AIS: your opinion

[srhawk454]

Recently it was a thread on AIS, did not want to hijack it by asking for your input on this question - would you consider getting one? Ranger Tugs are state of the art boats with plenty of equipment to make them safe, I hope adding AIS will make my boat even awesomer. After all, great boats deserve the coolest toys esp. is they add safety 😀
Intended usage: I'm planning to use the boat around PNW and after Canada opens up to go up north to Alaska, Great Loop is another dream of ours. Planning to stay on the hook and navigate PNW harbors/marinas. Not really planning on travelling after dark but who knows... If you have an AIS, how useful do you find it? What brand? Is it a must have for safety and convenience, I imagine it is but need some ammo to convince the Admiral 😀
Thank you in advance!

 

[Submariner]

I added AIS a couple months ago. I put in a Vesper XB-8000.

I love having AIS. I have lots of ferry's that I drive around. AIS lets me know which way they're going, I can activate them as targets and it'll illustrate my course in relation to the target and gives me a countdown for intercept/collision. This lets me alter course well in advance.

I went with the Vesper 8000 because I wanted the WIFI, allowing others on the boat to use their tablet or phone (with a GPS receiver), to run Navionics and see where we are, and have AIS data appear on their Navionics/tablet. You have to be WIFI connected to the Vesper for the AIS data to be transferred and appear within Navionics on your mobile device.

 

[GypsyMoth]

I had AIS transmit added in the boat build. I believe it is the Vesper XB6000. Not sure it is a must have, but I do feel a bit more comfortable with it. I'm in the SF Bay and I doubt most boats have AIS at all (not even receive), but of course all commercial traffic does.

I often look at the 'targets' on the chartplotter display. I wish my boat AIS info would be included in the list of AIS vessels. With the Vesper class B satellites do not pick up my signal which means I do not show up on WEB based ship finder sights. To confirm my AIS transmission I would need to contact another AIS vessel and ask if they see my information.

Cheers,

 

[Kimberly Dawn]

When we ordered our R27-OB, it came with an Garmin AIS 300 (receive only). We upgraded to the Garmin AIS 600 (now AIS 800) transponder for safety.

AIS gives your boat another electronic signature on AIS equipped chartplotters and/or VHF radios. It doesn't require any special knowledge or interpretation to recognize on the screen.

Radar can likewise pick you up but requires recognition and interpretation by the boat's captain, and many boat's don't have radar.

Here in the PNW, fog can occur anywhere. It's good to be seen!

 

[rick.southard]

Regarding the Great Loop we took a year off to do it in 2016-17 and I think the AIS 300 we installed before we started was one of the best investments we made.

On the Tennessee river you don't know the barges are coming around the many curves until you find them taking up the entire bend in the river. With the AIS you see them several miles away and can call the tow boat by name and find out which side you need to pass them on. The tow boats won't answer unless you call them by name. That alone was worth it 😉

 

[FlyMeAway]

We are in the process of having AIS transmit installed on our R-31CB. We opted to go not just with AIS, but with Vesper's new Cortex AIS/monitoring system. It's pretty cost effective when you consider everything you're getting, especially since the install isn't any more complex than a regular AIS (and in fact might be simpler due to integrated splitter). Panbo and other sites have a great review of the Cortex -- you don't need to get the VHF handsets with it, if you don't want (we aren't).

It is not cheap if you don't DIY. Install I've been quoted 8-12 hours of labor for any AIS system (having a more official estimate later this week) by at least three different well-regarded marine techs / yards. Perhaps you could get around this with a drop-in install of a Garmin AIS/VHF 800.

Also, lovely boat you have (Dragon Lady) -- assuming it was the same one up at Bellingham Yachts last fall. We looked at her as well but ended up going with the command bridge model she was moored next to (and which we have since renamed).

 

[Martin610]

I added a digital yacht AIS unit to my CW-28 three years ago. Very useful. I can see commercial traffic, they can see me. I find it especially useful at night. With radar you get a 'blob'. AIS identifies the blob. We still have a large amount of tug and barge traffic in Barnegat Bay and the shore of the ocean, nice to have the extra information. An added bonus is that the party boats sometimes show up and you know where they are fishing. I think they are supposed to run it all the time, but some of them don't. Glad I have the AIS.

 

[SJI Sailor]

Agreed with all of the above comments. Anything that increases visibility is good. I also think it is good to "give back" -- we like seeing other boats on AIS, but that only works because they are broadcasting. So we should broadcast, too.

 

[S@LTD]

Echo comments here. We added AIS 600 Garmin when we boat the boat in 2018. Super helpful as it is much easier to pick up a hail when you are called by boat name vs. being referred to be description. I missed a hail for that reason by the Canadian coast guard when they were calling for a 20 ft runabout and we were a 29 ft cruiser at the time. When we were on the Columbia it also came in handy for lock masters to see you coming a coordinate locking through, research operations where they were blocking off parts of the river and even the river pilots down by Astoria.

I understand the Vesper and newer versions than mine are better even though ours works great and we have never had an issue.

 

[Cutwater28GG]

if its in addition to radar than I dont see a reason why not. if its in replacement, absolutely not.

without 100% deployment of AIS you cannot rely on it for safety.

 

[Bruce Moore]

Agree with all the above. My key points:

• Not a replacement for radar
  Allows you to see, and be seen by, boats not in line of sight
  Provides smart guidance for making tactical decisions
  Supports boat to boat (or ship) communication
  Allows boating friends and family to track you on line in most areas
  +1 for Vesper (our boat is picked up by sites/apps like Marine Traffic and Vessel Finder)

Cheers,

Bruce

 

[Gin]

+1 for the above comments
+1 for the Vesper AIS XB-8000 (I had one on our last boat as well as this one)
And an especially enthusiastic +1 for the Vesper Cortex. It is amazing, both the AIS functionality and the VHF. (Sold the XB-8000 to a friend and upgraded to the Cortex last November).

Gini

 

[knotflying]

Here is my humble opinion and observation. Unless every boat has transmit and receive, the sense of safety is not reality. I have cruised thousands of miles from coast to coast and have AIS receive only. All the big boats are required to have transmit. I found it most useful while doing the Loop on the rivers and was able to spot the barges and contact them in advance to ask where they wanted me to locate my vessel. This is very helpful with the switchbacks on the rivers. On the east coast I find it a nuisance because all the large yachts keep it on even while docked. As you travel the ICW you get constant warning alarms. IN the PNW it was not nearly as bad and spotting the large ferries was nice, but not a necessity. I have eyes and radar in fog. So having AIS transmit and receive is nice to have if your budget permits, but see and avoid is priceless.

 

[GypsyMoth]

One other perspective, although I'm not too worried about it there are some who feel AIS transmit is a privacy issue- your location, speed, direction are visible to those who can receive AIS. The stronger units are visible to anyone with a web browser.

 

[H28]

I was very nice to have AIS-receive when we did our Desolation Sound trip, knowing a big ferry was on the other side of that island point about to come thru the same channel only in the opposite direction. Also getting information on all the barges, container ships, etc. I'd say pretty much a must-have in the PNW.

That said, I'm not a fan of all us recreational yachts transmitting AIS. It is just so much clutter. I'm not particularly interested in seeing all the AIS blips of the 35' sailboat or powerboat, it just clogs up the works IMHO. I don't want to exacerbate the problem with my RT29S by adding transmit capability.

And it is an aid, not a definitive answer. Eyes outside + radar + AIS is a nice combination.

 

[SJI Sailor]

I can see where AIS may get cluttered! (although that is not much of a problem here in the PNW, in my experience. A river might be different.)

OTOH, for the times I go through fog, I prefer adding everything I can for visibility. We got caught in Rosario Strait in sudden fog recently with 2 tugs + barges, a fishing vessel, and a Coast Guard vessel on various crossing routes vs ours, and I was glad to have it (and a radio, and radar, and lights ...) FWIW we turned around and got out of there, on the best "keep away" tangent!

Which makes me wonder: in some apps like Marine Traffic, you can turn off the display of recreational vessels.

Is that an option on Garmin chartplotter? (Personally probably don't want to, but am curious. Away from the boat and can't find the answer online.)

 

[bluestreak]

When we purchased our used 2016 R-27 it was equipped with the Garmin AIS 300.
I had it replaced with the Garmin 800, second fixed VHF radio and antenna, and the marriage saver headsets.
I am trying to figure out how and where to mount a 2M/70cm ham radio and antenna.

 

[bvankeppel]

Our boat came equipped with AIS In/Out and I sure like it. Not fool proof as there are signal delays and not all other boats have it, but in combination with Radar and visual it is a great help. Plus our kids and friends can keep track of where we are through the Vesselfinder (Or similar) apps.