Autopilot fix (If you didnt get to go sailing today)

[Scott]

I went out by myself today, autopilot is excellent for singlehanding.

These are cheapo cell phone video's so dont make fun of the shot quality!!

http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v296/ ... 008wmv.flv

It started storming and autopilot with inside remote steering saves the day again!!

http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v296/ ... 007wmv.flv

[Mark Chamberlain]

Scott, Question did you have a pfd on when walking on the deck single handed?

It seems the auto pilot would maske a bad sistuation if you went over board while sailing alone.
In my area it would mean sure death with water 48 degrees.

I thought about a auto pilot and it would be nice to have when alone to move about the cabin under power. Seems real risky to be on deck alone under sail and leaning to what looks like 15 to 20 degrees.
I assume the auto pilot will not let the boat round up under a gust of wind?

Mark

[Scott]

Scott, Question did you have a pfd on when walking on the deck single handed?

Ummmm............ no, but I do advocate wearing PFD's when doing the dumb stuff that I do.

I assume the auto pilot will not let the boat round up under a gust of wind?

It will not steer into the wind under a puff but yes, in a gust the boat will round much like when it rounds with a helmsman. The wind gusts were only maybe 10-13 or so. no chance of rounding in wind that light.

On edit: I was hoping noone was goig to catch that'

[JRonUnderSail]

On Lake Superior, my requirement it that PFD's are a "requirement", especially after my "accident" in 1997...
A group of us "single handed sailors"( 2 of us teach sailing, we should know!) it turned out that there were only 3 boats that rafted up for the evening at Rashberry Island (Apostle Islands)... One lady doctor (32' ?) brings the salad, Kevin on a Tarton 33, brings the main course (Itailian), and I bring the red wine( one per party right?)
We meet around 4:30, we drink, eat, and be merry... The next morning, we all take off separate directions... I sail out towards North Twin... It's a great day, but I'm slightly fuzzy from too much wine and not enough sleep...
It's wonderful (I'm one of the 26X boys, with an autopilot) 6-12 mph wind... I'm drinking coffee and eating my breakfast (OK, pop tarts and a bananna)... The wind builds up quickly, I (life jacket on) decide to change jis from the magic genoa to a working jib (hanks, no stinking roller)... "Otto" is at the helm... I start changing things and suddenly a gust of wind hits and "Otto" says "beep, beep, beep" and shuts off..... The boat rail hits the water and so do I... I do a "superman stunt", the only thing that saved me (I was trying to run back to the helm) was the life line... I hooked my leg under it and it kept me from falling off the boat.... Needless to say, it ripped the inside of my leg right up to the "private parts"... I was a bloody mess, but I held on to the life line....
After pulling , myself back on the boat, thanking GOD, and using nearly using every bandaid in the first aid kit(maybe every swear word too), I headed back toward Bayfield, Wisconsin... When I got there (wearing jeans to cover my sins) I went to the "Sea Store" and bought a harness...
So wear a life jacket when on deck, and think about a harness!
JR

[Night Sailor]

A harness and jack line is cheap life insurance. Yes, it's heavy to wear, but more than worth it's weight in platinum if you ever slip over the edge or get knocked down unexpectedly.

Maybe like the umbrella you take to the ball game so it won't rain, or the extinquisher you install so you won't have a fire, a harness will guarantee you won't need it.

The admiral and I upgraded our life vests three years ago with four auto inflatable vests with built in harnesses for ourselves and two additional adult guests. Our grandkids think it's a big deal, but normal procedure, to be linked up via harnesss. Single handing, I think it's like a seat belt in an auto, should be there every time, especially in cold, or remote waters, or during night sailing.

[windquest]

With an auto pilot, what happens when wind directions shift or you get hit with gusts, can it account for things like that? Has anyone installed wind vane steering on a mac?

[Scott]

Yes. Simply.

Do a search, there was a long thread on this earlier this year.

We have a wind instrument tied into our auto. It wont do anything based on speed but it will follow a shift in "Wind mode" not to be confused with the 4th mode.