56 ST3000 Wheel Drive Autopilot - Owner’s Handbook
5 Commissioning the Wheel Pilot
5.2 Initial sea trial
CAUTION:
Failure to carry out the sea trial may result in impaired autopilot
performance on some compass headings.
When you have checked that the system is operating correctly, you
must complete a short sea trial to calibrate the compass.
The wheel pilot has a built-in calibration capability so you can
fine-tune it to suit your boat, its steering system and its dynamic
steering characteristics.
As supplied from the factory, the autopilot is calibrated to provide
safe, stable control for most boats.
• Do not attempt to make any permanent changes to the
recommended calibration values until you have completed the
sea trial.
• You must carry out the initial sea trial in conditions of light wind
and calm water – so you can assess the autopilot’s performance
without the influence of strong winds or large waves.
Note: At any time during the sea trial, you can disengage the
clutch lever to return to hand-steering.
Before starting the sea trial
Before carrying out the sea trial, you should:
• check the calibration settings and, if necessary, reset them to the
default values (see page 63)
• check the installation to make sure that it is not affected by radio
transmissions, engine starting, etc.
Calibrating the compass
Automatic compass deviation correction
By completing the following compass correction procedure, the
wheel pilot can correct its own internal fluxgate compass for most
deviating magnetic fields. You MUST complete the Compass
Deviation Correction at the beginning of your sea trial.
81194_1.book Page 56 Wednesday, July 25, 2001 12:10 PM
To Next Page
Loading...
