Don't make this mistake...

[Arnold]

In active track you can have the mavic do a sideways track keeping the target in profile in order to get the shot you mention. You also have a bit of control in follow. I took one of my boat this way and switched sides a couple times.

Here is a clip from my recording showing it in action as well as a couple screen shots of the option from the Go4 App in the description.

I particularly was having trouble keeping it close enough to the boat in active track follow (30 feet from the boat). And when I pushed the sticks it would keep stopping, making it fall even further back. Any thoughts?

 

[TerryJ]

If you ever takeoff from a boat make sure it is stopped when you try to get airborne. I asked my friend to stop the boat so I could launch. My mistake was not making sure we were indeed stopped. We were still moving forward slowly so as I went airborne his boat crashed into my Mavic. While sitting on the boat, it made it appear that I flew forward and crashed into his center console. Not for the weak stomachs. Painful to watch.

What did you think would happen on a moving boat? My god, some people's kids!!

 

[Dragonfly]

That doesn't compute. If you launch and boat is still moving forward then drone should hold its position in space and the boat leave it behind. Not the drone go forward into cockpit. Boat has to be going backwards for that to happen. The only way drone could go forward in that clip is pilot error holding forward stick up or drone out of control.

 

[frankiez]

If you are at the front of the boat and go up let's say a foot and the boat is moving forward, logic tells you the boat will crash into the drone. If you are sitting next to the drone it will appear like the drone took off and crashed into the center console.

@TerryJ . In case you didn't read the post completely, my friend told me he stopped the boat but it was my fault because I didn't verify it actually WAS STOPPED. Geez some people...

 

[Lake_Flyer]

I'd like to figure out how to use active track while manually controlling the mavic.

Spotlight mode in Active Track lets you do that.

 

[Dr Dave]

...or be sure not to fly it in reverse from the stern....

 

[namja]

That doesn't compute. If you launch and boat is still moving forward then drone should hold its position in space and the boat leave it behind. Not the drone go forward into cockpit. Boat has to be going backwards for that to happen. The only way drone could go forward in that clip is pilot error holding forward stick up or drone out of control.

Only if you are taking off from the back of the boat.
If you are taking off from the front of the boat, the boat will smash right into the drone (from the boat, it will look like the drone is crashing into the boat).

 

[Mako79]

Why do people launch looking at the camera??
The pilot should be looking at the butt of the mavic to stop orientation confusion.
Regardless facing back or front, the crash would have still happened in this situation. The only difference would that he would have not recorded the priceless looks on their faces.

 

[dewster]

The risk takers get the best shots.

 

[VizualFly]

Another good point of advice... If you launch from the rear of a boat remember that 1) Drone will displace significantly (just like what happened in the front of the boat). and 2) There is a downdraft wind, which happens at the back of the boat, that will force drone downward (to the water).

So whenever taking off a boat these simple tips apply if taking off while boat is moving forward...
- Take Off, climb a little while pushing right stick forward (moving forward with boat). You'll have to adjust very quickly to sync to speed of boat...

Here's my Mavic following our boat in Greece. Fun part is retrieving the drone while boat is moving!!!

 

[frankiez]

From now on I will hand launch holding the mavic up high.

 

[hjmavic]

Feel your pain!

 

[FreshFlyTV]

When I first started using my Mavic I had a launch pad I always used then started launching off hard places with no dirt ......then finally got the balls and tried and a hand launch and hand landing and it is pretty easy now that's my main way of taking off in uneven areas and I'll like to hand land/catch it for fun!!! Safe flying everyone!

 

[BrunoBronosky]

When I was in Scotland, we took a ferry to Orkney. The cliffs were so amazing, I wanted to fly my drone over to them, but I knew that I probably could never catch the ferry. I have no idea how fast we were going relative to the ground or the wind. I had nightmares about it the following 2 nights. Dreamed I jumped in (air temp was 50°F, can't imagine the water) to swim to the Mavic and realized "this is how I die".

 

[rjanumpally]

you should do this attach a fishing line to your mavic below battery with a fishing weight and u can catch it even if sailing. Watch the hot model/wife/girlfriend/daughter do it in the video.

 

[rjanumpally]

it's a five foot line when wrapped in a u like 2.5 feet each side with a center weight attach like 10 gram fishing weight. You catch it reel it in and then when u get to like 1 feet u can turn the props off and catch it. Should work. he did.

 

[FatherXmas]

Looks like a good way to lose a finger to me.

 

[Mako79]

you should do this attach a fishing line to your mavic below battery with a fishing weight and u can catch it even if sailing. Watch the hot model/wife/girlfriend/daughter do it in the video.

Genius!! never thought of that. Will bring fishing line and sinkers next time.

 

[Mako79]

Looks like a good way to lose a finger to me.

If you haven't done droning with a boat then you don't understand how difficult to retrieve a quad from a moving vehicle.

 

[rjanumpally]

i don't think u can lose a finger. first of all you switch to tripod mode so the mavic moves really slow like less than 2 miles per hour. When you grab the line at that speed it shouldn't cut your finger it's basically almost static. Worse case you can bring some leather gloves.