Inexpensive LaserWorks
Smaller than your hand.
Measure to other boats and shore
Would buy again

 

It would need to have a pretty significant range to be worthwhile, IMHO. At least 2nms. And I would have thought that would be expensive military grade stuff.

I would love one.

 

Yeah 2nm would be pretty tough to use. How do you keep a laser on target over that distance? For that kind of range Radar is what you need. I was thinking more like 500m or less. Anything further away is of no concern to me!

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What cartridge are you shooting, and what range

 

These days it seems as if a plotter can provide ranges to charted "things" but not to boats. Radar and AIS can do some of that... Other boats in an achorage? If you can quesstimate that distance.. you shouldn't be operating a boat.

 

Nice. I am talking about for things like determining if someone is dragging or getting closer, and maybe reinforcing my "quesstimate" of distances. (That's not a word by the way.)

So the fact that I am considering a tool to help me be more accurate in my distance estimates means I should not be operating a boat? Nice. Why do some people have to jump into these discussions with such arrogance?

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Somewhere I have a piloting book that explains how to use an inexpensive sextant to find distance off a distant mark. I sold my old Davis sextant many years ago, but I recall that the author was using it on its 'side' to measure angles for different marks or other distinct features. Or at least that is what I dimly recall reading. The book was by John Budlong, or some such name.

 

Well, let me go back to my earleir post and flesh it out now that I have a fraction more time.

When I was an Infantry Officer back when Charles Darwin was alive the mortar forward observers had very snazzy range finding binoculars that I think worked out to about 2,000 meters/yards.
I see theres one on amazon 1,750 yards for US$3,000(!)

I thought the FO's range finders were the antz pantz because one of the most difficult things for the young officer or anyone is to judge distances... especially difficult in 2 circumstances: where theres 'dead' ground, ie a dip you cant see; and; dead flat such as the sea, water, lakes, ocean etc.

When you're yelling into the radio "Drop 100!" you basically wanna be sure that 100 meters/yards is actually that so the bombs wont start busting your ears. (mothers get angry!)

Yes, at anchor I strongly doubt anyone is much good at judgeing distance. Is that ship 1nm away or 5nms? You can only tell if you know the length of the ship and can plot that in your eye. which is impossible. Its its a 600 foot long ship at 5nms its going to look the same at a 200 foot ship at 1 nms.

Is that anchored boat 400 meters away or 350?

But lets get to cost. $3,000 is crazy. I would spend an extra $100 on top of the $500 Steiners... but youre probably gunna want Image Stabalisation too! And they are an extra $500.

What price is a good one thats going to work well over 500 meters? 1/4 of a NM?

 

For anchoring purposes- distance to neighboring vessels... range finders are of little use

 

I disagree.

I explained why.

You just said bull without back up. Sorry. That doesnt work

 

I have a range finder, but I've never used it aboard. I see how it could be of value.

No matter what I've ever estimated my distance to be, the moment I depart in my dinghy and see the actual separation, it's been about 2X more.

 

Takes 2 or 3 sec to lase shore or boat in anchorage

 

I got a Callaway range finder as a door prize at a golf tournament a few years ago (it’s on the boat now and I’m not and don’t recall the model number) but it has been useful to me in calibrating my Mark I eyeballs as I estimate distance to neighboring boats or to shore when I anchor.

It’s certainly not a must have item, but it’s good to have something like that to use to double check my guesstimates....i prefer secluded anchorages but every now and then have ended up in a tight spot, and it’s been comforting to know there really was room enough for the boat to swing with the tide without meeting the neighbors!

 

I see there are dozens of laser range finders on the market designed for golf and shooting. Bushnell's entry level model is $169 and claims accurate measurements up to 1300 yards. I'm sure the $300 price range units are much better than that.

I don't have a lot of experience anchoring yet, but we will be doing much more of it in future. Some of the places we are going will likely be crowded and require stern tie to shore. It would be nice to quickly lase the shore and know for sure I have enough stern line to get to shore and back instead of estimating and finding out I am 10 meters short.

One time we were at anchor in a raft and the wind had picked up. There was much speculation that a boat to windward of us was getting closer, but nobody seemed sure. It turned out it was slowly dragging in the gusts. In a scenario like that a quick scan with a range finder would put an end to the speculation very quickly.

When racing, there have been countless times where there have been discussions about whether or not we were slowly gaining on a boat, or not. Or are we working up on a windward boat going upwind. It takes careful watching to decide if you are making gains or not. A range finder would be a useful tool for tactical purposes, particularly if it had a built in compass as well.

Is it a necessary gadget? Of course not. People have got by without them for years. Is it potentially a useful tool? I think so.

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I've never never in 35 years of anchoring felt the need to know precisely the distance to another boat. When it get crowded... I will move to where it's not. I have had unattended rafted boats drag down and hook my chain.... the harbor master towed them off.

Wifey doesn't like to be near boats and makes me anchor far enough for her comfort level.

I can rent you wifey... she cooks good too.

There are no harbour masters where we are going. The anchorage may not be crowded when we arrive, but might fill up as evening approaches. Somehow I don't think my wife would be interested in pulling up anchor and finding another anchorage as dusk approaches.

So you've made it clear you have no use for one. Others seem to disagree.

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Ahoy, capt.
Youre anchored 66ft from my boat.
There are 10 open football fields of anchoring here
Why?

 

I know several New England anchorages, where this is unbelievably common (Cuttyhunk, Edgartown, Bristol). Absolutely room for hundreds of boats, but the next guy drops immediately off the beam. WTF is wrong with people.

 

I will not offer my opinion on the overall usefulness of this item. However, we have found ourselves a couple of times in stern tie situations where our line was too short. Firstly, we didn't need a high tech device to see that the shore tie was a bit far. Secondly, we solved the problem by tying another piece of line on.

 

:grin Still there is nothing quite like the frustration of looping your line through the ring and rowing back just arrive 10 feet short of your stern. Would a range finder help? Who knows but I'd give it a try, and its now cheaper than one of those spool things the fancy boaters have to carry unlimited line :wink

 

Some repetative posts deleted.

If you have an opinion we really love it when you share it.

But when you post 4 times in a 4 hour period the same opinion it's not wanted.

Please also understand I don't like being treated like an idiot.

Merci beacoup.

 

Why this thread became stupid....makes no sense
Stop doing the old man syndrom thing
Theyre not normally used to measure...youre thingy

 

Person on the bow at a bridge with range finder..

Uh, dude, this isnt going to work.....

 

Ehm, that is EXACTLY what I did: https://www.sailnet.com/forums/ches...y/292682-i-need-exact-height-us-50-bridge-over-choptank-river-cambridge-md.html

If you don't want to read the whole thread, I ended up measuring the height of the bridge with a range finder, bought for this purpose, from the deck of a rented Hobie cat.

 

Getting back to the original question: I bought a Leica unit quite a while ago. It wasn't cheap (~$500 or so), but it had superb optics and a 1500 m range on a good day.

Now I haven't often needed to range out to 1500m, but on hazy days the range is reduced, due to scattering of the laser light. Having a more sensitive unit allows me to operate to a greater distance that the cheaper units. I find it very useful in anchoring close to a lee shore, determining if I am dragging, as well as whether the other guy is. I have taken it on charters and get some peace of mind when anchoring on questionable holding ground (e.g., Great Harbour, JVD, before moorings).

 

More expensive range finders can have features that are not necessary on boats. For example, good hunting range finders can compensate for angle to target. An uphill shot is effectively further away than a downhill shot and some will compensate for this. I can't think of when boat stuff isn't level. If one was buying a range finder strictly for boat anchorages, I'll bet the cheapest one out there would do just fine.

 

I wonder if the Pin-lock feature that golf units have will lock onto masts?

Hunting models are more likely to be waterproof as well. That is a feature worth paying a little more for I think.

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Mine can be set to 'pole'...which may be your pin lock

 

Yes, that's another name for it.

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We bought one. Cheap. Made for golf nuts. Often people come in after we’ve anchored and have turned off the electronics. Good to know how close there’s are and can even use it to figure out how much ride they have out. Get distance at drop and when they back down. Know basic trig. Done.
Also find people tend to pay more attention to their radius when they see you with the range finder. Never used it for nav. Interesting thought mark. Use the pins on the chart plotter.

 

Our sailing umpire instructor had one and was using it for double checking distances between buoys in a regatta course.

Measuring the required distance with GPS, angles with bearing compass was told as the standart method.

The prices were below $100 for a 1 NM range equipment (only range measurement) in the Net.

SM-N910C cihazımdan Tapatalk kullanılarak gönderildi

 

I have a cheap laser range meter (good for 600m) for the price of about 100€. At anchor, it is very helpful to measure the distance to the next rocks (which one often under estimates). So it’s very helpful for your own peace of mind.

 

I have a cheap laser range meter (good for 600m) for the price of about 100€. At anchor, it is very helpful to measure the distance to the next rocks (which one often under estimates). So it's very helpful for your own peace of mind.

Can't you do this with a plotter.... of course with a margin of error for safety?

 

With radar – yes. But not with a plotter. Let’s assume you lay at anchor in e narrow bay (left and right rocks) as you swing around and hear the waves splash on the rocks – I can tell you it is very reassuring that you are still 60m away from the disaster.

 

<<measure progress against nearby boats on the race course>>
Of course hitting the opponent boat crew in the eyes with your laser rangefinder might also be a competitive advantage yes?