Auto Pilot 101

[shaw520]

Been boating my entire life,.. or at least 35 yrs of it,.. have had several boats ranging from row boats up to my current SeaRay 280, and Im just now becoming interested in an auto pilot system for my current SR 280. Its a 1990 SR 280 with twin 5.0's, 10-6 beam and AOL is 32'. I boat mostly on the Hudson River from the Lower Hudson Valley north to Albany.
With more usable space on this boat Id like to spend less time at the helm,.. I like trawling along at 7-8 knots and find that at this speed an auto pilot system could be very handy. With zero experience with auto pilot, Im guessing that radar is almost a necessity while using auto pilot, (I dont have radar),... but for the most part I would be watching all around me and not far or long from the helm. I also thought about installing a simple camera on the radar arch with a monitor in the cabin for those short moments im down below. Is this unsafe practice ?? Your thoughts and experiences are welcome. Thank you.

 

[shrew]

Radar is only necessary if you can't see. The only benefit I find is in the fog. You can see the buoy lights at night as well as other boats. Auot-pilot is to prevent having to hand steer the boat. Hand steering can be tiring over long periods of time. It can be a fight to keep on course when getting banged around in heavy seas, strong winds and currents. Auto-pilot holds a straight course and can be configured to account for external forces pushing you off course. That allows you to save some time and fuel because wandering back and forth along a course increases distance traveled.

It's not really intended to be a pilotless system. someone should be at the helm on watch even with an auto-pilot.

 

[H20Rat]

Also, autopilot doesn't navigate for you. As shrew mentioned, straight line only.

 

[Ned L]

:O!!! As said above,.. The Only thing an autopilot does is to keep the boat going in a straight line. They do not interface with radar, they are NOT in anyway a substitute for being at the helm and performimg due dillagance for what is going on around you.
And on the Hudson they do not see that tree trunk you are about to run over.
Given your thoughts about what an autopilot is and does I would strongly recommend against getting one until you learn a lot more about them.

 

[shaw520]

I understand,.. thank you.

 

[Ned L]

No problem

 

[shaw520]

There are sections of the hudson that are very straight for many miles at a time,... at 6-8 knots that could take over an hr to cover. If sitting at the helm is recommended then why would anyone want/need an auto pilot? I can watch from anywhere in the boat correct? BTW Ned L,.. we navigate the river at night often,.. so the occasion stump or log is a known risk we take if on plane....but at 6 knots it will likely get pushed aside before it hits the drive gear. I wouldnt attempt to plan up on Autopilot.

 

[Ned L]

I'm pretty familiar with the Hudson. Grew up boating in the Sandy Hook (NJ) area. A fair number of times we cruised from there up the Hudson, through the Champlain canal system & up Lake Champlain to the Canadian boarder and back.
At 12 knots, three days from the Hook to Whitehall NY at the bottom of the lake.
Oh the stuff we used to see, you would definately Not want to hit even at 5-6 knots.

An autopilot just saves you from having to watch the compass so much. It is not to allow you to leave the seat ( for longer than about what you can hold your breath). It also allows you to concentrate more on your surroundings, boats, tugs & barges, and esp the debris in the water.

 

[shaw520]

I've gone from mid hudsin to Burlington Vt twice via the Champlain Canal, took on 75gals of bad gas at Whitehall one time..,grrr. Just got back from running the flights of the Erie. But my true preferences are the largest parts of the Hudson, from Liberty landing to just south of Albany. We made to the Hook last yr and visited the Channel C lub

 

[Ned L]

Yep,... My home waters. Grew up on the Navesink & Shrewsbury Rivers. I knew the Channel Club, before it was that, before the condo tower was built, before there was a travel lift, before the parking lot was paved, hmm, before there Was a parking lot. I knew it when it was Mihm's boat works, and you had to drive throu the salt marsh dirt road to get to it. When it had a marine railway and one wooden boat building shed.
I knew old Capt' Mihm and his sons George, Walter, and Henry ( they built "Channel Club" and the tower in the early 70's). That was a great place to grow up as a kid. I can still smell the Jersey white cedar in the shop.

We never did the Erie Canal. Thought about it some. We used to alternate years, one summer was up the Hudson to Lake Champlain, and the next was out L.I. Sound and southern N.E. As far as Nantucket. We alternated for about ten years. Great memories.
Been up the Hudson as far as West Point a good number more times. NY Harbor was routine for us. We used to act as Commitee boat for a couple of large sailboat races in the harbor (Mayor's cup and Governor's cup).
We were the formal Commitee boat for Op Sail '76 and had the Lt Governor and the USCG Port Commander (C.G. NY / Governors Island) aboard for the day then.

 

[shaw520]

Interesting,...what type of boat were you in ?,... No sails beyond the Federal lock,... bridges there are barley 12'

 

[Ned L]

My family's boat then was a 1950, 46ft Chris Craft "double cabin flying bridge". A roomy and comfortable boat. She cruised at 12 knots and used 7 gallons of diesel fuel an hour (for both engines), very economical.

This is a 'sistership' I just found on the internet. Same boat though. Ours had a hardtop added to the bridge. She really was a "family boat". In the ten years we had her we did every bit of work and maintenance on her, from the diesel mechanics to wood working, and the annual painting and varnishing. We all participated.

Yep, depending on the water height in the canal, only 12 - 14 feet of clearance. There are cranes at the Federal lock and at Whitehall to pull and drop the sailboat masts. .......... And the tugboats have telescoping wheelhouses that go up and down to fit under the bridges.

 

[shrew]

If sitting at the helm is recommended then why would anyone want/need an auto pilot?

I mentioned the two reasons in post #2.

 

[shaw520]

Sounds like great upbringing Ned, consider yourself lucky, my parents took us camping, always to a lake bc my dad was a forever boat owner, (US Navy Vet)..I still remember his first wooden Thompson w/90hp Evinrude,.. he was an explorer with us yougens aboard in Scrune, Saranac, St Lawrence, ect. In the mid 60's

 

[dingbat]

Also, autopilot doesn't navigate for you. As shrew mentioned, straight line only.

This is not a valid comment. Most AP will steer a course feed from a chart plotter with auto-routing feature such as my Garmin.

Select the destination on the plotter, select Auto-route and sit back.
Some also have track repeat, auto turn, and preset shapes/ circles it will follow

 

[shaw520]

This is not a valid comment. Most AP will steer a course feed from a chart plotter with auto-routing feature such as my Garmin.

Select the destination on the plotter, select Auto-route and sit back.
Some also have track repeat, auto turn, and preset shapes/ circles it will follow

I knew this already but didn't want to disagree with poster. Could be very handy in the Hudson because the channels are pre-charted on most navigation software

 

[Ned L]

This is not a valid comment. Most AP will steer a course feed from a chart plotter with auto-routing feature such as my Garmin.

Select the destination on the plotter, select Auto-route and sit back.
Some also have track repeat, auto turn, and preset shapes/ circles it will follow

OK, .... another example of "learn something new every day" for me. Thank you! , ...... though I pretty much expected this capability, have just never looked into it or worked with it.

Along with my 59 yr old boat I think I'll stick with 59 yr old navigating (compass, charts, clock & Eldridge)......... Though I admit a GPS is sure nice to have when the fog rolls in and at night.

 

[Ned L]

Sounds like great upbringing Ned, consider yourself lucky, my parents took us camping, always to a lake bc my dad was a forever boat owner, (US Navy Vet)..I still remember his first wooden Thompson w/90hp Evinrude,.. he was an explorer with us yougens aboard in Scrune, Saranac, St Lawrence, ect. In the mid 60's

Yes, I was quite blessed with my upbringing. and I think one of the most valuable lessons was learning to do it ourselves. We had great experiences and great opportunities, but it wasn't 'handed to us'. As I said, spring times were spent in the boat yard doing everything required to maintain 46ft of wooden boat. We could all handle the boat, handle dock lines, anchoring, navigation, etc.
The cruising we did was all navigating with paper charts, the compass, a timer, Eldridge and a depth indicator. If things got bad (peas soup fog, or bad weather) we would pull out the RDF. No radar, loran, or other stuff.

 

[shaw520]

.satellite, gps, signals are not always guaranteed, I see them as a 'convenience more than a tool,.. I have all paper charts from Sandy Hook to Albany and use them often when looking for safe anchoring locations, we spend most nights on the hook,(2) anchors fore and aft.

 

[shaw520]

... the same way I see autopilot,.as a convenience. But after just coming off a 9 day trip north, I found many times traveling at trawler speed where it would have been a real convenience to set a heading and stretch the legs.