Recently flew my mavic on the coast off of a large sailboat. Taking off was a little tricky but as soon as I got past that I knew landing would be difficult. Got it near the main deck of the boat and considered grabbing it by the bottom (was not having much luck landing it otherwise) but when I reached for it it reacted like it sensed a forward object and rocked me right in the chest. Bounced off me and luckily my friend caught it. Those blades are brutal. Drone is fine. Any else got any experience doing this?

When flying on a moving boat, especially landing, you need to pay attention to the relative speed between the drone and the boat.
We suggest that you land the drone by controlling the RC cause if the boat moved, the home point will not be the same.
Besides, you should also notice about the flight height and do not fly too near to the boat.
There are just some of the points. Be careful and enjoy your flight.

Probably try to handcatch it when the boat is the most stable. Landing while moving is very hard, because the moment it goes into landing, it will only move very very slow when you try to correct, or you should disable landing protection, but that can get nasty.

I rig a landing "pad" in the bow of my 30' speedboat -- using an upholstered panel from the the electrical compartment to span across the u-shaped seating.  It is only about 12" below the gunnels, and has some spring to it, so works well as a shock absorber.   Drone flies forward in front of the boat, at a low altitude -- only what is necessary to avoid any bow movement in waves.   Also, go downwind with the boat -- it will be more stable in chop.

Turn off landing protection stop boat reach out and grab from the bottom. Practice this technique before attempting on boat.

Alperdronie Posted at 2017-6-29 07:30
Turn off landing protection stop boat reach out and grab from the bottom. Practice this technique before attempting on boat.

Awesome thanks guys for your tips! Been out at the beach all day today getting some great stuff

stop the boat!   sorry couldn't resist ! haha

I always hand launch and catch on boats.  Much easier and safer.  And always launch facing the side of the boat, not the front or back.  That way if the engines are still idling forward or backwards you won't get hit.

Someone told me that we can set the mavic to tripod mode....

What do you guys think ???

W.T. Foxtrot Posted at 2017-6-29 05:45
I rig a landing "pad" in the bow of my 30' speedboat -- using an upholstered panel from the the electrical compartment to span across the u-shaped seating.  It is only about 12" below the gunnels, and has some spring to it, so works well as a shock absorber.   Drone flies forward in front of the boat, at a low altitude -- only what is necessary to avoid any bow movement in waves.   Also, go downwind with the boat -- it will be more stable in chop.

Your boat sounds a lot like my boat!  I do the same thing -- only bought an oversized landing pad that balances perfectly between the u-shaped bow seating and the seat on the front of the console.  Easy - and I have all my fingers!
to the OP -- hand launch is MUCH easier on take off!  Practice on dry land and you will realize  you can get it out of harms way (especially out of the rigging on a sailboat -- yeah, that's my first love) much quicker and easier when launching from your hand.

W.T. Foxtrot Posted at 2018-3-23 20:33
Your boat sounds a lot like my boat!  I do the same thing -- only bought an oversized landing pad that balances perfectly between the u-shaped bow seating and the seat on the front of the console.  Easy - and I have all my fingers!
to the OP -- hand launch is MUCH easier on take off!  Practice on dry land and you will realize  you can get it out of harms way (especially out of the rigging on a sailboat -- yeah, that's my first love) much quicker and easier when launching from your hand.

I like to hand catch with the drone slightly above head level and in front of me. That way if a blade suddenly came apart it wouldn't hit me. It would also prevent it from hitting me in your situation.

I've found that I need to be rather quick with the grab before it can react.

RCNJ Posted at 2017-7-1 13:51
stop the boat!   sorry couldn't resist ! haha

And realise you forgot your massive net.......

So is it hard to still catch it while the boat is still?

I am wondering if its safe to match the speed of the moving craft/vehicle and bring it down while keeping a constant forward speed... Disable the avoidance sensors of course.

Cutoff motors only after the drone has touched surface/deck.

What do you guys think?

Silvex Posted at 2018-3-23 20:48
I like to hand catch with the drone slightly above head level and in front of me. That way if a blade suddenly came apart it wouldn't hit me. It would also prevent it from hitting me in your situation.

I've found that I need to be rather quick with the grab before it can react.

"I like to hand catch with the drone slightly above head level "

May I suggest some safety goggles?  
Googles cheap and replaceable.  Eyes expensive to attempt to fix, and not yet replaceable.

Drone catcher


Granted a little hard on the old props.

HedgeTrimmer Posted at 2018-3-23 22:30
"I like to hand catch with the drone slightly above head level "

May I suggest some safety goggles?  

If you're catching or launching at face level, some kind of eye protection is in order. Even still, I wouldn't want a piece of propeller hitting me in the nose. I also think catching above your head takes all but the downward sensors out of the mix.

'You need a bigger boat!' ;-)

Jay W Posted at 2018-3-23 22:10
I am wondering if its safe to match the speed of the moving craft/vehicle and bring it down while keeping a constant forward speed... Disable the avoidance sensors of course.

Cutoff motors only after the drone has touched surface/deck.

I would not recommend this. If something goes wrong the boat will always still be moving forward, your drone may not. In my experience its best to land on a non moving boat.

landing on a moving boat sounds like a recipe for disaster - the smaller the boat the higher the risk. I suggest you stop the boat for landing. If the boat cannot be stopped then i recommend the Wil Smith "throw a towel at it" trick or as hedgetrimmer suggests - get a big net.
It is surely going to mess up your props sooner or later - but without some immobilisation tool the risk of you one day dropping your drone overboard during landing, i fear is high probability.
BTW if using the towel technique, ensure that the towel thrower is wealthy enough to not cry about replacing  your drone asap when they mess up.
stop the boat - i think it is the only reasonable and low risk solution.

nutsnbolts Posted at 2018-3-23 21:38
So is it hard to still catch it while the boat is still?

Depends on the boat -- and the body of water -- but even a kayak is unstable in a pond.  I "boat" in the Caribbean - never without swell and typically 2-4 ft.  

HedgeTrimmer Posted at 2018-3-23 22:33
Drone catcher
https://www.cdaquatics.co.uk/images/products/hozelock-large-fish-net-39cm_1th_3745_large.jpg[/img]

lol made me cough and splutter

Any advice about cleaning coffee splattered across a laptop screen.

think twice before doing it,

Here is how to land a drone on a moving VO65 , with wind 35 -45 knots down to Southern Ocean .....!!!!!!:

Vasco Posted at 2018-4-16 04:37
Here is how to land a drone on a moving VO65 , with wind 35 -45 knots down to Southern Ocean .....!!!!!!:

Well that is just nuts! I just can't believe the drone was able to keep up with that speed. That sailboat looks like it was going fast!!

nutsnbolts Posted at 2018-4-16 18:20
Well that is just nuts! I just can't believe the drone was able to keep up with that speed. That sailboat looks like it was going fast!!

25 - 30 knots !!!!

disable the downward facing sensors so it doesn't bounce away from your hand.

Vasco Posted at 2018-4-16 04:37
Here is how to land a drone on a moving VO65 , with wind 35 -45 knots down to Southern Ocean .....!!!!!!:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uQ8VjOP9Oig

If you look close you can see its a phantom, you can grab underneath, much easier than a mavic. Still very impressive though.

Vasco Posted at 2018-4-17 02:59
25 - 30 knots !!!!

you had a good tail wind