I think it is dangerous and thus ought to be rare to use an autopilot setup when in such close quarters to danger. Even a jetty in calm is dangerous if running it electronically. We prefer to always run the boat with a real person at the helm. Hell, we even have it so that it is the only way we can do it. Windvanes won't work there and our electronic AP is only working on the windvane. Guess I would call us ludites or say that I have outfitted the boat so I can't be a danger to myself. Sad to see and I'm guessing there is some dislaimer in the literature about using that system wherever one might be in danger. Seems everyone (company) has a disclaimer now that their thingie, doohickie, wathamacalit, is only for (some type) of limited life use.

Sad to hear of...

Ciao,