Blue Water Supplies, Jersey (GB) - Blue Water Equipment Specialists

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Blue Water Supplies Limited. Jersey, Channel Islands Tel.+44(0)1534 739594

Blue Water Equipment Specialists

Committed to Value and Service...

ALL PRICES EXCLUDE VAT & Jersey GST

Individual prices may not always be competitive... please contact us with your shopping list for a extremely competitive quotation.

IMPORTANT

Blue Water Supplies is based in Jersey in the Channel Islands. We do not charge VAT although VAT or a local sales tax may be payable on delivery.* (Orders with a value of £18 or under are VAT exempt).

Goods collected from Jersey after 1st May 2008 may be liable for Jersey GST(General Sales Tax) at 3%

*An administration surcharge may sometimes be added by the postal authority or company.

Blue Water Supplies Limited reserves the right to change prices at any time without notice. Although every effort to ensure prices and other details are correct, Blue Water Supplies accepts no responsibility for any errors or omissions.

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Electronic Autopilots

Most modern vessels are now equipped with electronic autopilots. These can range from inexpensive tiller pilots, through chain or belt driven wheel pilots, to complicated hydraulic systems. The vessel will generally govern the type, but there are obviously different manufacturers and systems to consider.

Stand alone or Integrated.

Whether or not to have your autopilot integrated into the rest of your electronic navigation system is really a matter for personal preference. There are of course advantages and disadvantages to both, and you can compromise. The main advantage of interfacing your autopilot with the rest of your electronics is that you can opt to steer directly for a waypoint, or perhaps more importantly for the Blue Water sailor, you can make it steer by the wind. This is especially important for short-handed crews. When tracking to a waypoint the autopilot can take tide and leeway into account. This might sound great, but in extreme tide areas it is certainly poor practice. The autopilot can only compensate by learning the current conditions, which may result in a far from direct course. Most autopilots can operate quite happily as a stand-alone unit. The main disadvantage of integrating with your other electronics is simply that the unit may be prone to erratic behaviour. It may suddenly decide to turn through 360 degrees to track to a waypoint, which may in turn lead to an accidental tack or gybe, or both. This can be potentially dangerous. The manufacturers will always argue that the autopilot will warn you before making any major change in direction. This is normally via some kind of sound signal. The problem is that it is now a natural human reaction to silence such an alarm almost automatically without considering the consequences. Even if you fully understand the system… do the rest of your crew?

We can supply systems to suit most applications. Please browse through our electronics pages to find the system you require.