On Sun, 12 Mar 2006 18:14:07 -0500, Matt Colie
wrote:

Doug,
This is interesting because:
A: I have never heard of an autopilot model 100.
B: All the Raymarine everything a model that start with a letter.
C: The nearest autopilot to 100 is st1000(+) and this is a single unit
tiller pilot and requires only mounting and power.

I believe it is one of the old Autohelm units.

The manual is online in the "retired equipment" section of Raymarine's
customer service site, but there is no mention of part numbers for
sensors. There is a rudder angle sensor for sale on EBAY that looks
like it would probably work. They are all about the same I believe.

is a rudder angle sensor necessary for an autopilot? I thought the
heading of the boat would be sufficient.

"luc" wrote in message
ups.com...
is a rudder angle sensor necessary for an autopilot? I thought the
heading of the boat would be sufficient.

There is no one sentence answer possible. Lots of boats steer to their
owners satisfaction without a rudder angle sensor. Most boats steer better
with a rudder sensor incorporated. Some boats can become absolutely unstable
and dangerous under autopilot control, and in these boats, rudder angle
input is absolutely necessary.
It's hard to go wrong with the sensor, and with many vessels (and
owners), a rudder angle indicator at helm stations is a great docking aid!

Old Chief Lynn

In article ,
"Lynn Coffelt" wrote:

"luc" wrote in message
ups.com...
is a rudder angle sensor necessary for an autopilot? I thought the
heading of the boat would be sufficient.

There is no one sentence answer possible. Lots of boats steer to their
owners satisfaction without a rudder angle sensor. Most boats steer better
with a rudder sensor incorporated. Some boats can become absolutely unstable
and dangerous under autopilot control, and in these boats, rudder angle
input is absolutely necessary.
It's hard to go wrong with the sensor, and with many vessels (and
owners), a rudder angle indicator at helm stations is a great docking aid!

Old Chief Lynn



Just an note here....

Most of the Rudder Angle Sensers are just Linear Taper Pots, that drive
a Feedback Loop in AutoPilot Rate Control Circuit, BUT the Wood Freeman
RAS is very different, as it uses a Hall Effect Device, and is basically
the same device as the one in the Steering Compass. They both feed
OPAmps in the BrainBox. The Compass Senser drives the Course Feedback
Loop, and the RAS feeds the Rate Feedback Loop, and the Rudder Angle
Indicator Drive.

Bruce in alaska
--
add a 2 before @

who cares what the rudder does, as long as the boat is going in the
right direction?

On 13 Mar 2006 16:18:26 -0800, "luc" wrote:

who cares what the rudder does, as long as the boat is going in the
right direction?

Particularly with a single engine boat, and sometime with twins, you
use the rudders to direct prop thrust during slow speed maneuvers.
Knowing in advance where the rudders are saves a bit of trial and
error with the wheel.

"luc" wrote in message
ups.com...
who cares what the rudder does, as long as the boat is going in the
right direction?

How true. However sometimes the boat is not going in the right
direction! Now, a decent autopilot has to "think" how quickly the "wrong"
direction came about, how long does the Captain want to wait until we are
back on course, how many over (or under) steering swings he is comfortable
with, and how often these course errors are taking place.
How much should the autopilot move the rudder to achieve what makes the
Captain happy? How does the autopilot know when the rudder's pump or grinder
has moved the rudder to the correct position? Computer determined timed
motor runs are often used, but are not nearly as accurate and positive as
simply telling the "Iron Mike" where the darned rudder is at all times!

Old Chief Lynn

In article . com,
"luc" wrote:

who cares what the rudder does, as long as the boat is going in the
right direction?

Obviously you have never piloted or docked a large vessel.......

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.

"luc" wrote in news:1142295506.893349.49870
@i39g2000cwa.googlegroups.com:

who cares what the rudder does, as long as the boat is going in the
right direction?



You'd have to watch our B&G Network Pilot steer a perfect course on
Lionheart with its rudder position sensor to see the difference. She also
has gyro input for rate-of-turn from a Raymarine Smart Heading Sensor.
Watching the wheel go through a turn at the moment of a waypoint turn is
like watching a ghost at the helm.