Tuning the Autopilot response

The autopilot is made up of an electronic compass, a controller, and an arm -  a kind of piston that attaches to the steering quadrant. The response is how quickly the system moves the rudder back and forward to keep the boat on track.

I'm writing about this as we went through a set of setting cables, this can be unnerving when you are out sailing on the ocean and suddenly have no steering, but that's another story. Anyway, we are not the only ones to see broken steering cables. So what's the issue?

It could be wear and tear, but we have now done more than double the miles on the new cables than we had on the old ones, and they are still in good shape, so we must be doing something else right.

We are careful to keep the right amount of tension on the cables. Too tight and the steering will feel stiff, too loose and the cables could slip out their tracks. We keep them greased where they run through pulleys and the quadrant, but the main thing we do is balance the boat, and turn down the autopilot response.

If the response is too high, the arm has to work in an out like its in the yoyo world championships. This sawing back and forth really looks alarming to see as the wheels spin first one way then back around again.

keep the boat powered right, and it takes all the stress out.

By overpowering the main, or underpowering the jib, the boat will want to point up into the wind, the rudders will have to hold the boat over to stay on course. That extra energy is having an affect throughout the boat, from the keels, to the rudders, to the steering stock, cables, and even the standing rigging. So keep the boat powered correctly, and it takes all that stress out.

turn down the autopilot response.

Once the boat it balanced, there's still the autopilot response to think about. Even with a perfectly balanced boat the autopilot can still be working hard to keep on course. If you are in big seas, short wave intervals, or have swells on the beam, actually, any number of sea states and conditions can play havoc with the autopilot, and cause it to constantly make big adjustments just to keep up. Sometimes the autopilot can do too good a job, and can perfectly react to waves so that your track can look like a line drawn by Piet Mondrian. But this could be doing harm to your steering cables as they have to work much harder by making more adjustments. The easiest way to deal with this is to turn down the autopilot response. If the response is too low the boat track will start to wind like a snake. Don't be afraid to experiment to find the right adjustment for you. It could save you in the long run.