Out offshore, an autopilot is just another hand on the wheel—steady when you’ve set it up right, stubborn when you haven’t. I’ve seen plenty of “bad pilots” turn out to be a sticky quadrant, a tired hydraulic line, or a compass that’s been quietly listening to the alternator.
The trick is to start with what’s real and mechanical, then ask the electronics to do only what the boat can actually answer. Get the geometry fair, the sensors honest, and the power clean, and the tuning becomes small changes instead of big mysteries.
And when it still hunts now and then, don’t take it personal. Sometimes the sea’s just having its say.