AIS Transponders for Yachties

[[10753]]

Speaking with a long distance sailor friend of mine who has one says there's no need for them round the coast except in exceptional circumstances like fog. Even crossing the channel we are supposed to keep out of the way.

Once out of the shipping lanes he said it was magic as large ships could alter course for him very early.

I must admit I tend to agree as the solent is rapidly turning into a mass of green triangles which can only get worse as these come down in price and become more popular.

I know I can turn off the yachtie category but that also kills stuff I may wish to see.

Any views ?

 

[sailorman]

Speaking with a long distance sailor friend of mine who has one says there's no need for them round the coast except in exceptional circumstances like fog. Even crossing the channel we are supposed to keep out of the way.

Once out of the shipping lanes he said it was magic as large ships could alter course for him very early.

I must admit I tend to agree as the solent is rapidly turning into a mass of green triangles which can only get worse as these come down in price and become more popular.

I know I can turn off the yachtie category but that also kills stuff I may wish to see.

Any views ?

much the same as construction sites with a mass of Hi-Viz vests

 

[flawed_logic]

AIS

AIS is the best thing i bought in a long while, it's invaluable for crossing shipping lanes, fog, off shore racing etc. You can identify the ship that's on a close CPA and call them up, 9 times out of 10 you can resolve the situation satisfactorily for both parties.

For inshore i guess i would see what the conditions and other factors are then make a choice to whether you turn off the transmit.
These days friends and family can use something like ship finder to see where you are and what time you might get in so people are leaving the transmit on all the time. Have to say though it's less on an issue in the SW.

 

[ukmctc]

Speaking with a long distance sailor friend of mine who has one says there's no need for them round the coast except in exceptional circumstances like fog. Even crossing the channel we are supposed to keep out of the way.

Once out of the shipping lanes he said it was magic as large ships could alter course for him very early.

I must admit I tend to agree as the solent is rapidly turning into a mass of green triangles which can only get worse as these come down in price and become more popular.

I know I can turn off the yachtie category but that also kills stuff I may wish to see.

Any views ?

another toy for yachties, not required but handy if you can afford it, just the receiver is fine so YOU can move out of the way of large ships.

 

[PaulGooch]

Transmitters should be illegal. Too many morons leave them on all of the time, even in the marina.

 

[maby]

Speaking with a long distance sailor friend of mine who has one says there's no need for them round the coast except in exceptional circumstances like fog. Even crossing the channel we are supposed to keep out of the way.

Once out of the shipping lanes he said it was magic as large ships could alter course for him very early.

I must admit I tend to agree as the solent is rapidly turning into a mass of green triangles which can only get worse as these come down in price and become more popular.

I know I can turn off the yachtie category but that also kills stuff I may wish to see.

Any views ?

Do you not have finer granularity of control over the filtering of what is displayed? Our plotters default to "Display absolutely everything", but we can filter out vessels below a specified speed and vessels whose CPA is above a specified distance.

 

[prv]

Do you not have finer granularity of control over the filtering of what is displayed?

Most plotters don't seem to. Certainly mine has nothing except "AIS on" and "AIS off".

I rarely use the plotter, though, so it's not been a problem so far

Pete

 

[doug748]

I must look to see if I can switch off yachtie transmissions, now and again. I seem to only pick them up at well under 2 miles anyway, but it can be useful.

I got mixed up with a Figaro fleet of siglehanders this year. I was going downwind, on port tack, at an angle designed just to fill the genoa. The fleet were slanting across me, hard on the wind, on starboard, doing about 8kts, I was, maybe doing 3. The AIS was quite jolly, showing most boats missing me by miles. The time to CPA was (I think) about 6 minutes when first picked up. Six minutes does not give you a lot of time to put the kettle on. For the first boat forecast to meet me head on I turned left and he passed ahead, quite close.
For the second, I dallied a bit and weighing the job up decided I would pass in front, esp if I nudged a bit to starboard. This is a schoolboy error. With seconds counting down I could see how he was hunting around, following the wind. One moment he was heading for my midship the next passing clear, if the wind had backed a fraction he would have taken off my bow. There was a lot of thought compressed into the last 30 seconds but he passed 60 feet clear.

I was able to inspect the deck arrangements of the second boat in close detail. Indeed there was not a soul in sight on either boat.

 

[fireball]

I must admit I tend to agree as the solent is rapidly turning into a mass of green triangles which can only get worse as these come down in price and become more popular.

I know I can turn off the yachtie category but that also kills stuff I may wish to see.

Any views ?

Do you not have finer granularity of control over the filtering of what is displayed? Our plotters default to "Display absolutely everything", but we can filter out vessels below a specified speed and vessels whose CPA is above a specified distance.

Most plotters don't seem to. Certainly mine has nothing except "AIS on" and "AIS off".

That is the issue I've been on about for a long time - Class B transponders in areas like the solent are largely a waste of time and impact on others too.
It isn't difficult to write a software filter on class B targets - but I've yet to see a plotter with that functionality.
Luckily, our plotter doesn't understand class B transmissions - so although the engine passes them on, the plotter just disregards them - so I just get class A targets on screen.
I'm aware of other vessels who turn off their AIS (receiving) engines in areas like the solent - it isn't the end of the world but a little annoyance.

 

[Blue5]

I am amazed that AIS comes in for so much criticism, absolutely brilliant bit of kit.
You do not need to sail the Solent with your head fixed to the plotter screen observing AIS targets just because they show up, just enjoy the sail.

I have two other pieces of kit on board that filter AIS targets on my plotter screen.........................a brain and a pair of eyes

 

[Cardo]

I am amazed that AIS comes in for so much criticism, absolutely brilliant bit of kit.
You do not need to sail the Solent with your head fixed to the plotter screen observing AIS targets just because they show up, just enjoy the sail.

I have two other pieces of kit on board that filter AIS targets on my plotter screen.........................a brain and a pair of eyes

+1
I really don't understand all the moaning about ais. It's the same with radar, do people moan that it shows up all the small boats? I've not heard any as yet...

 

[[10753]]

Seems to be some confusion here - we are not talking about AIS receivers here which are absolutely brilliant, we are talking about AIS transponders and the requirement for them or when they really need to be used - i.e what is the point of transmitting all your data in the Solent (even when you anchored) ?

 

[flawed_logic]

+1
I really don't understand all the moaning about ais. It's the same with radar, do people moan that it shows up all the small boats? I've not heard any as yet...

totally agree, no idea what the issue is, as for people leaving AIS turned on in the marina, perhaps they should have a word with the Trawler men that do exactly that!

 

[flawed_logic]

Seems to be some confusion here - we are not talking about AIS receivers here which are absolutely brilliant, we are talking about AIS transponders and the requirement for them or when they really need to be used - i.e what is the point of transmitting all your data in the Solent (even when you anchored) ?

I still dont see a major issue, so what that you are a target on someones chart plotter? Can't you just ignore it? The only issue that i could think of is that the plot somehow obscures something import below but cant think of any examples really, there not going to be anchored on a rock for instance

 

[fireball]

I am amazed that AIS comes in for so much criticism, absolutely brilliant bit of kit.
You do not need to sail the Solent with your head fixed to the plotter screen observing AIS targets just because they show up, just enjoy the sail.

I have two other pieces of kit on board that filter AIS targets on my plotter screen.........................a brain and a pair of eyes

I still dont see a major issue, so what that you are a target on someones chart plotter? Can't you just ignore it? The only issue that i could think of is that the plot somehow obscures something import below but cant think of any examples really, there not going to be anchored on a rock for instance

The issue is CLUTTER.

You can turn of AIS Alarms (because you normally can't decide not to have an AIS B trigger the alarm - so you have to turn both off - not really an issue in the solent though) ... but if you've got a raft of AIS B targets on your plotter screen it just obliterates the chart - you're not interested in the targets as you use line of sight - but you can't use the chart either - because theres a green blob on it. So your choices are - turn of AIS altogether or ignore/turn off the plotter ...


Here's an example from RTIR last year:

 

[dt4134]

The issue is CLUTTER.

You can turn of AIS Alarms (because you normally can't decide not to have an AIS B trigger the alarm - so you have to turn both off - not really an issue in the solent though) ... but if you've got a raft of AIS B targets on your plotter screen it just obliterates the chart - you're not interested in the targets as you use line of sight - but you can't use the chart either - because theres a green blob on it. So your choices are - turn of AIS altogether or ignore/turn off the plotter ...


Here's an example from RTIR last year:

Some of those appear not to be leaving the IoW to port as required.

 

[chanelyacht]

Transmitters should be illegal. Too many morons leave them on all of the time, even in the marina.

Tell that to the three (so far) that we've had calling mayday (for genuine reasons) when being able to track them on AIS has been invaluable for both us and the lifeboat.

 

[doris]

I am amazed that AIS comes in for so much criticism, absolutely brilliant bit of kit.
You do not need to sail the Solent with your head fixed to the plotter screen observing AIS targets just because they show up, just enjoy the sail.

I have two other pieces of kit on board that filter AIS targets on my plotter screen.........................a brain and a pair of eyes

I can only assume you are talking about AIS receivers, they are brilliant and I cannot see why any small boat shouldnt have one. They cost pennies.

Class B transponders are rubbish. They sometimes show you up then you can disappear for long periods. I have one because it is a ORC class 2 requirement and have checked with other boats, commercial shipping and Falmouth coastguard and they all confirm the unreliability of class B. Its not just mine, that's about mid range it would seem, it's all types. We regularly check around the fleet so have some experience of this.

 

[Jacana]

The issue is CLUTTER.

You can turn of AIS Alarms (because you normally can't decide not to have an AIS B trigger the alarm - so you have to turn both off - not really an issue in the solent though) ... but if you've got a raft of AIS B targets on your plotter screen it just obliterates the chart - you're not interested in the targets as you use line of sight - but you can't use the chart either - because theres a green blob on it. So your choices are - turn of AIS altogether or ignore/turn off the plotter ...


Here's an example from RTIR last year:

The moment you have chosen is hardly typical

 

[Cardo]

The issue is CLUTTER.

You can turn of AIS Alarms (because you normally can't decide not to have an AIS B trigger the alarm - so you have to turn both off - not really an issue in the solent though) ... but if you've got a raft of AIS B targets on your plotter screen it just obliterates the chart - you're not interested in the targets as you use line of sight - but you can't use the chart either - because theres a green blob on it. So your choices are - turn of AIS altogether or ignore/turn off the plotter ...


Here's an example from RTIR last year:

So turn off ais display when it's too cluttered. What's the problem? As per my earlier argument, how does this differ to a radar return?