To the Florida Keys; Installing the Garmin AIS 800 | Ep. 254

I make my way to Marathon, FL. Now that I have a place to receive mail (at the City Marina), first order of business is to replace my malfunctioning EmTrak B923 AIS transponder with the Garmin AIS 800, which has been getting good reviews.
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MUSIC: Ripples -- Kevin Boothby
VIDEO SOUNDTRACKS: / user-177118317
CAMERAS:
Canon EOS 60D with EF 24-105mm L IS zoom lens
Go Pro Hero 7 Black
DRONE:
DJI Phantom 3 Professional
THE BOAT: Design: Gilmer 31; LOD 31', LWL 25', Beam 9.5', Draft 4.5', Displ. 13,600lbs.

[@Inamorata.367]

I certainly respect you for how you sail without a diesel engine. You have a lifetime of sailing experience.So many of us started our journey much much later in life. A diesel is something of a reassurance knowing we have another source of propulsion. I noticed you have all the modern electronics on board and just added another. I am and sure you can celestial navigate if you lose them.

[@jomeijackson5311]

The Garmin AIS is basically the Vesper AIS, which they acquired back in 2019. Solid company, their plotters are second to none.

[@howtosailoceans1423]

Good to know, thanks!

[@JakMang]

Some splitters don’t work properly. Now some units have internal splitters to avoid cheap third party ones

[@33eyeman]

Yep👍☺️🙏

[@patricklaine6958]

Good investment Kevin. As a fellow solo sailor, I consider an inop AIS a 'no-go' fault. On one of my extended passages mine failed (due to water ingression in the exposed GPS receiver). I decided to stay put until a new one arrived. It helps sleeping well at night! :-)

[@howtosailoceans1423]

Agree, a transponder adds a huge safety margin for the solo sailor. The big ships definitely see the AIS, radar and visual not so much.

[@SailingSarah]

Crying out loud. Another B.O.A.T. 😒

[@michaelcima5772]

Thanks Kevin

[@SteveWrightNZ]

You can buy VHF antenna analysers that arent too complicated to use..

[@howtosailoceans1423]

Didn't know such a thing existed, hmm.

[@paulputnam2305]

Thanks for the update Kevin. Glad you recouped something on the old AIS. May the Garmin keep you safe and sound for a long, long time!

[@howtosailoceans1423]

Thanks Paul, so far the Garmin has been working well, happy with the choice.

[@jimmyhvy2277]

Well Done Kevin

[@rainfinger]

OK, everything worked out well, getting our immigration-visa extension until September 4, 2024, and you knew we were living onboard a sailboat, but we were not aware that people and the boat need different permissions to stay in Brazil, consequently when we lazily rolled into Salvador on June 10th the Director of Customs in Salvador (Roberto) kicked us out of the country, saying we were late applying for a sailboat extension by a few days, thankfully he gave us one week to prepare the boat and leave, wishing this situation had turned out differently, avoiding a lot of pain, virtually cancelling our permission from the Federal Police.

[@howtosailoceans1423]

Ouch! What a pain. Stupid bureaucracy! Maybe see you in the Bahamas this winter, fair winds.

[@GlennHolden]

I too have an 800 on my boat. It's always worked well and I think you'll like it.

[@Shoestring1956]

Looking good Kevin. Tom in Baltimore. ☘☘☘

[@howtosailoceans1423]

Hi Tom, Baltimore Ireland I presume (presently I'm just across from Baltimore, Maryland ...).

[@Shoestring1956]

@@howtosailoceans1423 That's me, enjoy a safe passage. ☘

[@StemtoSternSailing]

Great and informative video. Thanks Kevin. Best regards from Jarle

[@georgepeat5269iearth]

glad your garmin rig ais is up and running. Hope spring is reasonably kind to you. Thank you for the beautiful ocean glimpse& good health to you.

[@howtosailoceans1423]

Thanks for stopping by, George.

[@SailorChic]

Glad it’s working better for you!

[@superformOG]

interesting to hear about the emtrak, i have the 954 which works great on my boat

[@rainfinger]

Well done, enjoying your content as intelligence for when we return from Brazil.

[@howtosailoceans1423]

Maybe see you back in the Bahamas this winter?

[@UUBrahman]

Nice photography of Ruth Avery.

[@carlthor91]

Wow, Kevin, it used to be you had to have the shop enter the numbers. The rest of the world didn't have to, so I guess the Coast Guard gave in and allowed owners to enter the information. Learned something new. Best wishes from the North.

[@howtosailoceans1423]

The shop typically does enter the numbers, but I was missing a document from when my radio's MMSI was programmed around 12 years ago. In this case they release it to be user programmed.

[@deanc685]

Great practical advice.

[@ashley-tm1uk]

so much for us purists who want little to do with the complicated systems on our yachts…reminds me of the enlightenment while crossing the gulf on a friends new boat that had no radar or AIS…even though we had a full moon, i felt like the arrogant doctor in the movie young frankenstein when he instructed his staff not to let him out of the room where he was locked in with his monster…after a few questionable encounters i was begging to be let out…

[@ianfleming7859]

Ahoy Kevin. Have you ever done a video showing your topping lift and how it’s rigged? I have a gaff cutter smaller than yours but I’d like to be able to trim the windward and leeward lifts independently like you do.

[@howtosailoceans1423]

I have two topping lifts on either side of the gaff. Both are just spans of rope with the tackle on the ends down at the boom for adjusting. I don't have any dedicated video to it unfortunately.

[@ianfleming7859]

Ok I appreciate that. Trying to figure out how to do that without having a lot of rope hanging in my face when it’s trimmed.

[@bchrisl1491]

A few episodes back, you were fishing because you were getting low on food. Did you catch any fish?

[@howtosailoceans1423]

Nope. Fishing luck hasn't changed ...

[@SailingSarah]

It appears you have the Standard Horizon gx2150? Was it difficult/ expensive to hook the Garmin to your radio? Did you have to use a stand alone antenna splitter? Do targets show up on the radio display? Thanks Kevin. 👍

[@howtosailoceans1423]

I have the GX 2100. The only connection from the Garmin 800 to the radio is the pig tail coming from the antenna splitter which is built into the Garmin. So no need for a standalone splitter. Targets show up on the radio as they did before.

[@SavingMaverick55]

Good stuff, and it's good to learn a couple of things about AIS, a system I know next to nothing about. Let me know if your off Cape Cod on your way back up the coast and want to see Ruth Averys rotten wooden ketch cousin.

[@howtosailoceans1423]

Hope to pass through those parts in about one month ..

[@ufodude1000]

Kevin be nice to see a track.

[@bradwhite6254]

Looks like 22 days ago you were in Galesville, that's pretty far up the Chesapeake.

[@howtosailoceans1423]

Yep. Presently hauled out at Long Cove Marine, in Rock Hall.

[@bradwhite6254]

@@howtosailoceans1423 Nice, don't stay too long the wind will die and it will get really hot.

[@jasonmcintosh2632]

How close into the wind can your boat sail? I have a 40 year old full keel ketch and I can barely make 70 degrees with meaningful speed.

[@howtosailoceans1423]

In flat water about 55. In a seaway under moderate conditions 60-65.

[@eleutheros]

I guess we are some of those other “kooks” 😂

[@howtosailoceans1423]

Lol! I shall now greet you as "My fellow kooks" .

[@tomwaite4594]

I self identify as a Kook, ​@@howtosailoceans1423

[@andrewcarr3650]

😂 Long for a life of leisure, spend a fortune to buy yourself a sailing yacht and then drive around at full throttle to get back in time for whatever.....

[@howtosailoceans1423]

Indeed!

[@SailingSarah]

He said "leisure" 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@brucegallinger3521]

Ok video, but not easy to see what's going on behind all the hats

[@louis.A.sardine]

😂 engines😂 So true