AIS INSTEAD of radar?

[captwylie]

I too am a single handed sailor of the Texas Coast. A night cruse through the oil rigs at night without radar is the scariest movie you will ever see. Best not try it.

[captstever]

I don't believe there is a choice between them. With the minimal amount of people with AIS, especially in the smaller boats, it seems the risk is higher. AIS doesn't give you immediate positioning. Or may be your not worried about items, markers and other items that radar would see. For me, they are both important and not equal. My choice is radar.

[JerrySte]

One time, while delivering a Diesel Duck from British Columbia to Olympia, WA, the RADAR quit working altogether and I had to cross the very busy Strait of Juan de Fuca in a dense fog. I posted a lookout on the bow to listen for other vessels and watch for debries.

The fog was so dense we could see just maybe 10 metres out. Luckily, the AIS receiver (there was no transmitter installed) was working. I was able to avoid at least two collisions with ships by monitoring the AIS and taking evasive action.

That said, I don't believe it to be wise to choose AIS over RADAR but it does make a good backup/supplimental system.

[David Mathis]

AIS and radar do not have duplicate functions. The AIS provides much valuable information but doesn't see shorelines, vessels without AIS, or those with it turned off or broken. Replace the failing radar. You'll be safer.

[joezzz]

Consider these facts before NOT buying a radar
1. Not every vessel has an AIS,so they may not know you are out there and vice a versa 2. Military vessels don't use them all the time, 3. Commercial fisherman will turn them off so their competitors don't know where they are fishing. I don't know where you live, but it does get dark. Radar's can pick up the shore, they can detect oncoming weather. And if your AIS quits working then what do you do.

[Boatyarddog]

Originally Posted by boom23

I agree 100%.

Your going to see a lot more with a good radar array, AIS is a good "heads up" display.
It cannot replace Radar when it comes to value for active boaters.
You cannot see any other vessels if their without AIS transponders.

As a back up form of navigation in real time, radar works, AIS no.
Depths, underwater contours, hidden rocks will not be seen by either.
If your display overlays chart info on the Radar screen, that's what you want.
Higher price, definitely a better system.
Cheers
SV Cloud Duster

[dcssteve]

I totally agree with your statement

[dcssteve]

They are quite different. AIS is great for large commercial ships and here off the CA coast, better than radar for the shipping lanes. However, radar sees things that do not register on AIS. The more you can be aware of the safer you are. My only other suggestions is, since you are adding and replacing major navigation equipment, look at B&G, far, far better for sailors than Raymarine and NMEA devices can easily talk to older Raymarine instruments using variations of Seatalk. I have Seatalk 1 Wind, Depth, Autopilot and B&G Zeus 3 with B&G broadband 4G radar and AIS. See Raymarine Seatalk to Seatalk NG converter then all you need is an adapter cable to NMEA. Seatalk NG is totally compatible with NMEA 2000, but Raymarine has different cable wiring and connectors to fool people into buying Raymarine due to a so called proprietary network.

[dcssteve]

Great comments - much appreciated. I will say though that the reliability of modern marine electronics are outstanding. Much better today than in the day of the C80 and C120. Also, using Navionics navigation software on your iPad or Android tablet is a great backup - Backup, not primary. Navionics charts for your chart plotter are also much better than factory charts.

[dcssteve]

One more comment. Yes, replace the radar. You can add receiving AIS inexpensively just by upgrading your VHF radio with one that supports AIS. The radio will add AIS to your chart plotter by connecting it to the network.

[LauraJane]

I sail in Maine and have radar and use it.
Last year I added AIS transceiver and find it easy to use for tracking other boats. Its a great addition and another level of safety, but I would replace my radar first before adding AIS.

[Pete the Cat]

The folks who suggest AIS over radar here are endangering all of us who go to sea. Please stay in port and do not threaten those of us who earn our living out here with your ignorance. Many recreational and some working boats are not showing AIS out as you must know—so if you think you can see and avoid with it, it cannot substitute radar in the soup. As more recreational folks buy AIS out the screens and alarms are going off all the time and I fear that eventually they will be ignored by idiots who do not keep a proper lookout. When AIS first came along, I feared that folks would begin to think it was a good substitute for a proper lookout. It is not and it will never be. I suppose we are going to have to have a string of tragic collisions and deaths before the recreational boating public gets it. If you do not have working radar and if you are not skilled in interpreting it, you have no business being on the water in very limited visibility conditions. Please stay in the marina and talk about your recent spiffy new equipment purchases to your slip mates. Don’t come out here and endanger those of us who are making a living on the water.

[LagoonJim]

Anyone who says AIS instead of radar is a psuedo techno geek that's not a real sailor, and has never actually used either technology in the real world, in real conditions.

[opusnz]

Although I don't use my radar in NZ as much as I did in Canada with it's fog, I would have both if you can afford it. They aren't the same thing at all. The radar is good for tracking squalls and using in anchorages or entering bays. It also picks up fishing fleets which often don't use AIS. It is also real time versus targets that only come through every few minutes. This can be a big deal in extremely crowded shipping lanes. I am very happy with the AIS built in to my VHF radio. Model number is Standard Horizon Matrix GX 2100 or 2200. You don't need to bother with another antenna or splitter so it is a good, economical, and low power option. The small screen on the VHF is adequate but if you want to see the targets on a larger screen, you can feed it in to a laptop computer.

[Pizzazz]

I enjoy my radar a lot and I would not go without it but let's be practical. Most boats do not have radar. It is a hassle to install, you need additional sensors (heading, STW), it is difficult to interpret (you need to play with the settings) and it is expensive. Also, while the discussion of sea vs ground stabilization is useful, you need totally take I to account the total system error: your STW is probably not accurate, ARPA has a lag on small radar syatems, the angular resolution sucks, etc. AIS on the other hand is cheap, accurate and well integrated. Most small boats should have a VHF radio with AIS receive and at least a Garmin 44 class plotter. If you are small, you do not necessarily need to transmit, just stay away from the big guys. For extra safety, uprade to AIS transmit. If you have extra budget (money and power) get a radar. Simple.