Rudder reversed / heading inaccurate / pilot veers

[Chuck - Raymarine - Moderator]

Jeff,

If will not be possible for the autopilot to accurately report heading until the vessel has been taken out for the brief cruise to determine the sensed deviation at all headings detailed within the previously referenced FAQ. Following the cruise, the reported heading should be fairly close to the actual heading if the EV-1 CCU has not been installed in a location of excessively strong magnetic deviation field and has been installed with its indexing arrow oriented parallel to the vessel's centerline and pointing forward.

Further adjustments to the reported heading value may then be performed using the Align Compass (to) GPS (COG) feature (MENU->SET-UP->AUTOPILOT CALIBRATION COMMISSIONING->ALIGN COMPASS GPS) if the vessel is underway, making way on a steady heading, and not operating under the influence of leeway. Alternatively, the heading may be adjusted to match the expected bearing for a set of land based range markers or to that the vessels fluid filled compass (if it has been properly calibrated ... don't assume that this has been done by the manufacturer). Up to 9.9 degrees of offset may be configured via the Compass Offset feature (MENU->SET-UP->AUTOPILOT CALIBRATION->VESSEL SETTINGS->COMPASS OFFSET.