Pelagic Autopilot Installation and Test

We install and test the Pelagic autopilot on the Pearson Triton sailboat, Atom. Tested it first on the rivers in Georgia and then on a round-trip offshore passage of 160 miles to St. Augustine in winds from calm to 20 knots on all points of sail including wind against tide. It is slightly noisy compared to a windvane. It used about 1 amp in near calm and 2 amps average in 15 knots of wind, boat speed 5 knots and moderate seas. It's great for coastal navigating or in light winds or motoring when the windvane won't hold a course or as a backup if the windvane failed offshore but it seems robust enough to handle even a long offshore passage. Cost in 2019 is $875 which makes it significantly less expensive than the EVO-100 and probably better performance. (2025 update: I've been told that the latest Pelagic versions no longer have the user programmable parameter adjustments shown in this video so you only need to make the gain adjustment now.) For more info see: https://www.scanmarinternational.com/pelagic-autopilot