Autopilot control
With SWAY you set your autopilot from your phone. Switch it to auto or wind, change course one or ten degrees at a time and tack, from the cockpit, the foredeck or the chart table. Your SWAY Breeze passes the commands to your autopilot over NMEA 2000. Autopilot control is in beta.
How it works
1. Connected through your Breeze
The Breeze sits on your NMEA 2000 network, next to your autopilot. It finds the pilot by itself and shows its make, for example Raymarine. Your phone talks to the Breeze over Wi-Fi, and the Breeze sends the commands on to the pilot. Your pilot’s own control head keeps working as usual.
Phone → Wi-Fi → Breeze → NMEA 2000 → autopilot.
2. Auto, wind or standby
Tap AUTO to hold your current heading, or WIND to hold your current apparent wind angle. STANDBY gives the helm back to you. The app asks you to confirm every mode change first, for example “Set the autopilot to the current heading of 082°”.
3. Change course
−10°, −1°, +1° and +10° turn you to port or to starboard. In wind mode they change the wind angle the pilot holds. The 10° buttons take one press per second, so a double tap does not become a 20° turn.
4. Tack in wind mode
In wind mode a tack button appears, for example Tack to 40° S. The autopilot tacks and holds the same wind angle on the other side.
5. See what the pilot is doing
The screen shows the pilot’s mode, the course or wind angle it holds, and how far it is still turning, for example “Turning 13° to starboard”. With a rudder angle sensor on the network you also see the rudder. When your chartplotter steers a route, the app shows that the pilot is in nav mode.
6. Together with SteerClear AIS
Has SteerClear AIS found a course that clears the traffic around you? Tap Set autopilot, confirm the turn, and the pilot steers the new course.
What you need
- A SWAY Breeze with the latest firmware on your NMEA 2000 network
- A Raymarine or B&G autopilot on the same network
- Wind data on the network, for wind mode and tacking
- Your phone connected to the Breeze, on its own Wi-Fi or on your boat’s Wi-Fi
- SWAY Plus: €16,99 a year per Breeze, in the SWAY app
Beta
Autopilot control is new and still improving. Tell us how it works on your boat at info@sway-sailing.com.
You stay in command
SWAY sets the course on your autopilot; the autopilot does the steering. Stay close to the helm when SWAY changes the course, and keep a proper lookout. You can always take over with your pilot’s own control head or by hand. The skipper is always responsible.
SteerClear AIS · Live tracking · SWAY Plus FAQ · What’s new in SWAY 3.0