ComNav Commander P2 & P2VS Installation & Operation Setting Up
Document PN 29010074 V4.1 - 106 -
Adjusting for Rougher Sea Conditions
The primary desire of any autopilot user is that it steer the boat well, across all sea
conditions.
Adjusting the steering parameters in calm conditions – as you did during the initial part of the
Sea Trials, above – gives a base reference for all other conditions. After doing those
adjustments, you can then venture into rougher sea conditions.
Take all the time necessary to ensure that you are getting the best performance from your
autopilot!
Some suggestions and points to keep in mind:
•
Typically, you will find that you will only need to make small changes to the “calm
conditions” steering parameters to handle a wide variety of sea conditions.
•
Observe the wake of the boat while maintaining a straight Course in
AUTO
mode.
This is one of the best indications of how well the autopilot is steering.
•
The boat should come on to each new Course Heading smoothly. Any undershoot or
overshoot can usually be observed in the wake. Adjustments to Rudder Gain &
Counter Rudder, as in the tests above, are how you achieve “smoothly”.
•
Generally speaking, the Rudder Gain & Counter Rudder settings for Hi speed will be
less than those for Lo speed.
•
As the seas get rougher, you will probably need to increase the Rudder Gain one or
two steps.
•
In very rough conditions, you may want to reduce the Counter Rudder setting, as well
as increasing the Rudder Gain.
•
In quartering seas, you may wish to increase Rudder Gain and the Seastate settings.
This will allow the boat to yaw a bit more as it comes off of the waves, but typically
the boat will come back onto course with minimal rudder movement.
•
In the tests above, you will have determined the Turn Rate value which corresponds
to the full “comfortable turn rate” of your boat.
But you do not have to leave Turn Rate always set to that value. You can, and
should, change Turn Rate as required, to have safe, comfortable turning rates for the
current sea conditions; you may also want to lower the Turn Rate for other reasons.
Once the autopilot system is steering satisfactorily, make a note of all your steering
parameter settings, and record them in the
Settings
chapter, at the back of this book.
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