I'm wondering if anyone has any first hand experience with the Ship Finder application and if it works well. I ran across the program today and it looks interesting. It pulls AIS info to show ships on a map. It seems like it may be a very useful tool to have as long as your in an area where there is network coverage. It's also quite a bit less $$$ than a dedicated AIS receiver.
Manny,
If you are referring to :
http://www.marinetraffic.com/ais/
It is an interesting program, but aboard your boat, simply knowing where the ships are on a map/chart is only of limited help.
AIS 's greatest benefit is that it displays nearby marine traffic ON YOUR CHARTPLOTTER along w/ excellent information that, at a glance, gives you what you need to help you much more easily avoid ships and know what they are doing, whether at night, in bad weather, or in crowded situations.
To the best of my knowledge (which is quite limited
), I don't think the "app" can be interfaced into a chartplotter a-la an AIS receiver.
Also, IMHO, vessels under ~ 60' should not be installing AIS Class B transcevers because they will ultimately clutter up our chartplotter screens with way to much information. (Just come down to Hampton Roads to see how cluttered it often gets already).
Filters may help, but if we must buy upgraded AIS receivers that can filter out Cl - B vessel information to reduce unnecessary "clutter", (as many larger ships already do) what good are they, anyway.
