ICW Masthead Bridge Videos

[Captain Larry-DH]

We‘re back from a year of cruising from southern New England to Maine, down to the Bahamas, and back. On the east coast northbound my wife and I went outside when weather was favorable and inlet hopped into the ICW when that was preferable.
There were parts of the ICW we had to avoid because we need 64’6” air clearance, and there are some fixed bridges that are rarely that high. Others are tide-dependent or near the Albemarle/Pamlico sounds favorable wind direction/strength is needed to provide that much water level clearance.
This wasn’t my first experience with this, so I decided to install a wireless masthead camera that sits just above the anchor light. It greatly reduced anxiety. As we approached, if I could see shadow or additional beams beneath the closest beam (from that level) it meant that the camera would clear. (We didn’t encounter any slanted decks). I wasn’t worried about the whip VHF antenna, and in many cases we scraped it along the bottom of the bridge (you can hear the ping sound in some of the videos).
Here’s a link to a YouTube playlist with the videos.
ICW Bridges

 

[dlochner]

Great idea! We're lucky, our mast is only 53' above the waterline. Bridge and power line heights are always very deceptive, regardless of the height there are moments when it looks like you will hit.

 

[brazenarticle]

...This wasn’t my first experience with this, so I decided to install a wireless masthead camera that sits just above the anchor light. It greatly reduced anxiety.....
ICW Bridges

What camera are you using? I've not had any luck with wireless from the masthead and gave up on that project a while ago.

 

[Captain Larry-DH]

REOLINK Argus 3 Ultra, 4K Solar. The solar panel is mounted near the cam on the side of the mast, and the cam is on the masthead top plate on an aluminum bracket I made using stock aluminum bar 3/4” wide x 1/8” thick, bent to form a bridge that raises the cam just higher than the anchor light (so the light isn’t occluded by the cam).
Reolink is the only wireless cam brand I found that doesn’t require an internet connection to function. If the viewing phone or tablet is on the same local WiFi network router you can watch the cam without using Internet. That translates to lower latency, and higher availability in remote places. Cheaper connection costs too if on a metered network (e.g. prepaid SIM card).

 

[brazenarticle]

Thanks for the information. It looks like your camera pans left to right in the Diamond Causeway video but the info on the Argus 3 Ultra appears to be a fixed camera. Mounting a pan and tilt like to Argus PT 4K may complicate things too much though.
Any thoughts on whether the p & t is worthwhile?

 

[Captain Larry-DH]

Any thoughts on whether the p & t is worthwhile?

It is worthwhile. The first cam that I used was the Argus PT 4k but I found out the hard way it could not be mounted upside down because that inverted position defeated the waterproof design. So that was a fail for me. No simple way to mount PT above the anchor light in the waterproof orientation.

 

[Captain Larry-DH]

I think the bar stock was 3/4”” not 1/2”. Will edit the post above if I can

 

[Captain Larry-DH]

Mounting a pan and tilt like to Argus PT 4K may complicate things too much though.

This was the original design that failed because the camera cannot be mounted in that position without flooding from rain. The Argus 3 ultra 4k can be easily put on this bracket without that problem.
if you designed a bracket that comes up wider and higher, mounting the PT camera beneath the bar, and you don’t mind the occlusion of the camera lens in two positions of your panning radius, then a modified design could work for you

 

[brazenarticle]

Thanks again - my air draft is 53 feet so the need to mount above the anchor light isn't absolutely necessary. Order is in for an Argus 4 PT!

 

[Captain Larry-DH]

This was the original design that failed because the camera cannot be mounted in that position without flooding from rain. The Argus 3 ultra 4k can be easily put on this bracket without that problem.
if you designed a bracket that comes up wider and higher, mounting the PT camera beneath the bar, and you don’t mind the occlusion of the camera lens in two positions of your panning radius, then a modified design could work for you

Don’t forget that the PT camera has a fairly wide field of view, so having the legs in the picture would affect a large range of angles.

 

[Captain Larry-DH]

Thanks again - my air draft is 53 feet so the need to mount above the anchor light isn't absolutely necessary. Order is in for an Argus 4 PT!

It is necessary if you want your anchor light to be seen all the way around. Just another thought; you could use a straight bar coming up from the side of the masthead and mount the standard wall bracket that comes with the camera onto that bar, positioning it a bit higher than your anchor light, so your light can be seen.

 

[Rich Stidger]

I haven't watched all of your videos yet, but do you have one that indicates a likely hit where you aborted the passing?

 

[Captain Larry-DH]

No saved vids. The McKinley Washington Jr. Bridge was one. We arrived at high tide and the tide board read 64‘ clearance. (Many bridges do not have visible or readable tide boards). We anchored in a nearby side creek in the marshes and waited 2 hours then went under with more than a foot to spare.
Generally we timed things in our planning so the camera was merely a verification. But there were some places in NC where wind and rainfall influence water levels and tide boards are missing (e.g. Washington Baum Bridge, or the Dismal Swamp Bridge. You can hear the antenna ping on both of those videos.)

 

[Captain Larry-DH]

It is necessary if you want your anchor light to be seen all the way around. Just another thought; you could use a straight bar coming up from the side of the masthead and mount the standard wall bracket that comes with the camera onto that bar, positioning it a bit higher than your anchor light, so your light can be seen.

Or two thinner bars, for better anchor light visibility

 

[brazenarticle]

Did you have the camera set for bridge detection somehow, or are the videos manually controlled for stop and start?

 

[capta]

Those are great. thanks.
I've never hit a bridge, but I did tear up a roof that overhung a 300' commercial concrete dock with fenders, because the overhang was 22 feet beyond the dock edge. I wasn't even looking up, as I figured the dock's roof ended at the edge of the dock. It was a terrifying noise as my forestay tore up sheet after sheet of corrugated tin.
Who in their right mind would build an overhang like that on a dock a ship or fishing vessel might use? Right across from a slipway in a narrow channel.

 

[jssailem]

Nice videos @Captain Larry-DH

 

[Captain Larry-DH]

Did you have the camera set for bridge detection somehow, or are the videos manually controlled for stop and start?

Manual start and stop. I started the recordings early while approaching, then stopped recording soon after, in many cases while still under the bridge.
That’s because it’s a mentally busy time on the approach, and starting recording was part of the preparation: We needed to read tide boards with binoculars (if one exists that is the Admiral’s job) , slow the boat to minimum speed within a few feet of the bridge, watching the phone display of the camera (zooming the image onscreen) to verify clearance, while using engine controls and steering to stay centered between the bridge fender boards, and maintain forward speed but be slow enough to stop and reverse if needed. Slow speed maneuvering is more challenging In winds and currents.
When I stopped recording is generally when I was confident enough to throttle up and regain normal speed.

 

[Project_Mayhem]

I always thought it'd be a good idea to have a laser and a camera mounted on the mast. If the beam is seen on a bridge, you've got an issue! Some light filters or other technology would have to be used to see it in the daytime

 

[dLj]

Just being honest - watching some of those videos - I'm not sure I'd feel more confident or less confident using that camera. You have to be pretty close to the bridge before you can see clearly if you have enough clearance. Very cool videos for sure. But I was sitting here watching and could feel the pucker factor coming on... I guess you get accustomed to what your camera is seeing as you use it, but first time watching - I'm not sure if I'd be less or more nervous having that up there!

dj