Training
Autopilot training syllabus
Ten parts, in order, on your own boat and in a seaway. Here is the syllabus and what the session looks like hour by hour.
The syllabus
Ten autopilot training topics
- 01
The system on this boat
Where the sensor, computer, drive and rudder reference are, what network they use, which breaker feeds them, and what each part does. The owner should be able to draw it.
- 02
Engage, adjust, disengage
Every way to put the pilot into Standby from every station, including the clutch on a linear drive and the wheel on Shadow Drive or Safe Helm boats. Drilled until it is reflexive.
- 03
Every mode you will use
Auto, Wind (true and apparent), Nav or Track, No Drift, tack and gybe, patterns. What data each needs, what it does when you disengage, what it does at a waypoint.
- 04
Tuning for this boat
Gain, rudder gain, counter rudder, response and the brand's adaptive settings, adjusted on flat water and in a seaway, and written on a card by condition.
- 05
Alarms and limits
Off-course, XTE, AIS CPA/TCPA, depth, wind shift, low voltage, watch alarm. Set, tested, audible from the bunk, and explained.
- 06
Lookout and watchkeeping
Rule 5 and the scan routine: horizon, AIS, radar, chart, instruments, sails, bilge. Watch systems for the crew size. Route following as an aid, not a substitute.
- 07
Staying on the boat
Tether and jackline discipline with the pilot engaged, MOB drills including stopping the boat under pilot, remote controls and their limits.
- 08
Power management
What this pilot draws in this boat, the low-voltage cut-out, cable and breaker checks, and an energy plan for the passages you make.
- 09
Failure and recovery
Hand-steering in a seaway, belt and fuse changes, swapping a drive or pump, using a spare tiller pilot or windvane, and when to stop and fix versus press on.
- 10
Integration and the plotter
Routes, waypoint confirmation, AIS overlay, radar, MFD control of the pilot, and the traps of drawing routes carelessly.
Dockside autopilot controls and system checks
A good session starts below deck with the covers off. The instructor walks you through the physical system: where the sensor is and what could disturb it, which breaker feeds the course computer, where the drive is and how its clutch works, where the rudder reference is and what it should look like when the helm is centred. Owners who can draw their own system diagnose faults; owners who cannot call an installer for a blown fuse.
Then the network. What talks to what, which display controls the pilot, where the wind and GPS data come from, and what happens to the pilot if the plotter is switched off. On many boats this reveals a surprise, such as a pilot that loses when the nav station display sleeps.
Autopilot steering modes and manual override practice
The first hour on the water is engage, adjust, disengage, from every position the helm might be in. Auto first, in ten-degree steps, then one-degree steps. Then Standby from the head, from the plotter, from the remote, and by clutch or wheel where the system allows. The instructor times it. Three seconds is the target.
Then each mode in turn: Wind on a reach, watching how the heading follows a shift; Track on a short route with a tide, watching the cross-track number and the waypoint warning; across the same tide. Each time, disengage and discuss what the pilot will do when re-engaged.
Autopilot tuning and steering in a seaway
Once the modes are clear, the boat goes where there is some sea. Here the instructor adjusts response and gain with you, showing the difference between a pilot that hunts and one that is lazy, and how a following sea changes the answer. On a sailing yacht, or is set and tested. The settings go on a card by condition.
This is also where tack and gybe assist are rehearsed, with the crew working the sheets while the pilot turns the boat at a rate everyone can keep up with.
Autopilot alarms and lookout routines
Off-course, cross-track, AIS CPA, depth and wind-shift alarms are set to sensible values for your waters and then triggered deliberately so you hear them. The instructor introduces the scan routine and runs a short watch with the pilot engaged, correcting the habit of looking at the screen instead of the horizon.
Tethers are rigged and used for the rest of the session. The instructor asks each crew member to clip on before leaving the companionway until nobody has to be asked.
Autopilot failure and manual steering drill
The session ends with the pilot switched off without warning. The crew hand-steers, reduces sail, then diagnoses: breaker, fuse, belt, drive, voltage. If the boat carries a spare tiller pilot or a windvane, it is deployed. If the drive can be swapped, it is swapped. The point is not the fault but the calm.
What you should leave with
Include autopilot training in the installation quote
Installers will happily add a half-day handover on the water to the installation. Almost nobody asks. Be the one who does.
Frequently asked
How long is a proper autopilot session?
Half a day on the water is the practical minimum: an hour below deck and at the berth, two to three hours in flat water and a seaway, and a debrief. Offshore competence takes further passages.
Can the session be on a school boat instead of mine?
It can teach the concepts, but the value is in your boat's own system, settings and quirks. Insist on your own boat where possible.
What should I get in writing?
A settings card by condition, an alarm list with values, a diagram of the system and a list of what you demonstrated. Keep them aboard.