Low visibility

Love our big air horns, not sure of the make, appear to be OEM with the boat. The helms person warns the person at the bow that they are about to sound the horns (one reason I don't like the automatic sounders). In the kind of fog I am thinking of you have much less visibility from the flying bridge on my boat, plus the way our electronics suite is set up, I can have an entire 17" screen devoted to radar and another to plotter and depth.

caltexflanc said:

In the kind of fog I am thinking of you have much less visibility from the flying bridge on my boat, plus the way our electronics suite is set up, I can have an entire 17" screen devoted to radar and another to plotter and depth.

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As do I, caltexflanc. My horn and nav light controls (they work in unison to activate the Fogmate, since I have to have my navs on for the Fogmate to activate), radar and best chartplotters are all at my lower/foul weather helm. I also have access to both Standard Horizon and Icom VHF radios, heat and all the comforts of home when I'm below. Besides, it can be damn cold up there on the flybridge in the winter fog.

I also keep my starboard door ajar to listen for horns. I have the Icom M422 VHF on the FB with the CommandMic at the lower helm. It doesn't have a 'listen' feature through the PA speaker on the bow (wish it did), but I'll have to try the intercom listen feature to listen through the radio on the FB as Marin mentioned. I have a full width canvas cover on the FB helm from the windshield to the aft edge of the helm bench seat. Listening through the intercom might not be very effective for me since I normally leave that flybridge cover in place during winter ops.

FlyWright said:

It doesn't have a 'listen' feature through the PA speaker on the bow (wish it did), but I'll have to try the intercom listen feature to listen through the radio on the FB as Marin mentioned.

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FWIW we installed a stand-alone Standard Horizon LH-5 hailer/intercom to replace the ancient hailer/intercom that came with the boat and eventually burned up--- literally. We connected the LH-5 to the existing intercom speaker/mic on the flying bridge and the horn/mic under the lip of the flying bridge. We use the horn/mic to listen for fog horns. Our lower radio is an Icom 504 which I think may have intercom/hailer capabilities but we don't have that feature connected.

Here's some low visibility. We've had a few days of this strange weather, the picture was taken at 12:30 this afternoon and the fog still hasn't burned off.

The shipping channel into Baltimore Harbor is about another mile or so out, maybe even over a mile. We can hear the ship's horns in our house with the doors and windows closed. But it is a lot quieter in my home than on the boat with the engine running.

3 hours later and I can't see even the channel markers in the picture now. But I can hear at least 2 ships sounding their horns out in the Patapsco River. I tried to get a recording but my little pocket camera isn't up to it.

They have to be at least a mile away if not more. Maybe the horns on our "toy" boats aren't loud enough, but the big boys seem to have the db's to really reach out.

According to my Smartphone AIS I'm hearing the Night Falcon, Jennifer Rickmers, Atlantic Companion and the AM Contrecoeur. That's a lot of big traffic to be squeezing under the Key Bridge in this fog.

I really like fog, particularly when I'm on shore in your situation, listening to the horns and watching the mist. I suspect it's one of those things that's ingrained into you as a wee baby. One of my earliest mental "visions" is lying in my bed or crib or whatever it was in our little fisherman's cottage off Bridge Street in Sausalito and watching the fog spill over the tops of the hills behind the the town. Lucky for me, I guess, for whatever reason I found the sight very pleasing, relaxing, and beautiful as opposed to scarey or spooky, and I've loved fog ever since.

I envy you your ability to experience this from your home. This is one reason we drive the 100 miles to our boat and back almost every weekend, so we can experience what you can from your living room.

My guess is that horns like Mark and GPB and even we have on our boats would be very much audible to you in the situation you are in. I don't question the ability of these horns to be heard over very long distances. But inside a boat, particularly with two diesels hammering away under one's feet, a sound that's very obvious outside can be totally masked inside.

Marin said:

But inside a boat, particularly with two diesels hammering away under one's feet, a sound that's very obvious outside can be totally masked inside.

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I can believe that! Even my single makes enough racket that I doubt I'd hear the horns from inside the boat. On the flybridge, no problem. But in fog like this, who is on the flybridge?

Rule 5 - Lookout . Every vessel shall at all times maintain a proper look-out by sight and hearing as well as by all available means appropriate in the prevailing circumstances and conditions so as to make a full appraisal of the situation and of the risk of collision.

markpierce said:

Rule 5 - Lookout . Every vessel shall at all times maintain a proper look-out by sight and hearing...................

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The USCG gave some deaf guy a ticket for that a while back. He took it to court but I don't know how it turned out. Deaf people are allowed to drive cars.

The state required signers for deaf people taking the course I taught that provided people with the NJ Safe Boating Certification for driving boats.

rwidman said:

The USCG gave some deaf guy a ticket for that a while back. He took it to court but I don't know how it turned out

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Couldn`t hear the judgement I guess.