was looking for a new Autopilot and never heard from this brand here in Germany. But after seeing your post my next move is to find out where to order it here in Germany. Thanks for your Video!!!
Thanks for making sense out of the worlds most confusing user manual! I may be mistaken, but on the yaw rate adjustment I think you got the third and fourth steps reversed. Yaw Rate Damping is shown as the fourth step in the manual on the Optimization Adjustment Method page.
With 3 of the 4 parameter adjustments all labeled yaw something or other it is confusing. It's possible, but I don't think I mixed up the order, or the manual terminology may have changed on different updates. In any case, I got the adjustments correct and you can confirm the default settings with the manual, regardless what type of yaw it's labelled as.
atomvoyager Either way, your demo and translation into plain English of their incredibly inscrutable flow charts has been extremely helpful and is much appreciated.
Looks quite sensible, being modular, using a Nano (hopefully a genuine one!) with some off the peg boards from Sparkfun etc. Should ensure spares availability is good and fairly easy to fix so long as you have a few spare boards wrapped up in a nice dry place.
James did you ever think those power cable wires are just too small for the amperage drawn? I think you showed around 1.0 amp while motoring, I think they would often be higher when under sail.
The main power wires I think are #16 which is fine for under 3% voltage drop with the 3A typical max load on a short length of wire. To extend the length you should use #14 or larger. The other wires for the control head can be smaller because they don't carry much load.
Thanks for the great review! I am considering replacing my Simrad T32 with the pelagic on my Ericson 33 . How well do the controls on the control panel and remote control work for tacking ? Can you adjust tack “rate” or manually press a +10 degrees button multiple times to tack ? Does the pelagic control arm release easily from the tiller ?
As you saw, tacking is done by holding down the port or starboard button on the display or the remote but I don't know if there is a "tack rate" adjustment or a way to change the standard 2 degree course control button. There is no 10 degree button like on the Simrad or Raymarine. I do find the 1 and 10 degree buttons on those units easier to use than making 5 rapid pushes on the Pelagic to turn 10 degrees or 10 times for 20 degrees but I guess they reduced it to one 2 degree button for simplicity. The control arm seems to remove just as easy from the tiller pin as the Raymarine I had. With either one you may need to wiggle the tiller to take the load off if it binds and that may be more a case of if the angle of the actuator to the tiller is close to level to ensure they don't bind.
Thanks for the video, I see in it you are using a HawkEye depth sounder, is it reliable? are you using a transom mounted transducer or a in hull one? Thanks for sharing
I took the transom mount transducer and attached it with a blob of thickened epoxy to shoot through the hull but I stopped installing them because they were unreliable. Some still work after a few years but at least half of them have failed within a couple years. I don't know if it's because the transducer can't handle an inside epoxy mount or some other reason.
Thanks so much for sharing! Very informative. Did you ground the deck socket? Instructions don’t mention that, but the socket has a screw for grounding. Any advise appreciated. TY
Was your old tiller pilot that loud? Was thinking of getting the pelagic pilot for my monitor wind vane but i think that motor sounds would drive me nuts
I think it is slightly louder than the Raymarine tillerpilots so that may be an issue for some people. I always have windvane self-steering and only use a tillerpilot to supplement that in light air or motoring and as a backup in case of windvane failure so not much issue for me. But I could see how it could be bothersome if you ran it all the time.
@@atomvoyager yeah I would also only use it for no wind situations like having to motor for days while on passage, still leaning on getting the pelagic wind vane pilot as it's my only viable option to have a pilot onboard, but there's very little information about setting them up or seeing them working online so it's hard to commit to buying one
22:35 Mine does this exact same thing when I'm rolling downwind. Sometime even when motoring on a flat calm sea with a lazy swell. Its the only complaint I have in the last 2 years of use. I find especially when I'm fatigued that the constant motor noise as it pushes the tiller port and starboard drives me insane!
Have you tried to adjust the yaw parameters as I had to do? In my case the autopilot was working correctly, moving the tiller rapidly side to side to keep on course when rolling downwind in wind against tide approaching the ocean inlet. I was surprised that it kept us perfectly on course although I agree the motor noise is annoying. If I was hand steering at the time I would have been moving the tiller in the same wide sweeps to stay on course. The silent windvane self-steering might have worked but she'd be yawing much more. I still expect to use the windvane whenever conditions permit.
@@atomvoyager definitely adjusting the gain depending on the conditions helps. I find if I'm hand steering I can get away with holding the helm roughly in the centre and the rolls cancel each out. However it's just a small issue, on the whole it's a great system.
@@atomvoyager I'll give it a shot thank you. First I need to enlist some help as I can't reach the autohelm from the power switch to get it into the settings mode.
The pelagic is $875 and the EVO-100 is about $1,250. The optional spares and extras add up but you don't need them and the EVO would also cost more if they offered spares. Maybe you are comparing it to the ST2000 which is a different class of autopilot , cheap and poor quality and not comparable at all.
I have 3 intense sea years on this autopilot.. its fantastic.. easy to repair, affordable and they sell tons of parts.. good shout!
That's good to hear.
This was super helpful. Thank you. I ordered my Pelagic and am receiving it soon. This covered almost everything I was wondering about.
I have used a few tiller pilots yet this one seems like it is engineered both mechanically and electronically better. The simple controls are key!
was looking for a new Autopilot and never heard from this brand here in Germany. But after seeing your post my next move is to find out where to order it here in Germany. Thanks for your Video!!!
If you don't have a local distributor I'm sure Scanmar will ship to Germany:
www.scanmarinternational.com/
Thank you. I am awaiting delivery of one to drive a Monitor Wind Vane. Anxious to see how well it works.
Super lesson with clear and precise explanation, thank you!
Thanks for making sense out of the worlds most confusing user manual!
I may be mistaken, but on the yaw rate adjustment I think you got the third and fourth steps reversed. Yaw Rate Damping is shown as the fourth step in the manual on the Optimization Adjustment Method page.
With 3 of the 4 parameter adjustments all labeled yaw something or other it is confusing. It's possible, but I don't think I mixed up the order, or the manual terminology may have changed on different updates. In any case, I got the adjustments correct and you can confirm the default settings with the manual, regardless what type of yaw it's labelled as.
atomvoyager Either way, your demo and translation into plain English of their incredibly inscrutable flow charts has been extremely helpful and is much appreciated.
Great video. I hope it works as well with my Monitor and wheel steering.
great test! thank you
Excellent installation and review video. Thx u.
I can see the advantage of being able to steer the boat from the bow, especially of you single handling it going through a reef area.
Love your videos !
Looks quite sensible, being modular, using a Nano (hopefully a genuine one!) with some off the peg boards from Sparkfun etc. Should ensure spares availability is good and fairly easy to fix so long as you have a few spare boards wrapped up in a nice dry place.
James did you ever think those power cable wires are just too small for the amperage drawn?
I think you showed around 1.0 amp while motoring, I think they would often be higher when under sail.
The main power wires I think are #16 which is fine for under 3% voltage drop with the 3A typical max load on a short length of wire. To extend the length you should use #14 or larger. The other wires for the control head can be smaller because they don't carry much load.
Thanks for the great review! I am considering replacing my Simrad T32 with the pelagic on my Ericson 33 . How well do the controls on the control panel and remote control work for tacking ? Can you adjust tack “rate” or manually press a +10 degrees button multiple times to tack ? Does the pelagic control arm release easily from the tiller ?
As you saw, tacking is done by holding down the port or starboard button on the display or the remote but I don't know if there is a "tack rate" adjustment or a way to change the standard 2 degree course control button. There is no 10 degree button like on the Simrad or Raymarine. I do find the 1 and 10 degree buttons on those units easier to use than making 5 rapid pushes on the Pelagic to turn 10 degrees or 10 times for 20 degrees but I guess they reduced it to one 2 degree button for simplicity. The control arm seems to remove just as easy from the tiller pin as the Raymarine I had. With either one you may need to wiggle the tiller to take the load off if it binds and that may be more a case of if the angle of the actuator to the tiller is close to level to ensure they don't bind.
Thanks for the video, I see in it you are using a HawkEye depth sounder, is it reliable? are you using a transom mounted transducer or a in hull one? Thanks for sharing
I took the transom mount transducer and attached it with a blob of thickened epoxy to shoot through the hull but I stopped installing them because they were unreliable. Some still work after a few years but at least half of them have failed within a couple years. I don't know if it's because the transducer can't handle an inside epoxy mount or some other reason.
Thanks so much for sharing! Very informative. Did you ground the deck socket? Instructions don’t mention that, but the socket has a screw for grounding. Any advise appreciated. TY
It's not needed.
@@atomvoyager Excellent and thank you
Was your old tiller pilot that loud? Was thinking of getting the pelagic pilot for my monitor wind vane but i think that motor sounds would drive me nuts
I think it is slightly louder than the Raymarine tillerpilots so that may be an issue for some people. I always have windvane self-steering and only use a tillerpilot to supplement that in light air or motoring and as a backup in case of windvane failure so not much issue for me. But I could see how it could be bothersome if you ran it all the time.
@@atomvoyager yeah I would also only use it for no wind situations like having to motor for days while on passage, still leaning on getting the pelagic wind vane pilot as it's my only viable option to have a pilot onboard, but there's very little information about setting them up or seeing them working online so it's hard to commit to buying one
22:35 Mine does this exact same thing when I'm rolling downwind. Sometime even when motoring on a flat calm sea with a lazy swell. Its the only complaint I have in the last 2 years of use. I find especially when I'm fatigued that the constant motor noise as it pushes the tiller port and starboard drives me insane!
Have you tried to adjust the yaw parameters as I had to do? In my case the autopilot was working correctly, moving the tiller rapidly side to side to keep on course when rolling downwind in wind against tide approaching the ocean inlet. I was surprised that it kept us perfectly on course although I agree the motor noise is annoying. If I was hand steering at the time I would have been moving the tiller in the same wide sweeps to stay on course. The silent windvane self-steering might have worked but she'd be yawing much more. I still expect to use the windvane whenever conditions permit.
@@atomvoyager definitely adjusting the gain depending on the conditions helps. I find if I'm hand steering I can get away with holding the helm roughly in the centre and the rolls cancel each out. However it's just a small issue, on the whole it's a great system.
The gain is one thing but you might also try decreasing the yaw parameters on lights 2 and 4 down to 2.5 as I did.
@@atomvoyager I'll give it a shot thank you. First I need to enlist some help as I can't reach the autohelm from the power switch to get it into the settings mode.
How do I contact you directly? I am in Plymouth MA. Currently sailing a freedom 28. Thanks
You can email me through the contact button at atomvoyages.com
Obrigado
How is this "cheaper"? Its $1100
The pelagic is $875 and the EVO-100 is about $1,250. The optional spares and extras add up but you don't need them and the EVO would also cost more if they offered spares. Maybe you are comparing it to the ST2000 which is a different class of autopilot , cheap and poor quality and not comparable at all.
@@atomvoyager Yeah I was comparing to ST2000
new drinking game - every time "you can" is said you drink!!
I also say "and" and "so" too much. And so you can get drunk faster on those!