Flying your Drone from a boat.

[Diver]

So full disclosure. I am sailing on a boat across the Pacific in 2 months. I own a Mavic Air.

I will likely want to get some shots of us sailing on the boat mid Pacific at some point. I will mainly use the drone on land.....if it makes it to land.

I have read all the articles and seen all the vids. Seems like a tough idea - Especially as the drone is not waterproof and the boat is a sailboat and will not stop .

I am not concerned about the takeoff but the landings are all super scary! Hand catching seems out of the question with this bird. Got to thinking what if I use the prop protectors and install a netting "box" on the stern of the catamaran and just fly it straight into it and let it crash. Would think that the damage would be minimal.

I would grateful for any insight and opinions you might have. Especially if you have experience in this area.

 

[ChrisOutdoors]

Experinced boater+UAS in the open ocean user here. Flying into a netting leaves to much room for error, hand catching allows you to attempt it multiple times if you're careful. Hand catch and launch, def not out of the question.

Head to your local hardware store and purchase a pair of light chainsaw gloves to save you from getting nicked. Practice at home a lot.

• First practice hand launching/catching and shutting it down via emergency shutdown (A neckstrap for the RC makes this easy).
• Once comfortable stationary, start launching your UAS while moving until comfortable, practice different directions of movement while launching.
• Last, practice shutting it down by catching it and then moving in different directions while hanging onto the UAS, you'll notice it fights; you need to get comfortable with the fight. Not sure on the mini but if conditions allow it, you may be able to grab and flip to it's side which initiates and auto shutdown.
• Disable all vision sensors when you attempt this.
• EDIT: Familiarize yourself on how to update the HOMEPOINT location. If something weird happens and you lose video feed, you need to update the HOMEPOINT before executing the go home cmd on the RC/app.

Good luck, UAS operation from a moving platform is probably the hardest thing to do, practice before the attempt is essential in being successful.

If this guy can do it you can too!

 

[Flycaster]

What said above, but also practice from your boat before leaving town...

 

[Mossiback]

You could try this. I have been meaning to test this myself but never get around to it. I do not spend very much time on a boat.

 

[RoarRoar]

 

[pelagic_one]

I promise to share a video eventually, but I’m a regular recreational sailor who hand-launches from my sailboat in the San Francisco Bay. I know my wind limitations, and really only fly for about ten minutes per flight, just to get a helix or Active Track shot around the boat. Many sailors will say that five knots of wind isn’t really sailing, but it works for video and photo purposes. I can always speed it up in post!

This Bay is known to have blustery winds in the afternoon, accompanied by swells that can exceed five feet or more, so I simply won‘t fly then. When sailing outside the Golden Gate Bridge, we experience practically every type of sea condition, where winds can sneak up on you, often unforecasted.

The simple rule for drone landing on sailboats: Heave to. Point your bow into the wind and lighten up on the main sheet. While standing in the cockpit (aft on most sailboats), approach from abaft the beam, approach vector should be from either 160 or 200 degrees (relative to the boat). Come to a hover alongside the boat, then yaw over to the gunwale.

All the previously mentioned advice applies at this point, to include gloves, and especially the part about practicing. I am the cockiest hand-landing SoB on dry land, but I’m often humbled by the ocean; so I wear full fingered sailing gloves. A landing net may be a bit much, especially to the delicate tips that adorn the latest Master Airscrew props for the Mavic 2 series.

Have a safe crossing, @Diver. Enjoy the freshly caught mah-mahi!

 

[The Editor]

So full disclosure. I am sailing on a boat across the Pacific in 2 months. I own a Mavic Air.

I will likely want to get some shots of us sailing on the boat mid Pacific at some point. I will mainly use the drone on land.....if it makes it to land.

I have read all the articles and seen all the vids. Seems like a tough idea - Especially as the drone is not waterproof and the boat is a sailboat and will not stop .

I am not concerned about the takeoff but the landings are all super scary! Hand catching seems out of the question with this bird. Got to thinking what if I use the prop protectors and install a netting "box" on the stern of the catamaran and just fly it straight into it and let it crash. Would think that the damage would be minimal.

I would grateful for any insight and opinions you might have. Especially if you have experience in this area.

Search results for query: Flying from a boat

mavicpilots.com

 

[Kazzaaz]

The BIGGEST issue here is losing connection and the drone returning to "home" over the water as you continue to sail further away.
You can use Litchi which has a dynamic homepoint feature that will continuously update the home location as you remain connected.
However, this can still be dangerous as when the drone disconnects you may no longer update the home point - so the boat would have to remain close to where you lost connection in order to avoid disaster.

 

[MAvic_South_Oz]

The BIGGEST issue here is losing connection and the drone returning to "home" over the water as you continue to sail further away.
You can use Litchi which has a dynamic homepoint feature that will continuously update the home location as you remain connected.
However, this can still be dangerous as when the drone disconnects you may no longer update the home point - so the boat would have to remain close to where you lost connection in order to avoid disaster.

Ok, there's that recent thread on this (along with MANY others) and this reply last night had me intrigued.
I've never tried this . . .

Mavic pro 2 learning curve

Good afternoon, first of all thank you all for your support yesterday. I have been flying today from the boat while underway and I was under the impression that having the drone near the boat "controller" it was all ok but the drone is set to go to it's max distance setting from take off point...

mavicpilots.com

From GadgetGuy . . .

Why not just turn off the Smart Return-to-Home feature, under battery settings, instead of repeatedly resetting the Home Point? Wouldn't that also solve the problem, since signal loss is not an issue?

 

[bobec231]

Practice this:
Attach a ziptie around body of done.
Tie a brightly colored cord to the ziptie at the bottom of the drone so that it hangs about 3 feet below the drone.
Get a 6 inch hose clamp and tie it to the end of the cord.
Fly the drone aside of vessel with the ring hanging below. Use your boat hook to capture the ring.
Use remote controller to shut down props.
or
Yank the ring forward or backward to force the drone to or pitch 90 degrees which will shut off the props.
This works

 

[offtheback]

Practice this:
Attach a ziptie around body of done.
Tie a brightly colored cord to the ziptie at the bottom of the drone so that it hangs about 3 feet below the drone.
Get a 6 inch hose clamp and tie it to the end of the cord.
Fly the drone aside of vessel with the ring hanging below. Use your boat hook to capture the ring.
Use remote controller to shut down props.
or
Yank the ring forward or backward to force the drone to or pitch 90 degrees which will shut off the props.
This works

McGiver!!!

 

[Gringorio]

Some good ideas here, some not so. The best, figure out the best locations to hand launch and catch from the boat while in harbor. Practice this with a person dedicated to help you with hand launch and catch. Second, buy a pair of those cotton gloves with the rubberized fingers. This will help with grip and safety. When launching while moving, launch from the side or aft of the ship and power the drone up and quickly fly away in order to avoid shroud lines etc.. When retrieving the drone come into the boat from the leeward side, match the speed of the boat and have your assistant catch the drone. Or, approach from the aft end of the boat and have the assistant catch the drone. Why? In both cases it's easier to abort and fly away from the ship when the wind is at the nose of the drone. As mentioned, be aware of your recorded home point. It will disappear in the distance as your sail onward. You may need to cancel the RTH message in order to land back in the boat. Also, on that note, some mart devices with GPS still may not be able to record your new home point (where the transmitter is) even if you select that option. Be ready to visually find your boat from where ever you're flying.

 

[Mossiback]

Another tip is to bring it in facing away from the operator. That way the left/right stick movements will not be reversed.

 

[Gringorio]

Another tip is to bring it in facing away from the operator. That way the left/right stick movements will not be reversed.

I think this might not work for some people, but it doesn't work for me. I get all screwed up. I have to fly into the ship as if I'm in the drone, just as I fly otherwise. However, I agree, whatever works for you works best.

 

[Diver]

Wow all these ideas are very much appreciated! You know I am so sure that we would be 1000 miles into our 3000 mile first leg and the conditions are perfect and I decide to fly the Mavic Air and I lose it in the ocean. Things happen at sea end of story.
So....what did I do went out and bought an older Phantom 4. With 2 batteries and only 3 hours flying time I will use this drone at sea. It is easier to catch and is heavier and more powerful than the MA. If I lose it ....I will still have a drone to take ashore.
Of course all your advice is well noted. Started practicing today!

 

[Gringorio]

Wow all these ideas are very much appreciated! You know I am so sure that we would be 1000 miles into our 3000 mile first leg and the conditions are perfect and I decide to fly the Mavic Air and I lose it in the ocean. Things happen at sea end of story.
So....what did I do went out and bought an older Phantom 4. With 2 batteries and only 3 hours flying time I will use this drone at sea. It is easier to catch and is heavier and more powerful than the MA. If I lose it ....I will still have a drone to take ashore.
Of course all your advice is well noted. Started practicing today!

Sounds like you did the right thing. The Phantom series in much easier to catch. Unless you're comfortable flying in ATTI mode, it's best to launch down wind off the stern or off the leeward side of the ship (with forward upward inputs) so the drone moves away from the ship. When landing, best to land (hand catch) into the wind. That way if something is not right and you need to abort you can back off the throttle and the drone will more quickly move away from the ship. I forgot to mention what others have, keep all sensors off, including the downward sensor, so the drone does not stop because it senses obstacles as you come in to land. If you can train someone to hand launch and catch for you that is best. Commands: "power on" as you angage the motors (don't let go yet), then "Launching" as you power up and away from the ship and they let go as they feel the drone pulling away from them. Have them hold the drone above their eye level for safety and also over the deck of the ship if they drop the drone, that way it will not go into the water (yes, this has happened). Here's a video I made of a few hand catches from one of last years at-sea campaigns:

Have a blast and I hope you can share your adventure with us!