Pelagic Autopilot review

Amongst several upgrades 2021, Veloce received a brand new Pelagic autopilot to try out.

Having received many questions from readers and followers, I tried to recap the rationale behind the choice and our experience so far.

Why a new autopilot?

Our previous autopilot, a Raymarine ST4000+ had over a decade under its belt. The technology to cope with pitch, yaw and roll was simply not there.

I was looking for a solution allowing me

• to change down headsail and therefore to handle being overpowered a few minutes
• to extend the range where I feel comfortable flying (and jibing) a spinnaker single-handed
• to upgrade/change electronics and bus over the next few years, progressively

Why Pelagic?

I settled for an above-deck autopilot and scanned the market. Several vendors fit the bill and describe their product just right for what I am looking for. Customer reviews are however inconsistent and disagree.

Pelagic however seems to consistently satisfy all sailors who adopt it.

At almost half the price.

Perhaps due to a community of hard-core singlehandlers not enchanted by frivolous features and colour screens, but who sets its expectation at the right level. Nevertheless, folk races regularly across the Pacific with Pelagic Autopilots. There must be something right about it.

Sold and shipped from the West Coast in the US, on the other side of the planet, I worried about difficulties in contacting the company, getting support and assistance, replacement parts, etc.

I needn’t worry. It turns out, Scanmar International, which acquired Pelagic a few years back, operates in Europe as well. Christian, their contact in EU, provided great pre-sales personal help. Together we figured out what configuration would work best on Veloce for our use.

As it will turn out in the coming months, post stale support is astounding and way above expectations. More to come below.

The Pelagic Autopilot has a simple interface with 3 buttons and 6 leds. It features 9 solid state sensors feeling heading/roll/yaw/pitch and a “brain” in its control head.

The solution is independent of all instruments and can be used as redundancy autopilot.

It is modular and its control head can work with actuators from other manufacturers. If available, wind data can be consumed via NMEA0183 connection allowing the autopilot to steer by apparent wind.

Quite simple to mount, it comes with all the needed installation diagrams. The control head comes bow-facing, stern-facing, port-facing or starboard-facing and can be reconfigured. It must however be aligned with the boat. I 3Dprinted a custom support to create the correct angle, more here

Specs available at Pelagic website.

I ordered 2 remote controls to have a back up. I strongly recommend the remote as it allows course changes of 10 and 25 degrees, which are otherwise not possible from the control head.

Rudder gain

Several parameters can fine tune the default settings. However the one really used and changed under sail is “Rudder Gain”.

It indicates how aggressive the autopilot works, how much power it consumes and what sensors are activated. There are some general guidelines about what to expect, however no boat is alike and each sailor will have to find what works best.

Veloce is at the upper limit of the displacement range recommended for the standard drive unit. We found that the autopilot copes without problems in all conditions with slightly more aggressive settings than indicated above.

Some of the rudder gain settings that we identified:

In 16 to 18kn wind speed dead-down-wind, short chop, required a 3.5 setting and tweaked spinnaker to reduce rolling. Releasing tweaks required a more aggressive gain to cope with roll.

Reaching in 14kn and flat water with a GAIN at 3. Active trimming still required in gusty conditions, but no need to tend the helm. Cruising, a reef in the main works wonders and requires lesser gain (and therefore power consumption).

Close-hauled in 16-18kn wind speed, gusty conditions tracks very well with a GAIN of 2 and reduced jib.

Close-hauled in 18kn wind against the chop with a GAIN set at 2.5.

The default auto-tacking angle is 90 degree and can be changed within a 80 to 105 range. I found an 84 degree angle is just right to accelerate after a tack.

Support

Vibrations under engine on Veloce, cause heavy yaw. The problem is obvious especially at low  rpm. Opening a case with Scanmar International I received prompt assistance and a software upgrade to solve the problem with a vibration dampening feature. Together with Brian, who developed the Pelagic from its very beginning, we are setting up a Whatsapp video call on the water to adjust some internal parameters and fine tune the new vibrations damping function.

This is definitely the support I hoped for and beyond the one I expected.

Feedback

I am impressed by the Pelagic and its ability to cope with almost any situation. It does what it promises and it does it well. No drama. Planets away from its predecessor aboard Veloce.

About a month ago I participated at the Midsummer Solo Challenge 2021 (here the report) where the Pelagic Autopilot steered about 90% of the race (35 hours) delivering very well in all conditions.

It overheats when driving too aggressively in sloppy seas and little wind, but it never quits and gain can be decreased.

Louder than my previous actuator, the sound however is a low hum and does not disturb at all.

If had to wish something, I’d like course adjustment of one degree, rather than 2 degree steps. It would provide more accuracy upwind.

This said, it does deliver on all my 3 objectives.