luc wrote:
yeah, you are right about not piloting or docking a large vessel...
but you use an autopilot to dock your boat? Sometimes I wonder why
people even bother owning boats, if they need to have everything done
for them.

I use my autopilot only at sea, for long passages, when I can't steer
indefinately by hand. Docking I do by eye and hand.

I think he was talking about the rudder angle indicator. Sometimes when
docking you just want to center it or set a certain angle and wait
awhile for the boat to respond and the indicator makes it a lot easier
to tell what is going on.

It can also be handy for balancing the boat under sail too because you
can watch the the effects of trim changes on the rudder angle.

Jack

--
Jack Erbes in Ellsworth, Maine, USA - jackerbes at adelphia dot net
(also receiving email at jacker at midmaine.com)