Autohelm st 4000

[kennyarmes]

Need advice on Autohelm st 4000. Does anyone know how to set the Autohelm st 4000 when engaged to where it doesn't want to wander so much. Hi remember hearing of a setting but I don't know how to set it .I have my sails perfectly trimmed but when i push the plus or minus 10 it sometimes goes 20-30 and then tries to come back so I wander all over the place. And that is only in the river I imagine it would be worse out at sea. I thought it might be my fluxgate compass so I replaced it with a brand new one but it still does the same thing. Any help would be appreciated. Thank you in advance.

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[damir s]

Maybe speed sailing is not sufficient for safe maneuvering, I have the same autopilot and I noticed identical happens when speed is greater than 2.5 Nm it does not happen all is normal.

[kennyarmes]

Mine happens all the time no matter the speed I remember there is a way to adjust sensitivity. But crs has set in lol

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[kennyarmes]

And I no longer have the book to refer to tell me how to do it

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[Spirit28]

Wheel steering? If so a rudder reference unit makes a world of difference, or at least it did for me.

[Calif.Ted]

I believe you need to adjust the "rudder gain" down, the default is 5 on a 1 to 10 scale. You can do it temporarily by pressing two buttons I can't quite remember right now. You can also do it permanently by going into the calibration mode. For wheel steered boats with fewer than 3 turns lock to lock the recommended settings are what is known as "The Catalina Cocktail". Mainly because there's less than 2 full turns lock to lock on many of the 3 digit boats that means the default settings oversteer and overcorrect. The following is from the Raymarine tech forum regarding these toned down settings.
Optimal setup for the ST4000+ on a Catalina 270


I have a ST4000+ wheelpilot I recently installed on a Catalina 270 sailboat. At the West Coast Catalina Rendevous the Raymarine rep said that you guys have some recommended default settings that work best on Catalinas. I'm having trouble getting the autopilot to track well, even with the rudder gain at the lowest setting. The boat has a tendency to oscillate. Can you supply me these recommended setttings? Thanks.
This boat has a relatively low number of turns on the wheel from lock to lock. I would recommend you change the following setting from the default in this order. Please do these one at a time while evaluating performance after each change. Also, make sure that you have gone throught the compass linearization with a deviation of 10 or below.

1. Change the Rudder Gain from 5 to 2
2. Change the Auto Trim from 3 to 2
3. Change the Response from 1 to 2
4. Change the Drive Type from 1 to 2

Please avoid changing the drive type if possible. If the turns on the wheel from lock to lock are less than 2 then you might try the Rudder Gain at 1.

Here's the st-4000 manual online:
https://raymarine.app.box.com/s/nwf2...1/3273060377/1
Chapter 3 describes the effects of rudder gain and adjustment.
And if that's not the right one this page has all the "legacy" model manuals:
https://raymarine.app.box.com/s/nwf2s5ha9xrltggghogu

[kennyarmes]

Yes wheel steering and rudder reference unit

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[Calif.Ted]

Try pressing +1 and -1 at the same time, I think that brings up rudder gain settings, it will return to default setting of 5 every time it's powered down when done this way. There should be a little oversteer, but less than 5 degrees for a 40 degree course change is recommended. Should turn a little past (less than 5 degrees) then come back up to your heading.

[kennyarmes]

Thx I'll try that tomarrow when I go sailing. 😌

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[RaymondR]

Pressing and holding the +1 and -1 buttons together for five seconds gets you into the rudder gain display for adjustment and it remains until the unit is turned off. If you want to set it permanently you need to go int dealer setup by pressing and holding the "standby" key for 14 seconds, then if "CAL LOCK" is displayed as being on press -1 and +1 together to turn it off, then press the "disp" button until "RUDD GAIN" comes up and press -1 and +1 until it is where you want it. Pressing "standby" for 2 seconds gets you out of dealer setup.

[kennyarmes]

Ok thx for all good info I'll try tomarrow

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[olaf hart]

https://m.box.com/shared_item/https%...iew/3273060377

[kennyarmes]

Thx to all it all was great info. Honestly I tried everything and I don't know what worked but it is working now Lol

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