips.
Much nicer than steering with the wheel. Very relaxing to be able to sit back and watch.
But after getting my ST 7001 to communicate properly with my newer MFD’s this summer I’ve used it a few times to automatically follow plotted courses or saved previous tracks and I love it.
 
We have a ST6001 based system as well. It is tied into the RM display and will run a pre set course or “route” in addition to being a standalone device. In standalone mode you press the “auto” button and it stays on your current heading until you shut it off. An earlier post described using a wheel to make course adjustment. On the 6001 there is no wheel but a +1, +10, -1, -10 buttons to adjust course in one and ten degree increments.

H
 
FootballFan said:
Would not own a boat that did not have AP.
Click to expand...
I agree after our first season with one. The pluses for me are the ability to set the boat on a course at no wake speed to do housekeeping chores like putting fenders and lines away/out. And besides the obvious, being in rough conditions is much more stress free having the ap wrestle with the conditions and keep on course.

H
 
Henry Boyd said:
We have a ST6001 based system as well. It is tied into the RM display and will run a pre set course or “route” in addition to being a standalone device. In standalone mode you press the “auto” button and it stays on your current heading until you shut it off. An earlier post described using a wheel to make course adjustment. On the 6001 there is no wheel but a +1, +10, -1, -10 buttons to adjust course in one and ten degree increments.

H
Click to expand...

Mine has buttons too.
 
Henry Boyd said:
I agree after our first season with one. The pluses for me are the ability to set the boat on a course at no wake speed to do housekeeping chores like putting fenders and lines away/out. And besides the obvious, being in rough conditions is much more stress free having the ap wrestle with the conditions and keep on course.

H
Click to expand...

Same here, except I’m too much of a chicken to get more than a few feet from the helm. Can be pretty crowded and lots of unforgiving channels around here so I’ve got to be ready to react.
In wide open water out in the ocean with no other boats around would be different.
 
JVM225 said:
Same here, except I’m too much of a chicken to get more than a few feet from the helm. Can be pretty crowded and lots of unforgiving channels around here so I’ve got to be ready to react.
In wide open water out in the ocean with no other boats around would be different.
Click to expand...

It’s not about leaving the helm. I will not let the helm be unattended at anytime.

When your doing a several hour cruise, doesn’t wear you out keeping a heading.
 
FootballFan said:
It’s not about leaving the helm. I will not let the helm be unattended at anytime.

When your doing a several hour cruise, doesn’t wear you out keeping a heading.
Click to expand...

Here in New England the lobster men use the Mark I autopilot (rope tied around wheel) to hold a bearing while they go to the back of the boat to pull traps. That is why it’s also the local custom to give a working lobster boat a wide berth.

H
 
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