Advice before takeoff & landing from a boat

[PakNheat380]

I am an offshore fisherman and plan to use active track while offshore fishing over the summer. This weekend will be a test run on a lake near my home to attempt takeoffs & landings. My plan is to turn off the obstacle avoidance system and hopefully hand launch & catch. I’ll be flying my Mavic Air 2. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

 

[Yorkshire_Pud]

If the boat is moving remember to keep updating the homepoint otherwise an RTH could result in the drone swimming....and not doing it well.
Try hand catching whilst walking on dry land first.

 

[Gringorio]

Definitely turn off obstacle avoidance. If moving have another crew hold the drone above their head and eyes for hand launch and catch. Wear those thin cotton gloves with rubberized fingers for hand catching. I recommend launching and landing into the wind. If moving, launch from the stern area of the ship with throttle up and stick forward to move up and away from the ship. If the ship is moving for landing, again use the stern of the ship and a crew to hand catch. When learning on the ship, return with around 30 - 40% battery in case you need to make multiple attempts to land. If something doesn't feel right for landing, do a go around to refocus. As mentioned above, practice hand launch and catch on shore first and be prepared to reset your home point if moving.

Here the ship was going around 9 knots in flat seas, good flying conditions, easy catch:

 

[MS Coast]

I suggest doing a few takeoffs and landings with the boat tied up at the dock. Run through the roles of other people on board and what you'll need from the skipper.

Wear something other than a thin cotton glove for hand catching.

 

[hydrolift]

Don't take off near the motor, the helm or anywhere near where there can be strong magnetic/electric fields. I learned that the hard way - the drone went haywire after a few seconds when it presumably left the magnetic field...

Edit. This was a Mavic Mini and here is a video of when it happened. Launch at around 0:16

 

[MS Coast]

Don't take off near the motor, the helm or anywhere near where there can be strong magnetic/electric fields. I learned that the hard way - the drone went haywire after a few seconds when it presumably left the magnetic field...

Edit. This was a Mavic Mini and here is a video of when it happened.

Good point about compass effects. It's always wise to check the compass orientation for accuracy before lifting off.

 

[PakNheat380]

Thank you all for excellent advice. I will post my lake trial if successful. Thanks again!!

 

[Meta4]

Thank you all for excellent advice. I will post my lake trial if successful. Thanks again!!

If you launch and follow your boat as it's travelling some distance, you could get to a point where the RTH/distance/battery level calculation tells the drone it time to go back and the drone heads for where it was launched, way back in the distance.
You don't want that happening.
To prevent this situation, reset the homepoint every 5 mins or so to keep the homepoint closer to where the boat actually is.
Retrieving the drone on a boat that's moving in 3 dimensions can be much harder than landlubbers can imagine.
Make sure that you have enough battery to allow for several catching attempts and go-arounds.
And practice everything you'll need to do while on land.
Out on a moving boat is the worst place to be learning new techniques or trying to find features in the app.

 

[ThatBeardedDroneGuy]

Good luck with your trip. I was about to have a similar question regarding our trip to Hawaii until I found out the area I want to shoot is a bird sanctuary and off limits.

 

[Gringorio]

Wear something other than a thin cotton glove for hand catching.

The cotton gloves with the thick rubber finger rubber provides excellent protection and grip where needed.

 

[Gringorio]

If you launch and follow your boat as it's travelling some distance, you could get to a point where the RTH/distance/battery level calculation tells the drone it time to go back and the drone heads for where it was launched, way back in the distance.
You don't want that happening.
To prevent this situation, reset the homepoint every 5 mins or so to keep the homepoint closer to where the boat actually is.
Retrieving the drone on a boat that's moving in 3 dimensions can be much harder than landlubbers can imagine.
Make sure that you have enough battery to allow for several catching attempts and go-arounds.
And practice everything you'll need to do while on land.
Out on a moving boat is the worst place to be learning new techniques or trying to find features in the app.

Exactly...

 

[Gringorio]

I suggest doing a few takeoffs and landings with the boat tied up at the dock. Run through the roles of other people on board and what you'll need from the skipper.

Wear something other than a thin cotton glove for hand catching.

This is good advice as coordination of drone flights between the drone operator and the bridge crew are critical. However, it can happen where the captain can not coordinate the ships needs/mission with the drones activities. In this case the drone operator needs to adapt to the ships movement and speed for a safe recovery, at least with the projects I've been on. In my case the drone crew have radios to communicate with the bridge to help with safe recovery of the drone.

As MS Coast suggests, practicing from shore from the ship you'll be flying from is critical. It will give you a good idea of landing and take off obstacles and any issues with home point acquisition and compass issues.

 

[marshvet]

I just recently learned here on a different post about phantomrain.org. They make a wetsuit and landing gear that you may want to check out.

 

[hydrolift]

I just recently learned here on a different post about phantomrain.org. They make a wetsuit and landing gear that you may want to check out.

Looks pretty cool! I wonder how the motors will survive the wet, but at least it's better than to lose the drone completely.

 

[Drone-Retriever]

Hey.... How about a Drone Life Preserver..... check out the DR9... may save your drone in the event of any issue while flying over water.

 

[Drbobk]

Exactly...

Great footage, especially from the Osmo. My only attempt at taking off from and landing on a boat was with my Inspire 1, and hand catching wasn’t something I ever considered. I had a decent sized landing area on the front cushions of a 25’ boat, but even though not underway, the combination of wind, waves and boat drift made landing much harder than I had expected.

One thing I’d suggest in addition to gloves - safety glasses, just in case. And be especially careful if you’re using carbon fiber props.

 

[Lob's Falcon]

I would turn off the RTH and choose hover instead. Best of luck to you!

 

[Capt KO]

As said, LOS should be set to Hover not RTH. Gives a chance to turn around to retrieve or regain signal. Otherwise it’s going..Home. Also recommend landing in reverse for better control in pucker conditions. Controls match drone movements. Right is right, etc.
I use a Rescue Jacket by PhantomRain just in case a water landing is necessary. Makes water flights much more enjoyable. Deals available to forum members.

 

[BGladstone]

Get a handle... The commercially available 3D printed ones are brittle. Super-Tape or glue a 1/4 - 20 receiver onto the bottom of the drone and attach a handle when needed.

 

[Parkerjh]

Unless you have a lot of experience already flying the drone, I definitely don't recommend learning on the water. I have seen, and heard many, many stories of things that go wrong on the water. It's more difficult than it looks with wind and changing boat positions and things that can go wrong in both take off and landing. Good luck.