Laser Rangefinder Anyone use for anchoring?

[sailingabe41ds]

Well, I used it today in an anchorage more for fun than anything else. What I found out is that the perception of distance is dependent on its back ground. A boat with hills, and mountains behind will appear completely different than one in which the background is open water. This like looking at the moon....if there is nothing to compare and relate too its size will appear different.
It was fun using it i the company of a few friends and now I have to retrain my brain to judge distances better depending upon what is behind the object.

Abe

[Nani Kai]

Originally Posted by sailingabe41ds

Where I sail we always anchor and I have been doing this for 25 years. That said, I have never been able to properly judge distances when I anchor. I always think I am closer than I am only to find out I am not. I do have radar and plotter which I can use if I need to.
Does anyone ever use a laser rangefinder to see how close you are to the shore when anchoring? Am I the only that has a problem with judging distances?

Abe

We have one and use it all the time for many of the reasons noted up post. It also can be a handy reassurance to another boater in a crowded anchorage when you pull up to toss your hook. Just having one and using it can often be enough to put others at ease.

[GordMay]

I know that we all love our electronic toys, but doesn’t anyone use simple geometric principles, and our body parts, to estimate distance, angle, etc., anymore?

See “Your Body Ruler - A User's Manual”
You can measure distance, with your body.
And... you will never forget to bring your body ruler with you.
➥ Your Body Ruler - A User's Manual

And “Measuring Angle and Distance with your Thumb”
➥ Measuring Angle and Distance with your Thumb

Measuring Distances by the Parallax Method:
Hold your arm straight out, thumb up
Close one eye, align your thumb with distant object of a “known” size
Switch eyes (don't move your thumb!)
Your thumb will seem to change position (“parallax”)
Now ... estimate how far it moved sideways (imagine the length/height of a car, or some other “known” object).
Multiply that (eg: a car is about 15' long, 6' wide, & 5' high) by 10*, and you have an estimate of how far away.

*The distance from your eyes to your thumb is about 10 times the distance between your eyes. The distance to the far object is about 10 times the width your thumb [or fractions thereof] seems to move, at the far object.
For example:
Since a car is about 15 feet long, so if your thumb moved half a car length, that’s about 7.5 feet, which you multiply by 10. In this example, you’d calculate that the car is about 75 feet away from you.

[Dockhead]

Radar is king for this. No need for laser RF if you have radar.

[jordanbigel]

Originally Posted by Dockhead

Radar is king for this. No need for laser RF if you have radar.

Never used one, but I'm going to buy one soon. I mean the range finder.

The thing that I think makes it different is the same thing which makes taking a bearing visual bearing, or with a hand compass, from the cockpit vs looking at your HD radar.

I think we all take visual bearings, either casually or formally (with and without an actual hand compass, mostly without) to validate our position and increase our situational awareness at anchor and underway.

I'm expecting the range finder to just take something I normally do and amp that up with more and more accurate range data, if it is as accurate as I think, it could end up adding a lot of value.

[sv_pelagia]

Originally Posted by Dockhead

Radar is king for this. No need for laser RF if you have radar.

Yes, but:

- radar needs to be able to provide distance measures with yards/metres resolution (we had friends with a Raymarine radar which only provided distance measures with 0.1nm resolution)

- radar often takes a little (to a lot, for older radars) time to turn on then make range measure. Rangefinder is nearly instantaneous.

We have both. Rangefinder well used!

[Stingo]

Originally Posted by sv_pelagia

Yes, but:

- radar needs to be able to provide distance measures with yards/metres resolution (we had friends with a Raymarine radar which only provided distance measures with 0.1nm resolution)

- radar often takes a little (to a lot, for older radars) time to turn on then make range measure. Rangefinder is nearly instantaneous.

We have both. Rangefinder well used!

Agree fully and can add that a older radar consumes lots of power while a rangefinder doesn't.

[wsmurdoch]

I was given a Bushnell Prime 1800 Rangefinder for Christmas two years ago to replace a Nikon Prostaff 550 that I have had for years. While the Bushnell rangefinder has lots of bells and whistles that are of use to rifle or bow hunters, it principle advantage on a boat is its display which changes from opaque black in bright conditions to illuminated red in low light situations. Previously with the Nikon rangefinder I could range a nearby boat in near darkness, but I could not see the black display against the dark image of the boat and could not read the distance. With the Bushnell the display changes to illuminated red and the range is easily read. In my experience cold fronts seem to always come through between midnight and dawn with the wind changing direction, picking up, and rearranging the anchorage. That is when the Bushnell is quite handy.

https://www.bushnell.com/rangefinder...-LP1800AD.html

Then go down and look at the video of the deer in bright and dim light to see what I am talking about.

[MikeHoncho]

Used mine yesterday

[Adelie]

In the past I noted that the laser range finders I’d found maxed out at 600yd or so.

What are observed ranges with current technology?

[Dockhead]

Originally Posted by sv_pelagia

Yes, but:

- radar needs to be able to provide distance measures with yards/metres resolution (we had friends with a Raymarine radar which only provided distance measures with 0.1nm resolution)

- radar often takes a little (to a lot, for older radars) time to turn on then make range measure. Rangefinder is nearly instantaneous.

We have both. Rangefinder well used!

Well, different ships, different long splices.


Our solid state radar runs 24/7 when we're on board, and is plenty accurate for this application. One glance at the radar and you see everything in the anchorage with all their distances to you, AND the relationship of all that picture to the shoreline.


Pretty much ideal result in this application, everything you could possibly want to know in order to make decisions about anchoring.



But, to each his own.

[noelex 77]

Originally Posted by Adelie

In the past I noted that the laser range finders I’d found maxed out at 600yd or so.

What are observed ranges with current technology?

Our unit is rated to 1500m (1600 yards).

In practice, the real range depends on the reflectivity of the target. I often fire through the pilothouse windows (which cuts down the signal) and around half this range is not unusual.

Radar is much more useful at long distances, but the ability to pinpoint a precise location and accurately measure the distance is better with the laser. Both are useful tools.

[chris mac]

One of the features I prefer a rangefinder over radar for is when anchoring in the presence of crab/lobster traps. I can range the float and know if any are within my swing radius before I drop the anchor. Maybe radar exists that detects and accurately ranges floats like this, but mine sure doesnt

[sv_pelagia]

Originally Posted by chris mac

One of the features I prefer a rangefinder over radar for is when anchoring in the presence of crab/lobster traps. I can range the float and know if any are within my swing radius before I drop the anchor. Maybe radar exists that detects and accurately ranges floats like this, but mine sure doesnt

[emoji106][emoji106]

[ixnax]

Originally Posted by sv_pelagia

[emoji106][emoji106]

Yep, and some boats with certain flags somehow like to anchor especially close for unknown reasons. A good rangefinder is invaluable when deciding if relocating is worth the trouble.