AIS systems

[freddy063]

I was wondering how many boater have a AIS system installed on there boats? Anyone know how dependable there are for safety in bad weather? I installed one mostly so the bigger ships can see me in foggy weather. Just wanting to know what everyone else thinks on this type of safety item.

 

[HMBJack]

I've had mine for over ten years. Class B Transponder. They work great. Ships have Class A (20 watt signal). Most Class B's transmit at 2 watts. So, You will see the Ship long before the Ship will see you on their plotter.

I recommend AIS to all who may navigate in fog or at night - especially near ships!

 

[PDX-Boats]

I have a class B on my boat as well. It's nice to show other boats where I am but I would invest in radar first. AIS is only good for vessels who send and/or can receive it. It doesn't relieve you of your burden of a proper lookout.
Radar, by contrast, will show you what is out there with or without AIS.
If you already have radar, chart plotter, VHF with DSC, then I might look at AIS last.

 

[SkunkBoat]

I have a receiver built in to the VHF that connects to MFD thru NMEA0183 and puts the AIS symbols on my chart.
Absolutely fantastic. In hindsight I would have bought the VHF without AIS and used the extra $200 towards a transponder.

Really want to get a transponder but, as with many things, they are over priced. I don't understand why they are $800 for a black box when they don't even have a screen or user interface.
They should be as cheap as a simple VHF. They should be NMEA2k to your plotter. Everyone should have one.
This year I'm dropping a bundle on new radar sonar, mfd. So it's gonna wait til next year..

 

[Hookup1]

The AIS transponder is great if you are running at night especially if its long distances across shipping lanes. The transponders are significantly more then built-in receive only VHF units and require a second VHF antenna (correction: Garmin AIS will share VHF antenna).. They let other ships see you as well as them. The big sport fish boats put them on a switch so that other fishermen don't know where they are.

I went with a AIS receiver built into my VHF. Icom 506 AIS. I don't night run and stay close to home. But I am in the shipping lanes for Delaware Bay.

 

[Fishtales]

Its one of those things that only few of us really require but nice to have if you are navigating in busy areas or night/fog. I personally don't have nor see the value for my use case.

 

[rocketguy88]

I have the Garmin AIS 800 on my Fishermen 236. I navigate at the entrance to the Houston Ship channel, so as the above users said, having the AIS to see them and they see me is a great safety feature. If I collide with another fishing boat - the most likely scenario is that we will be ok. If I collide with an oil supertanker - the most likely scenario is that I will not be ok. The AIS tells me to avoid the big ships that all have AIS. I'm very happy I have it.

I do not have radar. A tow pilot buddy of mine highly recommended AIS over radar.

 

[drbatts]

I have AIS built into my VHF, which connects to my Garmin displays. Its nice to see the larger commercial ships come up on my screen.

 

[rocketguy88]

This is exactly how mine works.