AIS?

Audrey II

Audrey II

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Aug 5, 2008
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30499
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I have an older Garmin unit and thinking about adding an AIS unit wondering what other have used and weather you think it was worth adding and why?
 
When i recently upgraded my electronics I added an AIS transceiver & really think its valuable under many circumstances. Being able to hail other boats/ships by name i found very helpful .For example during my recent trip(s) to Charleston it really helped when we knew who we were coming up to so we could hail them by name for a slow pass.
 
Like everything it depends on how you use the boat. If you deal with quite a bit of traffic and fog then yes absolutely it s a must have.
 
My Standard Horizon has an AIS receiver - unfortunately my Furuno setup is too old to accept the data, so it shows an the radio in AIS mode. On the Hudson/NY Harbor area, it's a 'neat to have' feature. having an AIS transmitter is much more involved, and not required for recreational vessels.

Like Andy says, it's convenient (and makes you appear more professional) to hail other vessels to confirm passes (for example) in narrow channels, etc. I think it's worth the money; your mileage may vary.
 
Knowing the name of a vessel is convenient but using a location (near buoy xxx or near lay/Lon works well too). What is very useful is getting a constantly updated CPA. When coming across ship traffic it really allows you to adjust course very early. I rely on this a lot when crossing the stream
 
I spoke with Garmin today and while my plotter is a bit old the current AIS unit would be more or less plug and play. This is something to consider.
 
Dave,

If your Garmin will display the position, speed and collision probability then get it.

It is an excellent tool to use in busy harbors and especially in the fog.

Coming back from Florida, I have tracked 72 boats the day we came from Cape May to Monmouth Beach. Fog was thick, low viz, between the AIS and the radars MARPA ability it made it a much safer trip.

I have the Garmin AIS800. It has it's own GPS head.
 
I plugs directly into the n2000 nerwork so it doesn't need it's own GPS antenna.
 
I plugs directly into the n2000 nerwork so it doesn't need it's own GPS antenna.
 
I plugs directly into the n2000 nerwork so it doesn't need it's own GPS antenna.
 
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