[PUP] AIS

[Stan]

I installed a Class B AIS on my boat at the beginning of this past 
summer's cruising season in the PNW. I also added an ARPA board to my 
Simrad radar. I could not be happier with both of these tools. They 
serve similar functions but each have advantages over the other. The  
AIS literally allows us to "see" around  land masses which in the PNW 
with its many narrow passes, heavy cargo, tug, cruise ship and ferry 
traffic is extremely helpful. The ARPA helps us track non-AIS targets 
which is invaluable.

For those that are concerned that too many pleasure boat AIS 
transmitters are a problem, you should know that the Class B system is 
intentionally designed to automatically degrade out of the system when 
it becomes overly crowded. There is also the concern that large ships 
being unconcerned with the pleasure boat crowd will just filter us out. 
This may eventually happen, but in my mind anything that makes me, or 
may make me, more visible to other traffic is a good thing. I also 
figure that if I have a concern, I can call up the vessel I'm concerned 
about and ask if they see my AIS transmission, alerting them to my 
presence and prompting them to turn off whatever filters they have so 
that they can get a bearing on me. I had cause to do this in the 
Johnstone Strait this summer and the cruise ship I was hailing 
eventually made adjustments to their AIS to confirm that I was indeed 
showing up on their screen.

Whether you get, a Class A system or Class B system (bought mine in 
Canada, because the FCC had not yet approved it at the time, and paid 
about 30% of the cost of the Class A system), I think that the AIS 
transceiver is a wonderful enhancement to boating safety and peace of mind.

Stan Heirshberg
CrossRoads N50