New Product of the Week: Autopilot with 'Safe Helm' and power steering

8:33 PM Sun 25 Sep 2011 GMT

'Furuno 700 series autopilot' .

This Product of the Week is the Furuno's Navpilot 700 series autopilot, introducing two exciting upgrades to earlier models. Now, great for emergency manoeuvering, you can just touch the helm to take over the steering and it will later return to autohelm mode automatically or manually. The other is a real boon for difficult sea conditions - a 'power-assist' that resembles power steering in a car.

Several years ago, Furuno introduced their NavPilot 500 Autopilot series, which brought an advanced, self-learning and adaptive Autopilot to market. That Autopilot enjoyed years of success and now they are following this with the new model and, apart from those mentioned, a host of new, groundbreaking and extremely beneficial features.

On the surface, the NavPilot 700 series flaunts a refreshed look, providing it a family look with Furuno's popular NavNet 3D, GP33, RD33 and FI50 instruments.

However, it's 'under the hood' where the NavPilot 700 series really excels! First is the 'Safe Helm' and 'Power Assist' modes. 'Safe Helm' temporarily disables the NavPilot steering control when manual operator helm changes are sensed. 'Safe Helm' is a critical safety feature designed for emergency maneuvering or dodging obstacles. The original course is restored automatically or manually after the maneuver is completed. 'Power Assist' mode significantly reduces steering effort, similar to power steering on a car.

These revolutionary new modes enhance the safety of the Autopilot and provide a unique interface to the vessel's hydraulic hand steering system, delivering comfort and steering control from any manual helm on the vessel. (The optional FPS8 Power Steering Module and appropriate software are required to activate the Safe Helm feature.)

Two new navigation modes, 'Economy' and 'Precision,' were also added to the NavPilot 700 series. These new modes combine adaptive technology and sophisticated software algorithms to provide fuel and power savings of up to 2.5%.

The auto-learning is there too. From the first dock-side setup through the last voyage you made, NAVpilot continues to learn your vessel's steering characteristics. This allows dynamic adjustments to the boat's steering for vessel speed, trim, draft, tide and wind effects, weather, etc. These characteristics are stored in the processor's memory where they
are continuously optimized to make the NAVpilot more versatile.

In summary, here are the features in the NavPilot 700 Series:

Improved adaptive, self-learning software
Precision XTE accuracy within .003nm
Dual Network Interface: Fully certified NMEA2000 & Furuno CANbus provide isolation & redundancy
An NMEA2000 & two NMEA0183 ports provide flexible navigation inputs
Built-in NMEA0183/NMEA2000 bi-directional data converter
Improved input power filtering allows for reduced power cable sizes
Designed for use with Reversing Motor or Solenoid Rudder Drive systems
Simplified activation and system set-up with on-screen 'Wizard' guidance
Ideal Autopilot for Sailing Boats and also for Inboard or Outboard Power Boats
Sailing 'Wind' Modes are greatly improved over the NavPilot 500
Simple one-touch steering mode selections

Well worth a look when you're considering installing an autopilot...

For more technical information including specifications and diagrams, flick to the relevant page on the Furuno website

by Nancy Knudsen

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New Product of the Week: Autopilot with 'Safe Helm' and power steering

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