How Do You Use AIS?

[DotDun]

Originally Posted by dlymn

Any ship under 300 tonnes is not required to have AIS.

Originally Posted by Celestialsailor

This is changing around the world where Thailand, for one is requiring all vessels to have rx and tx AIS units. You're absolutely right about standing watch anyways as there is a lot of thing to bump into other than ships. I have seen kayaks 6+ miles offshore.

USCG has changed the rules:

https://www.federalregister.gov/docu...ication-system

Now includes:

Commercial fishing vessels >= 65 feet
Commercial self-propelled vessels >= 65 feet certified to carry < 150 passengers
Dredges operating outside shipping fairways
Towing vessels >= 26 feet and > 600 hp
Vessels moving certain dangerous cargo
Other commercial self-propelled vessels of >= 65 feet not described above

[chouliha]

Originally Posted by Hakan

Chuck...
There seems to be two issues here.
One is for rather new AIS versions, a year or two, as of my links above.
If you're talking 10 years that's another issue. The ships name is there because someone wrote it by any AIS initialization program or afterwords using for example MaxSea. It's up to every skipper to maintain it. If they for any reason don't want a visible name they take it away. But it's also rather easy to take the name away by mistake in MaxSea, while editing destination for example.

I am talking about large commercial vessels (freighters and bulk carriers) not broadcasting a vessel name.

We are using a Vesper Watchmate 850 which btw is a fantastic piece of gear. It feeds our laptop and Opencpn.

My only issue is if we had to call the vessel via vhf and not having a name would make it more of a hassle. The call could still be made using a MMSI number but a bit of time required to enter the number.

Cheers

Chuck

[fogmachine]

It's been very useful in fog both inshore and offshore, though many local fishermen (and most law enforcement around here) don't have it yet. When on race committee I occasionally use it for range and bearing when setting marks, though more often we use a handheld GPS.

Hopefully ships are using our broadcasts to avoid us.

Interested spouses have used it to track our progress up and down the coast (via VesselFinder, etc) during multi-day passages - since they know when we're getting in, the margaritas are always just-in-time ready.

[barnakiel]

When I see nothing, I look up the AIS and if the screen is empty, I assume there is nothing. So I just keep on going.

When I see a ship, I look it up and check what it is doing and how we cross. Then I take action as dictated by the case.

This is how I use the AIS.

b.

[markpierce]

Most all pleasure boats lack AIS, and I've never observed kayaks to carry it either. Kayaks seem to appear suddenly out of nowhere. Relying totally on electronics to navigate/pilot is WRONG. Proper eyeball-lookout is required and most important.

[barnakiel]

Originally Posted by markpierce

Most all pleasure boats lack AIS, (...)

Mark,

This will depend on where you live. Attached picture from a small harbour in the EU. The pink ones are pleasure boats.

Cheers,
b.

[bfiegener]

Ive been using it for a year now and find it extremely useful especially in fog. I agree with other post that it makes no sense to get just a receiver. Yes, its cheaper but whats the point if no one can see you?

[fgd3]

Originally Posted by bfiegener

Ive been using it for a year now and find it extremely useful especially in fog. I agree with other post that it makes no sense to get just a receiver. Yes, its cheaper but whats the point if no one can see you?

Because it's cheaper, a receive only unit is a good introduction to AIS. It has given me a chance to see what it looks like on my OpenCPN display and to see how it works.

So far, for me, AIS has proven of academic interest. Because of my draft and the places I go if my chart is zoomed in enough that I can see the details that interest me I can't see any AIS targets. When I zoom out the AIS targets appear but I can't make out the details on the chart. I do like to sit at the dock and watch traffic maneuvering in and out of Port Manatee, 8 miles away, but that's a bit short of a practical use.

My sailing environment is not crowded with big ships and it is remarkably free of weather conditions that limit visibility. In other areas the benefits of AIS may be far more substantial.

Fabbian