I've had the boat "on the hard" for several weeks, doing some repairs and engine maintenance. So I haven't had a chance to do any further "underway" testing of my new Shine Micro RadarPlus AIS-BX Class B AIS transceiver.

Until this past weekend, that is, when C-Brats (the C-Dory online owners community) held its annual Lake Washington/Ship Canal Cruise. My friend Merv, who has an ACR Nauticast Class B AIS transceiver installed aboard his boat Kingfisher II, spent some time on Saturday peeking at the internet, and here are some screen captures he sent my way.

These prove that my AIS unit is installed and transmitting properly. I didn't have any particular doubts, but it's still nice to have it confirmed!

Now that Two Lucky Fish has a vessel record over at MarineTraffic.com, anybody can upload pictures of her!

Speaking of AIS, a new set of proposed AIS carriage requirements from the US Coast Guard have just been posted. Thanks to Panbo for the link. Among other things, these recommendations recommend AIS (Class A or Class B) be required aboard certain smaller commercial vessels and all passenger vessels (commercial or not!) carrying more than 50 passengers.

We propose to omit the distinction of "˜"˜for hire'' because we believe all passengers, whether paying or not, are subject to a similar safety risk and thus deserve the navigation safety and maritime security benefit afforded to them by AIS.

This is the first time, to my knowledge, that any class of recreational vessel under 300 gross tons in the United States has ever been required to carry AIS. I doubt it will be the last.