A good SOP is never stay on auto pilot when maneuvering for traffic




Dave wrote in
:

On Wed, 07 Nov 2007 10:20:20 -0800, said:

We are very often running on autopilot and the AP will not swing the
boat fast enough to make this kind of course correction. That may be
part of what Wayne is doing.

I also often run on autopilot, but don't generally have a problem
making a substantial course change fairly quickly to avoid another
vessel. It's all relative, of course. If you wait until the moment
before collision, then yes, the autopilot isn't going to do the trick.
But the give way vessel shouldn't often have that problem. It should
change course in plenty of time, and with a sufficient change, so
there will be no mistake about its intentions. And yes, sometimes you
may even decide to disconnect the autopilot if things are going to get
sticky. I often do that if I'm in an area where there isn't room to
make a big course change early.