ST4000 tacking functionality

[hynnimac]

I have the remote (100) so that I can single hand my Catalina 36. It allows me to be away from the helm to trim the sheets while at the same time using the 100 to tack the boat. I turn on the nav instruments (bringing on the auto pilot ST4000 and the a75 with the auto pilot “on” in settings). then the remote 100 is turned on and moved to wind setting and then to Tack setting. Using the remote I attempt to tack. sometimes int works and sometimes not. I’ve attributed the failures to insufficient boat speed. I’m never sure whether I should be in auto pilot in the ST4000 before changing the settings in the 100 (Wind + tack). On occasion the word “Error” has been displayed on the a75 MFD when the tack does not complete itself.

I’m just not sure how these 3 devices are supposed to interact with each other and whether I’m doing something wrong. The manuals are silent in this area of concern.

[Chuck - Raymarine - Moderator]

Welcome to the Raymarine Forum Cliff,

The Autopilot Controls feature of LightHouse II software does not support wind vane mode (and consequently Tack and Auto Tack) feature supported by Raymarine autopilots. That said, the MFD should not block use of this feature ... you may verify by simply switching the MFD's Autopilot Controls feature OFF when operating the autopilot in Wind Vane mode. It is quite likely that the autopilot is simply alarming in response to the alarm transmitted by the autopilot. When operating in wind vane mode, should the autopilot detect that entry into wind vane mode or tacking may potentially result in gibing the sailing vessel, then the autopilot will alarm and entry into wind vane mode or the commanded tack will be prohibited.

With respect to proper initiation of wind vane mode, the autopilot should be in standby mode prior to commanding the autopilot into wind vane mode.

Finally, care should be taken to ensure that the system's SeaTalk to SeaTalkng Converter has been updated with the latest available software and that the SeaTalkng backbone (may only consist of the SeaTalk to SeaTalkng Converter within a small system) is supplying power to the unpowered SeaTalk bus via the SeaTalk to SeaTalkng Converter. Please click here to view the FAQ addressing this subject.