I feel like it is probably possible. My Simrad J300X and AP22 will naturally steer the boat to a magnetic course. In addition I've configured it to talk to my Garmin 182c for GPS navigation. This provides compensation for set and drift. Even better is that I have it also configured to talk to my Datamarine NavLink Offshore 3500 instrument package. This allows for the autopilot to receive wind information. Particularly apparent wind angle, so I can set the boat to steer to the wind. IT SAILS ITSELF! This also makes singlehanding easy and single-handed tacking a breeze.
To summarize it has three modes of steering. Magnetic, GPS, and Wind. It is all old enough gear that it works exclusively on NMEA 0183. The one mode I use least? GPS I guess I also use the engine least too. The magnetic steering is used regularly in all types of situations, instead of the wheel lock, when I need to leave the helm for a moment. It's fast and easy to set. Once the sails are up I can switch to steering by the wind. If the wind is switchy or too low then I typically switch back to magnetic steering. Bear in mind that as others have said, none of this really allows you to abandon you post as helmsman. Vigilance is still required. But it may allow time to brew coffee or cook/make a quick meal, get a jacket from below, use the head, cast a fishing line, or real in that catch. For long offshore passages taking naps is possible but AIS or RADAR alarms are a must. All of that being said, the Raymarine Chartplotters integrate really nice because they have an autopilot controller built in. As discussed in other posts you'll still want an autopilot control in front of the wheel where it can be accessed for single-handed tacking. Additionally, Raymarine has their smartphone apps which allow you to use your phone or tablet to control the chartplotter. The new chartplotters also provide a radar control and overlay so you can really pull all the information AND control to the one place where it is most useful. This is why I would (as you said) go the extra step. Not to punch in a course and tell it to "Engage". Good luck, Josh Muckley S/V Sea Hawk 1989 C&C 37+ Solomons, MD On Nov 11, 2015 10:53 AM, "Edd Schillay via CnC-List" <cnc-list@cnc-list.com> wrote: > Listers, > > For my 50th Birthday (yikes!) next year, my wife has purchased a Raymarine > EV200 Sailpack autopilot for the Enterprise. I can’t wait until Spring to > do the install. > > Although I’ll be more than happy to just punch in a heading and let the > boat drive itself, I was wondering if I could go a step further. Does > anyone know if it is possible (and if so, how) to connect my Garmin > GPSMap2006C to the “brain” of the autopilot so that they can talk to each > other? I’d love to be able to plug in a route and have the autopilot change > heading once a waypoint is reached. > > > All the best, > > Edd > > > Edd M. Schillay > Starship Enterprise > C&C 37+ | Sail No: NCC-1701-B > City Island, NY > Starship Enterprise's Captain's Log <http://enterpriseb.blogspot.com/> > > > > > > > > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > > Email address: > CnC-List@cnc-list.com > To change your list preferences, including unsubscribing -- go to the > bottom of page at: > http://cnc-list.com/mailman/listinfo/cnc-list_cnc-list.com > > >
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