Ship Drifts Off Course

[Zosimus]

My ship often drifts off course, especially in high winds. I have talked to my navigator and helmsman until I'm blue in the face, but they still do not keep an eye on the compass. Is there any easy solution to keeping the ship going on the last heading I called?

[Jaystew]

Realism, it's such a bitch lol jk.

I have no idea how to fix that.

[vanjast]

Time Compression (TC) <= 128x

[Zosimus]

The ship drifts off course with TC 64.

[scott_c2911]

Its called leeway to let everyone know. The old sailing ships took it into account when navigating. When you plot a course the navigator sets a small amount of port or starboard rudder to compensate for it in game. If you just point your sub at heading 090 for example and say rudder amidships it will not be pointing at 090 in a few hours or so regardless of tc. This can also be attributed to the curvature of the earth modelled into the game but im not so sure about that. Sailor steve knows about plotted courses that arc across the ocean rather than a straight line but I cant remember the name for it.

[UKönig]

The more skill and experience your officers have, not to mention decorations, will help reduce incidences of lost waypoints.
When I put the new Nav Officer on, he loses his way every now and then, especially underwater at 70+ meters. I put that down to a lack of sky/star sightings.
But yeah, the more skill and decorations your crew has, the less they slip up.

[Sailor Steve]

Originally Posted by scott_c2911

Its called leeway to let everyone know. The old sailing ships took it into account when navigating. When you plot a course the navigator sets a small amount of port or starboard rudder to compensate for it in game. If you just point your sub at heading 090 for example and say rudder amidships it will not be pointing at 090 in a few hours or so regardless of tc. This can also be attributed to the curvature of the earth modelled into the game but im not so sure about that. Sailor steve knows about plotted courses that arc across the ocean rather than a straight line but I cant remember the name for it.

Actually I have to disagree completely. In the game if you use waypoints the sub will hold its course, which is not realistic, or the navigator wouldn't have to take a position fix every day. On the other hand, if you just set a heading and let the boat go, it will not only drift off course but drift off heading, which is highly unrealistic. In real life the helmsman will hold his heading, or you'll replace him with a helmsman who can. The heading should never wander. If you set your heading for 300 degrees, the boat should stay on that heading. That it doesn't isn't realistic - it is a game bug.

Real Life: You tell the helmsman to hold a heading. He does. If the boat drifts off course because of winds or currents your next fix will find you not where you expected, but you will still be on the same heading. You would then plot a new course and give the helmsman the new heading, and he would hold that one until told otherwise.

The Game: You tell the helmsman to hold a heading. He falls asleep at the helm and your heading wanders all over the place. If you ignore it long enough you might find yourself on the opposite heading. This is not even a tiny bit realistic. It is a bug. Plotting waypoints is the only way to insure that your boat will hold its heading. Unfortunately plotting waypoints also guarantees a perfect course every time. The alternative is to give the helmsman a heading and then correct it constantly, essentially conning the boat yourself. Both ways are less than desirable.

[vanjast]

Originally Posted by Zosimus

The ship drifts off course with TC 64.

A TC=128 is just manageable if you're sailing on Real Nav. Not too much drift and plenty time to correct.

[Jaystew]

Weather should not affect the compass.