35 years without Autopilot.. I dont know where to Place my body with ap on!?

[Ibetitsthisway]

Hi guys

As i am preparing for the long distance adventure i am thinking very very itensively about two topics:
Safety and comfort.

Now..safety is an easy topic ..simply have a back up for the back up for very thinkable Situation.

This is not the Problem.

The obiger Problem is Finding a boat that makes life easy. A boat that fits our habits and likes.

When i was imagining how sailling and living in certain boat type Doing Different Tasks would feel and work something occured to me:

In all the 35 years that i travvelled the med and the careebean i never used an Auto pilot. I never Had one on 23 ships. We did alwayssportive sailing ..not cruising .

And thus the only way i know how to move on a boat At sea is standing in front of the wheel and follow the boats movements with my body....for hours.

What i would like to ask all of you guys..

How do you comfort your body under Autopilot when you are not standing and holding tight.

When you are at sea in weather and waves for hours and days andmaybe weeks...

Are you Sitting on Deck?
Laying in the pilothouse?
Saloon?

How do you share the best places amoung the Crew?
I never found the time NOT beging at the wheel very comfortable and i was happy to be at harbor or bay After 10-24h.

So....whats the secret of enjoying Autopilot on long distances?

I mean mying on Deck in the Sun reading a book at anchor is allready getting on my nerves when my belly starts whobbeling around in tiny swell...lol

[thomm225]

My long distance sails are not that long maybe 35-100 miles but I have my autopilot on within a couple minutes after I leave my slip so I can go forward and raise the main as I motor out the creek.

Many times I'm doing the same thing I do when steering which is standing in the cockpit looking forward. Other times I'm on the foredeck reading with my head on a PFD or lying down on a cockpit lazarette reading.

Or doing whatever needs to be down other than steering

Quick 30 mile sail home under autopilot. You can hear the autopilot bring the boat back on course at the start of the video. On this day, I was making a video and taking pictures rather than steering

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=agtdrmAqojs

[sailorboy1]

Originally Posted by Ibetitsthisway

So....whats the secret of enjoying Autopilot on long distances?

Using it!!!! With the correct settings for the conditions. I just finished 5 days across the Gulf to the Keys,. Two of those nights were near gale conditions. The AP steered most of it and I consider it PRICELESS. It is the one piece of electronic equipment that would keep me in port if not operating.

Btw - during 25 it gusting to 30 I had the ap set at a of 2 out of 10, I turn holds a course better than a person and rounds up less while doing it.

[CassidyNZ]

Long distance sailing without a quality AP is pure folly in my opinion. My AP goes on at the earliest opportunity and stays on until it can offer no further assistance.

As far as where to be when sailing on AP, I always have a watch at sea and the watch “captain” has the cockpit. He/she gets to be wherever they are most comfortable, everyone else fits around them.

Personally, my preferred spot is aft of the wheel (so I can get there unimpeded if necessary) on the port side, largely because this means I’m mostly looking out to the right at any vessel that may approach from the stand-on side. Technically, at sea, all other approaches make me the stand-on vessel which, while not infallible, is comforting. With a centre cockpit, there’s always a comfy corner at this location to wedge myself into.

But then, I’m also lucky. Me belly never starts “wobbling” I’m totally impervious to motion sickness.

[grantmc]

In all my long trips using auto pilots we’ve always still had assigned watches. And that means someone in the cockpit, (definitely not lying down reading a book in the saloon). It means keeping watch and so being in a position to see, particularly to starboard.

Using some sort of autopilot allows whoever is on watch to leave their station for short periods; make a coffee, call of nature, write a log note; but only leaving watch for a few minutes. Sure it can make the time go slowly for some people, compared with active steering, but personally I don’t usually find this. Some auto pilots struggle in certain conditions too, so hand steering for periods can still be required.

Some are able to read books, maybe do something like Sudoku puzzles, I personally prefer to wear head phones and play pod casts/music. But you’re still on watch, so it’s important to keep that as the priority. And I keep the sound down so I can still hear what’s happening. More often than not though I just gaze at the ocean and sky. I try to do a 360 degree slow look around every 3-4 minutes. I don’t want to be surprised by a ship I didn’t see on the horizon.

I guess though it depends where you’re sailing. Sailing long trips over a week or two where there is nothing but ocean, away from shipping lanes presents much less risk than trips where there are reefs, islands, shipping lanes or a long coast line.

Something I’ve observed, would be interesting to k now other people’s opinion, autopilots usually steer a far better course than people.

Whether you stand or sit is somewhat irrelevant. I do both and like to stretch muscles periodically. Prefer though to stand where I can easily hold on for balance. When it’s very cold at night I sometimes half lie down on a cockpit seat in a sleeping bag. But with my head propped up so I can still keep watch.

I’ve done a few long trips in boats without auto pilots and I find that quite difficult. Hand steering every watch for 10-12 days, in a 4 on 4 off system becomes pretty draining. Especially so hard on the wind on a boat that constantly wants to round up. I especially wouldn't want to be without an auto pilot when short handed.

[AiniA]

In our long distance cruising with an autopilot, both vane and electric there is always someone on deck to keep an eye out. We have formal watch times at night and informal ones during the day. The person on watch gets the preferred spot to relax in between looking around. That is almost always the lee side of the cockpit where you are naturally braced between backrest and cockpit side. In fact, when we have looked at boats we consider how comfortable that spot is. On some boats not very. Other people make do with spots any other spot they want , below deck, in the cockpit or on deck in nice weather. Our longest passage was 29 days so it is important for everyone to be well-rested.

[Ibetitsthisway]

Nono..i am never seasick.
My belly rolls left and right according to the roll of the boat at anchor...terrible ..lol...

I meant exactly that...how to get everyone to rest as Good as possible..or better...how to prevent your body from unbearing endless movements at the boats' will if not holding tight...
On long times at sea...especially in Bad Weather.

One important Features seam to be Good Cockpit benches...
What else?

Pilothouse with benches allowing to have a ckear view while sitting?

[SaltyMetals]

you hv lots of good comments. I would add a few. Get used to how to use the AP before you set off, things such as the variable Response setting, Wind Vane (where it will hold the boat to the same AWA, v useful if you are close-hauled and need to catch the windshifts), XTE. Then get some comfortable cushions in the cockpit and 2-3 special, movable seats that you can move around but in a big sea i have found that seated on a transom seat for my boat's movement was better than the windward side in the cockpit. I do a lot of solo & usually sit on the starboard side on a transom seat. That way i find that on my boat i get a better view fwd and particularly to strbd.

[Scorpius]

In the Captain's hammock, slung between the aft bimini beam and the after end of the cabin, over the stbd cockpit bench, within reach of the engine controls, and with the AP remote control tucked in beside me.

[waterman46]

Like many, we are doublehanders, husband and wife. In our boat we have hydraulic steering so the wheel does not move as the autopilot does its wonderful magic work. So on watch I often am sitting behind the wheel in the normal steering postion, hanging onto the wheel for support if it is rough. In this position I can see all the instruments, and I spend most of the time either checking the horizon, the sails or the instruments, particularly the radar when near land and other boats.

Of course, go below for a quick coffee or hot soup, etc. The time passes effortlessly. Never felt need to read a book or listen to music much. I am on watch from 10PM to 6AM since wife does not take well to being alone in cockpit at night. She is good during the day so I get a lot of sleep then. I don't understand the need for short watches and the resulting disruption of normal sleep cycle. When you go to work in a normal job you spend 8 hours there, giving it your full attention, so why not do the same on the boat? Assuming reasonable weather of course.

Our longest passage in this manner is 6 days. We have also done the same passage with a crew, and it does make for a more restful voyage.

[Stu Jackson]

I am a proponent of: Don't be a slave behind the wheel.


I have found that the most comfortable position is just at the aft end of the coachroof or the forward end of the cockpit seats. There is simply the least amount of motion there than anywhere else in the cockpit.


Like others, I engage the AP after clearing the marina or anchorage. And I stay in front of the wheel almost all the time unless I'm on my perch seat.


I placed the control head of the AP so i can get to it easily either in front or behind the wheel.


A friend who sailed his C34 from Vancouver to Mexico reported that they never bothered to install their AP remote because they could simply reach around and adjust it after their shakedown cruise before they departed the Strait of Juan de Fuca.


Don't be a slave behind the wheel. It's the "bounciest" part of the boat (other than the bow). Why spend ANY time there?

[CassidyNZ]

Originally Posted by Stu Jackson

I am a proponent of: Don't be a slave behind the wheel.


I have found that the most comfortable position is just at the aft end of the coachroof or the forward end of the cockpit seats. There is simply the least amount of motion there than anywhere else in the cockpit.


Like others, I engage the AP after clearing the marina or anchorage. And I stay in front of the wheel almost all the time unless I'm on my perch seat.


I placed the control head of the AP so i can get to it easily either in front or behind the wheel.


A friend who sailed his C34 from Vancouver to Mexico reported that they never bothered to install their AP remote because they could simply reach around and adjust it after their shakedown cruise before they departed the Strait of Juan de Fuca.


Don't be a slave behind the wheel. It's the "bounciest" part of the boat (other than the bow). Why spend ANY time there?

Of course, a centre cockpit is even more comfy, less bouncy

But the trade-off of course is it’s much wetter without commensurate protection.

[Suijin]

I've never really thought about this before. Never seemed like an issue. I single hand almost exclusively and so am not at the wheel for long stretches, although usually only a few feet away. I just make myself comfortable *shrug*. However reflecting on the subject has produced a few thoughts and a bit of advice.

Firstly, on longer passages, and I have a few 20+ day passages, the first few days can be disorienting as you get used to the rhythm of your day and being at sea. Pretty soon you settle into a routine and your body adjusts. Part of that is physical comfort of "your body in space" whether that is sitting and reading, preparing a meal, etc.

The lee side is your friend. Make a comfortable spot in the cockpit where you are sorta wedged in or at least braced, depending on the sea state. I will say that you do need to move around a bit. Sitting in any one position for too long at sea can be uncomfortable at times.

Relatedly, I love these seats:


Adjustable ratcheting back, easily stowed flat, and you can move them around easily. They can get a bit uncomfortable after a period as there is not a huge amount of cushioning but you just change position and you're usually good.

I have a few "cockpit blankets" that are great not only for warmth but also for stuffing into corners of the cockpit or behind your back or whatever as padding where you need it.

Beyond that, I don't know what to say. I welcome the motion of the boat and don't find it at all discomforting, within reason. Maybe time away from the wheel and your body will figure it out.

[thomm225]

Why would you have trouble adjusting to an autopilot anyway?

Haven't you ever been on a boat when someone else was doing the steering in 35 years?