Ais on or off

[Alaskan Sea-Duction]

Don't see how.

If it is not a requirement to have it on it is not a requirement to have it on, simple as that.

If it is a requirement, it needs to be written in law or legislation.

They can't just make stuff up.





Ah, now that's totally different.

An anchor light is required by law

So it is the law to have a AIS when you qualify to participate in VTS.

Participation requirements

You must participate in our vessel traffic services program if your ship:

measures 20 metres or more in length

tows or pushes vessels or objects other than fishing gear, where:

the combined length of the ship and vessels or objects being towed or pushed is 45 metres or more in length

the length of the vessel or object being towed or pushed by the ship is 20 metres or more in length

You don’t need to participate in the program if your vessel is a:

pleasure yacht less than 30 metres in length

ship towing or pushing inside a log booming ground

fishing vessel that is less than 24 metres in length and weighs no more than 150 tons gross.

 

[SoWhat]

I would always leave it on... why would you shut it down? Anchored in the winding ICW parts of Georgia...

Because when you leave it on when the boat is docked at a marina in a busy area everyone is flooded with collision warnings so they disable the warnings thereby defeating the purpose of AIS.

MFD manufacturers could easily solve the false collision warnings by adding a few lines of code to not trigger an alarm if transmitting boat speed is zero but I doubt they will do that.

 

[OldDan1943]

Two key phrases
1. Pleasure boat
2. 20 meters or less

Addressing an anchor light
MUST be on and working, as necessary

NOW, the USCG can ticket you and or declare your boat is involved in an “unsafe voyage”, tow your boat to shore and impound your boat in a secure facility until such time they convene a Maritime Court.
It is up to Maritime Court to assign blame. Generally speaking, owners’ try to avoid the court, make the necessary repairs, pay the ‘roadside ticket’ and get out of town.

Remember, there are 3 types of waters, lakes and inland water ways, coastal out to 200 nautical miles and the high seas. Each may have their own rules

 

[mvweebles]

...an anchor light MUST be on and working.....USCG can declare your boat is involved in an “unsafe voyage”, tow your boat and impound you until they convene a Maritime Court.

USCG impounding a boat for failure to display an anchor light? Falls under the heading of "never gonna happen." If so Richardson Bay near Sausalito would have been cleared by USCG 45-years ago.

Peter

 

[OldDan1943]

Also, remember ‘owner’s attitude’ has a lot to do with everything. Push your luck and the USCG may come on down on you like a big ol’hammer.

 

[ranger58sb]

Don't see how.
If it is not a requirement to have it on it is not a requirement to have it on, simple as that.
If it is a requirement, it needs to be written in law or legislation.
They can't just make stuff up.

But then "having it on" is incorporated elsewhere:
RULE 7
Risk of Collision
(a) Every vessel shall use all available means appropriate to the prevailing circumstances and conditions to determine if risk of collision exists.

So if you've got radar installed, and if "prevailing circumstances and conditions" suggest radar would be appropriate "to determine if risk of collision exists" -- it would have to be on to be effective.

Because when you leave it on when the boat is docked at a marina in a busy area everyone is flooded with collision warnings so they disable the warnings thereby defeating the purpose of AIS.

MFD manufacturers could easily solve the false collision warnings by adding a few lines of code to not trigger an alarm if transmitting boat speed is zero but I doubt they will do that.

Our Furuno and Garmin MFDs both have that capability. Boat speed zero or less than X, no alarm.

-Chris

 

[O C Diver]

Don't see how.
If it is not a requirement to have it on it is not a requirement to have it on, simple as that.
If it is a requirement, it needs to be written in law or legislation.
They can't just make stuff up.


Ah, now that's totally different.
An anchor light is required by law

There is a law within the USCG regs that essentially says, "you must use all means Available to avoid a collision, whether you're the stand on vessel or not".

Ted

 

[O C Diver]

Let's not confuse not using them when a prudent mariner normally would, like in fog.

Daylight, 10 mile vis and running the backwaters of narrow ACIW channels, at 7 knots....does one really think a RADAR is helping to avoid collision? I would say at that point it is more distraction.

Running solo in that situation, radar helps me spot the fast crabbing skiffs coming up behind me. Besides, the radar is part or the target acquisition system for the photon torpedoes.

Ted

 

[Hippocampus]

How do you like to display radar (and AIS)?

I sometimes like separate screens even if it means splitting a screen when only one MFD is available. May even put AIS on one of the small screens. Can then have different range settings. Wife likes a overlay with very high transparency and will immediately get rid of the other set up.
In the past when radar used a lot of juice we would put it on only when needed. This was on sail so no alternator keeping up. Now just leave it on except when in a situation when I want to read some note on the chart and clutter makes it difficult. But that’s very rare.
Think making your focus to only be colregs compliant is wrong. Think your job is not ONLY to be colreg compliant but rather to be a prudent mariner. Nothing wrong to exceeding colregs requirements. We do put our anchor light on and leave our nav lights off when anchored. Recently been confused by people leaving nav lights on (is that a steaming light or anchor light?). But also may put our underwater lights on and a string of very low light interior LEDs that are placed around the entire salon under the top attachment for the shades when anchored. They don’t interfere with night vision (lights for the steps and passageways are red and not visible from the outside). Rather those leds give a very soft glow visible from the outside. Being a continuous string aren’t confusing. Have heard small outboard driven boats get close and veer off having seen that glow or the underwater lights but possibly not the anchor light.

 

[rslifkin]

Radar belongs on a separate screen from charts. Ideally AIS targets and any marked radar targets show on the chart. But a full radar overlay is more clutter and makes both the chart and radar harder to use.

 

[twistedtree]

Because when you leave it on when the boat is docked at a marina in a busy area everyone is flooded with collision warnings so they disable the warnings thereby defeating the purpose of AIS.

MFD manufacturers could easily solve the false collision warnings by adding a few lines of code to not trigger an alarm if transmitting boat speed is zero but I doubt they will do that.

Every AIS displaying or alarming device that I have ever used includes exactly the filters you describe. All can filter out targets more than a certain distance away, and targets that are moving less than N kts.

 

[O C Diver]

How do you like to display radar (and AIS)?

I have AIS displayed on my radar MFD in heading up mode. Find it useful to compare AIS information with radar images for approaching targets.

I display navigation charts with AIS on a North up MFD. I find the rotating chart in heading up display to be distracting. Also find it easier to read notes and place names as most charts for this hemisphere are written to be read in North up .

Ted

 

[ranger58sb]

How do you like to display radar (and AIS)?

I sometimes like separate screens even if it means splitting a screen when only one MFD is available. May even put AIS on one of the small screens. Can then have different range settings. Wife likes a overlay with very high transparency and will immediately get rid of the other set up.

This is the first time we've had a radar that will overlay on a general purpose MFD; only had dedicated radar screen before.

So we have two decent sized MFDs, and splitting each in two gives us two relatively useful "squares" shaped almost exactly the size of a radar circle.

I'm gravitating toward a few different displays, depending on weather, navigation plan, etc.

One choice is split to two radar displays (one close, one far) and two chart displays (one close, one far).

Another is one chart/one radar on one MFD, two charts (one near, one far) on the other.

AIS displays on any/all of those.

Close and far are squishy terms, and vary depending on where we are, where we're going, visibility, traffic, whatever.

In skinny AICW areas, and especially if radar isn't critical at the time, I think I'd be having the Garmin vector chart close in one one, NOAA vector and NOAA raster close in on the other. (Backed up by AquaMap on a tablet.)

I can envision overlaying radar on a chart in really bad visibility... but that would be in addition to, not in place of our normal head-up radar display. Haven't much experience with that, though, since we never had that option before.

I almost always do north-up on charts, head-up on radar. Wifey needs charts in head-up.

-Chris

 

[guy with a boat]

One place is the San Jauns WA, and Nanaimo CA.

That is interesting. Setting aside the fact that Nanaimo isn’t in the PNW, I have only stayed at their marina, so don’t have experience in an anchorage there.

We have stayed at anchor a number of times in the San Juans. I haven’t experienced or heard of theft problems and certainly not uninvited boarding. This thread may not be the place, but it would be worthwhile to hear specifics about where and when.

We have cruised lightly in the PNW and pretty heavily in BC. The anchorage and dinghy dock crime discussed here has been almost non-existent. We have boated in the Bahamas and the Caribbean, and the theft issues that are ever-present there are mostly a non-issue in the US and Canadian areas we have cruised. It is a whole different ballgame.

 

[SteveK]

What are the boundaries of the PNW?

 

[guy with a boat]

What are the boundaries of the PNW?

Maybe you want to take a shot at that one. I will be surprised if your definition of Pacific North West includes the southwest corner of your country or the eastern border of the Pacific.

 

[SteveK]

Where does the pacific ocean end. When I stand at the US border everything NW of me is the PNW.

But this is to be expected from those that call the right side of middle usa the mid west

 

[guy with a boat]

Where does the pacific ocean end. When I stand at the US border everything NW of me is the PNW.

Interesting. So Oregon and Washington are no longer in the PNW? This is tougher to keep track of than the collegiate sports conferences. And that may or may not include those midwest schools that are located east of the centerline of the U.S.

 

[SteveK]

Interesting. So Oregon and Washington are no longer in the PNW? This is tougher to keep track of than the collegiate sports conferences. And that may or may not include those midwest schools that are located east of the centerline of the U.S.

I did not suggest that, in fact California is also in the PNW as anything above the equator on the Pacific can claim the term.

It was you that decided San Juans are but Nanaimo is not, neither is on the Pacific BTW.

 

[Simi 60]

But then "having it on" is incorporated elsewhere:
RULE 7
Risk of Collision
(a) Every vessel shall use all available means appropriate to the prevailing circumstances and conditions to determine if risk of collision exists.

So if you've got radar installed, and if "prevailing circumstances and conditions" suggest radar would be appropriate "to determine if risk of collision exists" -- it would have to be on to be effective.

Sorry for running you down

I was too busy skipping between AIS, radar and plotter to actually look out the window.

 

[Alaskan Sea-Duction]

Wow, defining PNW. Really? Only 46 days to the winter Soltice.

I see the long winter approaching.

 

[koliver]

What are the boundaries of the PNW?

Steve

NOT here.

 

[SteveK]

Steve

NOT here.

I really do not care, just wondering where it ends or how it became defined, just a 'merican thing then.

 

[psneeld]

The key words in Rule 7 that most seem to skip over yet the USCG recognizes that the COLREGs were specifically worded carefully....

" all available means appropriate to the prevailing circumstances and conditions to determine if risk of collision exists"

This applied to a one watch stander, recreational boat leaves a lot of latitude to argue that the RADAR can be as much of a distraction as help in avoiding collisions. That is..... unless it is automated way beyond any I ever used on recreational vessels. Even guard zone alerts in many situations I never found user friendly in the small boating world except in pretty open waters.

 

[OldDan1943]

I suspect few of us have been formally on our own brand of RADAR. An excellent defense, if necessary.

 

[OldDan1943]

I spent some time this morning poo-pooing the electronics and the 20 meter requirement but let me reassure I have all the electronics I need for a 20+meter boat, I think. I dont want to be run over nor run over someone on my approx 11 meter boat. Number 1, a bigger horn. Number 2, VHF radio. The rest…..all fall in line with ‘be seen’ and ‘looking for other boats’

 

[ranger58sb]

Sorry for running you down

I was too busy skipping between AIS, radar and plotter to actually look out the window.

But FWIW, I think the Mark I* Eyeball also fits into that "all available means appropriate to..." thing, too.



-Chris

 

[Hippocampus]

Found different approaches to showing AIS and radar interesting and thanks for the responses. Think many small recreational boats have one MFD at the helm and one at the flybridge. Many are supplemented by several smaller screens usually set at depth, speed or another single parameter. Often the manufacturer has their own display for engine information (rpm, oil pressure and various temperatures, fuel draw and residual etc.) so although the MFD will accept those inputs commonly people don’t display them on that screen. The north up or course or heading is a endless discussion. My experience with crew is if ex navy or commercial everything is N up always. If recreational it’s mix and match. Typically wide field of view N up more local course up and heading not that popular as people use the AP more and more. Of course it varies with situation.
Last two trips I’m starting to see an advantage to my wife’s way of thinking. AIS is set to always show on any screen at any set up we use. We turned off all audible alarms for Radar and AIS but left the visual ones on when coastal. Eyeballs are #1 defense but as long as you are switching between whole screen with overlay and split screen with chart/radar+AIS starting to think her way doing it might be worthwhile in coastal settings. Particularly when there’s only one MFD at each helm. Our intercepts that maybe problematic are more commonly coming from behind us then from the sides or in front. We’ve pretty much given up on look forward for that reason. From the sides on a SD hull you can just vary your SOG. From in front it’s very rare your eyeballs don’t tell you right off what you need to do. It’s the things that sneak up on you where a electronic clue tends to be most helpful. I know the overtaking vessel is burdened but have no faith they will do what they should. I very much try to not inconvenience commercial traffic. It here the AIS is very helpful so like it on any screen that’s up.

Think if you g-d forbid ended up in court “any available “ means any available. That the only reason to not have radar or AIS running while underway is it was never installed or it is broken. Things were different when electrical draws were higher or warm up times were longer. Even as a overlay takes a second to go to standby and back so clutter isn’t a reason. Or to change the transparency setting. In the old days you tuned and retuned. Found I’m now lazy and accept the automatic pretunes (bird, buoy , harbor, offshore, rain etc.). I’ve gotten out of practice so when I don’t like what I’m seeing I am distracted changing things. Have had many crew and quite a lot of friends who never adjust those settings nor move things so radar exactly correlates to the chart and or the AIS when it should.
Have found a increasing use of a separate chart on a pad very helpful. Use that one to navigate and the MFD for real-time inputs. But the real issue remains lack of etiquette and ignorance of colregs making much of this discussion irrelevant.

 

[slowgoesit]

That doesn’t sound good. Where in the PNW have you seen this?

A boat broker I spoke to two weeks ago stated that he had personally had multiple dinghies stolen in Bellingham Washington in the last few years. I don't know any more specifics than that, but if you PM me, I'd be happy to give you his contact info. Maybe you can ask him if Bellingham is in the PNW as well!

 

[Eli27]

Running solo in that situation, radar helps me spot the fast crabbing skiffs coming up behind me. Besides, the radar is part or the target acquisition system for the photon torpedoes.

Ted

Captain! Target acquired and ready to fire photon torpedoes.


Eli