responsiveness to following seas

[ReedStr]

The question is, if in generally I'm navigating in calm seas but very occasionally in steep following seas, how should I set up the autopilot? Will the learning mode handle this? Or should I manually set it up? And if so, what settings should i set? I live in the PNW and our inshore waters are generally calm. Except for the Strait of Juan de Fuca which I cross occasionally. I've noticed that with following seas, which are typically steep since the prevailing wind in the Strait can be against a relatively strong current, that the autopilot broaches and I have to manually steer. My previous autopilot, a very old WH out of Bainbridge Island, handled this just fine.

 

[FishTech]

With the sea state set to Full-Auto, the NAVpilot is always learning and adjusting. It will not be able to instantly react to a steep following sea when it has been accustomed to calm waters.
You could generally use in it Full-Auto and switch to one of the manual states when approaching the Strait. Considering your description of the waters, I would suggest starting with Manual-Rough to see how it does. You can adjust the Weather, Rudder Gain, and Counter Rudder as needed from there.

 

[ReedStr]

With the sea state set to Full-Auto, the NAVpilot is always learning and adjusting. It will not be able to instantly react to a steep following sea when it has been accustomed to calm waters.
You could generally use in it Full-Auto and switch to one of the manual states when approaching the Strait. Considering your description of the waters, I would suggest starting with Manual-Rough to see how it does. You can adjust the Weather, Rudder Gain, and Counter Rudder as needed from there.

thanks! I'll give it a whirl.