Raymarine Autohelm 6000 User Manual

Contents

Raymarine Autohelm 6000 User Manual Manual pdf 32 page image

4.0 SEA TRIALSInitial sea trials should be carried out in calmconditions with plenty Of sea room. The previouslyconducted functional test will have verified thatthe autopilot iS operating correctly and that youare familiar with all of its controls.Check that the gain control on the coursecomputer is Correctly set, and set the ruddercontrol on all control units to mid position.Initial sea trials on fast planing vessels shouldbe conducted at no more than half engine speedunder which conditions the recommendedmidway setting of the rudder control shouldprovide stable steering performance.Mid-way setting of the rudder control will alsogive acceptable steering performance in sailingand displacement power vessels under allconditions for initial trial purposes. Fine setting ofthe rudder control is discussed later.4.1 FIRST SEA TRIALSDuring first sea trials, the vessel will be constantlychanging heading, and it is, therefore, veryimportant to maintain a constant look-out. Thefollowing initial trial procedure is recommended:-0000l0Steer on to a compass heading and hold thecourse steady.Press ‘Auto’ to lock on to the currentheading. In calm sea conditions a perfectlyconstant heading will be maintained.Alter course to port or starboard in multipleincrements of 1 and 10 degrees from anycontrol unit. Course changes should beprompt and without any sign ofovershooting.If a hand held control unit is fitted key‘Manual’ to change over to remote powersteering. Practice power steering using thefour course control keys.Press ‘Auto’ twice (within 2 seconds) toreturn to the original automatic heading.Press ‘Stand by’ to disengage the autopilotfor return to hand steering.Automatic Sea State ControlDuring the sea trial, the operation of the automaticsea state control can be observed. When theautopilot is initially engaged in ‘Auto’ mode theautopilot will respond to all pitch and rollmovements. During the first minute of operation, itwill be noticed that repetitive movements of thevessel are gradually neglected until finally theautopilot will respond only to true variations incourse.To ensure precise course adjustments thesea state control is automatically resetwhenever a course change is selected.Automatic Trim ControlThe Autohelm 6000 automatically corrects forWeather helm indicated by wind loads on hull orsails. No adjustment of the pilot is necessary.After each course change the AutomaticTrim is cancelled and the Autohelm 6000 willreestablish the correct trim for the newheading. This process takes approximately onesecond per degree of course change. It shouldbe noted that if a large course change is keyedin (greater than 60”) the pilot will not assumethe final selected course immediately. Thevessel will come to within say 10” of the desiredcourse and will only settle onto course whenthe Automatic Trim has been fully established.It is recommended the following procedureis adopted for large course changes.0 Note required new headingl Select ‘Stand-by’ and steer manually0 Bring vessel onto new heading0 Select Auto and let vessel settle onto coursel Bring to final course with fl o incrementsIt is sound seamanship to make majorcourse changes only whilst steering manually.In this way any obstructions or other vesselsmay be cleared properly and due accounttaken of the changed wind and sea conditionson the new heading prior to engaging the pilot.Windvane SystemIn the case of a sailing yacht fitted with awindvane system the following additional trial isrecommended.0 Steer onto a constant heading approximately10” free of close hauled.0 Press both red keys together to engage ‘Vane’mode and allow the automatic wind angleheading to settle.0 Decrease the relative apparent wind angle in1’ increments using the ‘+l ’ key (if on thestarboard tack) until the yacht is sailing closehauled at optimum penetration.0 Prepare to tack and then press the ‘+I’ and‘-1’ keys together to initiate a tack.0 The yacht will go about and sail the sameapparent wind angle on the opposite tack. Ifthere is an observable difference in apparentwind angles on opposite tacks, this can becorrected by fine adjustment of the windvanehead alignment.0 Press ‘Stand-by’ to disengage the autopilotand return to hand steering.