I was thinking it would be nice to be able to take photo's and video of whales etc when we see them that include our boat in the shot.

The new (to me) "drones"or "quadcopters" would be an ideal platform to attach my GoPro to for this purpose and I am aware of models that incorporate video cameras.

I'm not really asking about the drones themselves but about keeping them afloat if for some reason they happen to land in the water.

Some of the models have a 'return to home' feature that uses an inbuilt GPS to return the drone to its launch position and go into a hover, but in the case of a boat of a boat, unless your in a marina it is very unlikely that you will be in the same place you launched it.

I guess that if you learn to fly it properly you should be able to guide it back to your deck or cockpit without incident but im a bit concerned that sooner or later it will end up having a swim.

I have tried to look for flotation kits for these things without a great deal of success.

Any ideas or info ??????

Why not try a kite?

Worst case you still have the kite line to reel your gear back in...

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kite_aerial_photography

I think some of the more expensive drones will return to your current position and some of them can land in water and take off again.

You Tube "water proof quad copters" and see what you get.

Sounds great. I think drones are covered by height and distance restrictions to the whales as referred to in this article

www.flightsafetyaustralia.com/2014/10/drone-captures-whale-blow/

Here is a thread from another forum

forums.ybw.com/index.php?threads/filming-boats-with-a-drone.445274/

Regards Don

Thanks for that Madmouse,

I hadn't seen that article but it was worth reading.

Thats why I want a drone. I am looking for something with about a 1000m range. There are several on the market and one or two I am leaning towards.

The idea is to get the drone on the other side of the whale or whatever and get the boat in view in the background.

Many drones offer FPV (First Person View) where you can view the drones path through the camera lens. This would be a great advantage for checking out bars (not the timber variety) or inlets, chanells, anchorages etc as you approach.

From what I have learned on YouTube and other sites it is inevitable that sooner or later you will crash these things so if I can find a way of keeping it afloat I may save the camera even if I loose the drone.

It's all a learning curve, lol.

Hi Cisco,

I actually saw a video of a yachtie with a floating drone. He had some pretty amazing footage but I'm damned if I can find it again.

When you think about cruising a bit you can come up with some good ideas for using one of these things.

Thanks Donk,

That was a nice video and good background music too.

The drone he was using in on my shortlist but when I went through the comments at the end of the video I found a few links to other drones and came across the one I mentioned to Cisco about that floats and can land/take off on water.

Now to do some more homework,

Thanks again

Google splash drone. Can land on the water to check your anchor.

Lilly looks good

https://www.lily.camera/

www.jbhifi.com.au/collections/cameras?fc=brand%3A%3APARROT&fm=false&mf=brand&p=1&s=displayPrice&sd=2

Water proof there would be others

Select to expand quote

GalahOnTheBay said..
Why not try a kite?

Worst case you still have the kite line to reel your gear back in...

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kite_aerial_photography

This is a great video from a few years back. It's very clever but I think the future is drones. The technology is simply mind boggling and to watch videos of dinghies racing at your local club has simply changed things forever. What's next?

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HG02 said..
Water proof there would be others

This is the predecessor of the splash drone, developed by the same people. It's the only waterproof one so far.

Hi HG0,

I have watched a few video's of the Mariner drone. It certainly appears to be waterproof. Unfortunately all the footage is shot in still or almost still water and as you are probably aware, as sailors we rarely travel in still water.

I'm not in a hurry and the drone technology is changing rapidly so by the middle of next year things might be even more advanced.

I think that we will find a lot of good uses for a drone when cruising apart from filling the photo album or YouTube.

Duration is relatively limited on most of the cheaper models and there are some ridiculously cheap models that have video on board but with only ten or so mins flying time.

Another thing to consider will be the authorities legislating a whole raft of rules to limit the careless use of these things.