ActiveCaptain

[Liz]

Wondering if any of you have an opinion on the recent changes on ActiveCaptain. I've always found it to be really useful for checking out new destinations or changes to familiar ones. As you probably know, it was recently sold to Garmin, which is clearly serious about investing in it and taking it to the next level.

That level seems to involve making it more "social." AC started this trend a few years ago with something called Boat Cards. We don't want to be more "social" when we cruise -- our real friends know what we're up to and, if they care enough, they can track our AIS. And vice versa. I always ignored the Boat Card option.

I just went to AC to investigate some options for an upcoming delivery. There's a new sign-in procedure, which now requires you to set up a Boat Card, starting with including a photo of your boat and then adding all sorts of info. Some apparently can be kept private -- whatever that means these days -- but they do not show examples and they do not state explicitly what the required public info will be or if you have the option of not filling in some fields.

Once again, an example of Big Company making money off our data. Still, if the posted public info is minimal enough, I might be willing to make the trade off in order to have access to AC's excellent info. Otherwise.....well, I'll just make do.

Any experience with this? Thanks!

 

[dlochner]

I didn't have the same experience, but then again, I had set up an boatcard a while back. Very little information was required and less is visible to the public. The required info is: Boat name, Hailing Port, Flag, Owner's name, and boat model. I don't think that is too much info. Of course, if the boat has a USCG doc number, then it is possible to use that to find out more about the owner.

As someone who had a number of credit cards opened in his name last year, I do appreciate and share your concern about disclosing too much information. One benefit was learning that banks apparently think I am a very good credit risk.

 

[Liz]

""....think I am a very good credit risk.""
Ha! Did you mention that you're a boat owner?

Have you used the "social" aspects of your Boat Card? And what happens when you have one? It's not clear to me......is it just associated with anything you post (like this forum)? Or do people try to contact you through it?

 

[dlochner]

Have you used the "social" aspects of your Boat Card? And what happens when you have one? It's not clear to me......is it just associated with anything you post (like this forum)? Or do people try to contact you through it?

I have no idea. I've never used it, nor do I post on Active Captain. It might yield info if you click on a reviewers name. The site is down right now, so that question will remain unanswered for now.

 

[Charlie Jones s/v Tehani]

joined Active Captain, but as it got more and more "techie' I began to ignore it.. Don't even open the emails anymore

 

[dlochner]

joined Active Captain, but as it got more and more "techie' I began to ignore it.. Don't even open the emails anymore

Open the emails and scroll to the bottom to get the Defender sale item. There have been some incredibly good deals there. A couple of years ago I picked up a B&G 4g radar and 12" Zeus MFD for about $2200. Sold the MFD for about $900, that paid for about half a new 9" Zeus2.

 

[Charlie Jones s/v Tehani]

Open the emails and scroll to the bottom to get the Defender sale item. There have been some incredibly good deals there. A couple of years ago I picked up a B&G 4g radar and 12" Zeus MFD for about $2200. Sold the MFD for about $900, that paid for about half a new 9" Zeus2.

Happily I have reached the point where I don't NEED much new stuff. Well will see after the hurricane repairs happen.

 

[dlochner]

Happily I have reached the point where I don't NEED much new stuff. Well will see after the hurricane repairs happen.

Who said anything about need???

 

[Brezzin]

The question I have is how Garmin will monetize this data?
They have to payoff the purchase as well as operating expenses. Selling your email and boat card data would be one resource. As if I don't get enough junk emails and cell phone calls.

 

[uncledom]

Just opened it up and all my routes are gone. Much less useful now. I don't really care who's near me that I may or may not be acquainted with, I can call who ever I need either by cell or sat. I really liked it for plotting time while not in front of my Nav on the boat. That seems to be broken.

 

[dlochner]

The question I have is how Garmin will monetize this data?
They have to payoff the purchase as well as operating expenses. Selling your email and boat card data would be one resource. As if I don't get enough junk emails and cell phone calls.

I have no inside source, however, off the top of my head:

License access to AC data to other mapping companies. They don't want your data, C-Map, Navionics, etc. want to include AC ratings in their products.

Fees for commercial interests. Marinas, restaurants, marine service companies pay to get listed or to have a priority listing.

Premium services for AC members. Perhaps competing against DockWa for reservations. Could also include discounts at marinas. Both AC members and marinas pay Garmin for the service.

 

[uncledom]

Was just whacking around again and if you go to "More" in the menu bar and select "Live Map (Flash version)" it uses the original map and controls and has all your saved route info.

 

[Stu Jackson]

Was just whacking around again and if you go to "More" in the menu bar and select "Live Map (Flash version) it uses the original map and controls and has all your saved route info.

Yes, good advice. See also: http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/f80/the-new-activecaptain-192422.html

FYI, the old owners told everybody about these changes to ownership a looong time ago, and recent emails explained the whole eboat card thing and sign ups.

 

[dirt rd]

I don't do boat cards either. I like my privacy too. On my tablet, I AM using Garmin Mobile app which contains ac and I love it. New Garmen plotters contain AC. You can post changes, missing marks, shoals and other hazards which get shown on the chart immediately. When the hazard is gone, you can remove it the same way. Hazards will pop up as you approach.

 

[Liz]

Apologies for not chiming in on my own thread! After Dave's first response, I didn't get the email notifications of more activity. In any case, I just went back to AC, figuring I'd try to register a boat card with minimal info. It wouldn't let me. Can anyone post a photo of what one of these boatcards looks like and how they appear on the site? Maybe I'm unclear on the concept.

 

[dlochner]

Apologies for not chiming in on my own thread! After Dave's first response, I didn't get the email notifications of more activity. In any case, I just went back to AC, figuring I'd try to register a boat card with minimal info. It wouldn't let me. Can anyone post a photo of what one of these boatcards looks like and how they appear on the site? Maybe I'm unclear on the concept.

Liz, I tried to get a screenshot of my Boatcard, but I can't and I don't want to post someone else's card.
If you want to see my card, login to AC, go to groups and search for Sabre Yachts. You can then see the members of that group. Go to the end and look for Second Star. You can see my Boatcard, (or click on other members to see theirs). The information that is disclosed is pretty minimal.

The public disclosure is one issue, the bigger issue is the information that is stored on the AC database that is available to "friends." I don't think there is much risk to disclosing information to other AC members, it would take a lot of effort to collect information in piecemeal fashion, i.e., joining AC and reading boat cards. The information to be concerned about is the info in the AC database. Folks who really want that kind of info are hackers who want to download the whole database.

 

[Liz]

Unfortunately, it won't let me do anything without registering a boat card. Can't go to groups. Can't view the Live Map anymore. We're doing our winter delivery this weekend. Will probably revisit this afterward. I appreciate your quick response!

 

[dlochner]

Unfortunately, it won't let me do anything without registering a boat card. Can't go to groups. Can't view the Live Map anymore. We're doing our winter delivery this weekend. Will probably revisit this afterward. I appreciate your quick response!

That's the good part. Only fellow AC members can see your boatcard. If AC is important, fill out a Boatcard and then delete it when the trip is done.

 

[Captain Larry-DH]

If you're very concerned about privacy, create a throw away email address on gmail and use it to register, then fill in an alias name and fake boat info.

 

[seadaddler]

Has anybody got Active Captain to work on a IPad and do have Garmin blue chart and wondering if AC can be used on IPad with out spending any more $$$$$$ and really would like to upgrade my Navionics and yes doesn’t use AC.
Nick