Good Drones for Cruisers?

[boatman61]

Originally Posted by ranchero76

I'm happy not to be US citizen )))

Dang.. and there was I thinking you might be a Texican..

[ranchero76]

Sorry to disappoint you ))

[boatman61]

Naah..!!! no disappointment.
A Drone strikes a Drone strike..




Just getting back on topic Weavis..

[mikereed100]

DH,

I've been flying a Mavic from our boat from the past year and love it. As a junior amateur photographer how can you not love a flying camera? We use it a lot for filming whales and other sea life from the boat. (You can see an un-edited clip on our blog).

The drone will have no trouble keeping up with your boat, even at speeds above hull speed . In sport mode I have had mine over 50 mph.

As others have pointed out, the challenge is taking off and landing from a moving boat. I have not tried catching it as my wife won't go near the thing when it's in the air and I need both hands to control it. Landing is best done with the boat moving slowly, or not at all, in a calm sea. You should be able to find a large enough clear deck space on your Moody for this. It doesn't hurt to pile sailbags and other soft stuff around the landing area.

I used to take off with the boat moving but have stopped doing this as several times the drones engines just shut off when about 1' off the deck, causing the drone to fall like a brick. I suspect taking off from a moving object can cause an error which shuts down the motors. The Phantoms don't seem to have this problem. Ideally, I would like to have a Phantom 3 for shots of the boat under sail, but that will have to wait.

DJI offers insurance for the first year which is not a bad idea. If you kill the drone you can return the carcass and they will send you another for $100 or so.

[boatman61]

Dockhead.. maybe invest 75 quid in one of these to practice/play with for now.. decent small change el cheapo one can afford to lose.. its a UK dealer.
https://www.dronesdirect.co.uk/p/pfb...over?tref=ddhp

[Dockhead]

Originally Posted by mikereed100

DH,

I've been flying a Mavic from our boat from the past year and love it. As a junior amateur photographer how can you not love a flying camera? We use it a lot for filming whales and other sea life from the boat. (You can see an un-edited clip on our blog).

The drone will have no trouble keeping up with your boat, even at speeds above hull speed . In sport mode I have had mine over 50 mph.

As others have pointed out, the challenge is taking off and landing from a moving boat. I have not tried catching it as my wife won't go near the thing when it's in the air and I need both hands to control it. Landing is best done with the boat moving slowly, or not at all, in a calm sea. You should be able to find a large enough clear deck space on your Moody for this. It doesn't hurt to pile sailbags and other soft stuff around the landing area.

I used to take off with the boat moving but have stopped doing this as several times the drones engines just shut off when about 1' off the deck, causing the drone to fall like a brick. I suspect taking off from a moving object can cause an error which shuts down the motors. The Phantoms don't seem to have this problem. Ideally, I would like to have a Phantom 3 for shots of the boat under sail, but that will have to wait.

DJI offers insurance for the first year which is not a bad idea. If you kill the drone you can return the carcass and they will send you another for $100 or so.

Thanks for this, and to others for other useful comments.

Did you experience the same video quality problems with your Mavic that others reported? Is the Mavic Pro a different model?

I have a quite large clear afterdeck on my center cockpit boat which should be a reasonable place for landing. I suppose it could be pretty challenging in a seaway and maybe less so in very calm weather. But shooting the boat under sail is certainly not the main reason to have a drone on board -- I want to use it to explore new places we sail to and anchor up in. The drone photography in that recent video about the Faroe Islands was really inspiring and is a good example of what can be done with these devices.

Thanks for the tip about insurance, which seems a good one. If I crash it into the water, will the insurance cover that, I wonder?

[mikedefieslife]

DJI refresh (kind of insurance/warranty) does cover water damage.

[P3sailor]

Please, forget the drones, just another gadget for those who have nothing better to do. I'd be pretty upset if someone flew one over me just to get a few cheap shots. While I'm sure they have some use, they're mainly a toy used to invade peoples privacy.

[boatman61]

Could always fly a kite instead..

[Dockhead]

Originally Posted by P3sailor

Please, forget the drones, just another gadget for those who have nothing better to do. I'd be pretty upset if someone flew one over me just to get a few cheap shots. While I'm sure they have some use, they're mainly a toy used to invade peoples privacy.

I beg to disagree!

Some idiots misuse them to invade others' privacy -- I'm certainly against that.

But drones, or better flying cameras, are wonderful tools for making wonderful images, and go together terrifically well with cruising.

Just have a look at these:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z_Dq0f3WwW8

[mikedefieslife]

Originally Posted by P3sailor

Please, forget the drones, just another gadget for those who have nothing better to do. I'd be pretty upset if someone flew one over me just to get a few cheap shots. While I'm sure they have some use, they're mainly a toy used to invade peoples privacy.

Utter BS if ever i've seen it.

The vast majority of poeple with drones such as the Mavic Pro that cost a good $1000 will have a keen interest in photography or videography. Hardly people with nothing better to do. Those the ones that just sit on the back of their boat watching everyone else.

I suppose you said the same when the camera was invented too.

[elaak]

Originally Posted by Dockhead

Thanks for the tip about insurance, which seems a good one. If I crash it into the water, will the insurance cover that, I wonder?

Something to consider - the insurance policy they offer doesn't cover your drone if its lost. May be hard to retrieve a DJI product if it crashes in deep water.

I've also owned a Mariner (the predecessor to the Splash Drone) and had a phantom3 at the same time. The Mariner was clearly the inferior of the two at the time. That may have changed but it seems pretty obvious that DJI is far better resourced.

[SV DestinyAscen]

Originally Posted by mikedefieslife

Utter BS if ever i've seen it.

The vast majority of poeple with drones such as the Mavic Pro that cost a good $1000 will have a keen interest in photography or videography. Hardly people with nothing better to do. Those the ones that just sit on the back of their boat watching everyone else.

I suppose you said the same when the camera was invented too.

He's in Wisconsin. Perhaps the only features being explored by drone are the neighbor's roof.

[Valmika]

Originally Posted by HopCar

Take a look at the Splash Drone. I think it’s the only one designed to take off and land in water.
https://www.urbandrones.com/?gclid=E...SAAEgK16vD_BwE

I have seen some videos on making the DJI phantom waterproof and able to float. Has anybody tried this and I wonder if it would work on the maaaavic.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SWZQsTUYuNw

Sorry this one

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pbCtZ2NgSaI

[ArmyDaveNY]

This is an interesting drone (the Lily Drone), but I think it only has a twenty minute flight time. The big advantage is that you don't have to control it. You can program it for various flight modes, such as following you, circling you, flying alongside, etc. It will also return to you automatically when it's charge runs low.

I don;t know if it meets your needs but it's worth looking at AND it's water proof/resistant. As an added benefit, they also take bitcoin!

https://www.lily.camera/