I flew my drone from a moving boat. Here’s what I learned.

I was watching a lovely sunrise from a crab boat in the middle of the Chesapeake Bay. We were capturing drone shots of a waterman, and it was the first time I’d flown from a boat. This one was perfect. Flat-bottomed and steady, it had a small rear perch where I could place my drone for a launch. I checked for obstacles and birds, positioned the drone for its maiden nautical mission, and started the motors. It reacted immediately. With propellers spinning, it skidded wildly towards the back of the boat, but I instinctively grabbed it, preventing its watery death, but slicing open my fingers in the process.

Taking off from a boat carries with it new realities: the ground is moving, the wind less forgiving, and there’s little margin for error with a casual launch or landing. Every flight becomes a small expedition; one that demands a clear mission, a disciplined crew, and a reliable plan for bringing the aircraft safely home. Here are a few things to remember when flying drones from a boat that’s underway.

Have a Plan

Be clear and on the same page before anyone leaves the docks. Preplan positions for everyone involved and how each piece relates to the others for every shot. It’s essential that each person understands their roles and responsibilities: the boat captain, the target, the drone pilot, and the crews. In addition, everyone should feel free to speak up if something doesn’t seem safe.

Know Your Boat

The “chase boat” (where the drone crew is stationed) should be large enough to stow equipment and have a flat area on the deck, bow or stern to launch from. Flat bottom boats are best as they tend to be more stable. When arranging a boat, ask about overhead clearance above your take-off point. Ideally, you want an uncovered platform where you can launch straight up to get out of the boat. Also ask about antenna wires and poles. Some vessels have short wave radios with antennas strung from one end of the boat to the other.

Brief the Captain

The boat captain is an important part of the aerial process. They should understand drone pilot’s commands, be responsive, and know the goals of each shot so they can put the boat in the best position for each one. Whenever possible the captain should turn into the wind and parallel to the waves to keep movement at a minimum; something that can be dangerous for boats in high seas. More than likely, you won’t be flying in high seas since that translates into high winds and storms. But even a small amount of movement can wreak havoc on the IMU sensor and prevent the drone from taking off. In extreme cases, you may have to find a dock or other nearby platform to launch from when conditions won’t permit taking off from the boat itself.

Take Sufficient Crew

In addition to the drone pilot, always have a dedicated Visual Observer (“Spotter”) whose only job is to keep the drone in sight at all times. They shouldn’t be doing anything else while the drone is in the air. A separate crew person can handle hand launch or recovery, communicating with the target vessel, and relaying requests to and from the boat captain if necessary. Pilot workload is extremely heavy when flying from a boat and manually tracking a subject. Having two additional crew members (besides the pilot) can mean the difference between a successful mission or a drone lost to Poseidon.

Take Precautions

Boat movement and air currents can make your take-offs and landings a challenge. The drone will try to keep its position once you start the motors. This means if your launch platform is the back of the boat and you’re moving slowly forward, the drone will skid backwards trying to stay put. If that happens, you may find your drone in the drink before you even start flying. If it’s impossible to stop boat movement, you’ll have to be ready to take off right after starting the motors or try to launch by hand.

For hand launching or landing, the crew should be prepared with thick gloves and eye protection. Designate one crew member as the primary recovery person with a second as back-up. While the primary is the target, the backup should be prepared to catch an errant drone or, in extreme cases, throw something over it to stop it from flying. It’s a good practice to rehearse catching the drone on land and have all the procedures and terminology clear before attempting to do it with your battery low on a rocking boat.

Important Considerations

A boat is a moving launch platform, but the launch point is stationary. If you don’t account for this, the drone may end up flying back to the launch point a mile away and landing in the water. To prevent that, keep these tips in mind:

• Reset your home point manually as frequently as possible. This tells the drone where to fly back to when the battery is too low or the signal is lost. Your drone knows how much battery power it needs to make it back to the launch point. The farther you are away from the home point, the faster the return to home is initiated. If you’ve flown a couple of miles from the launch point, your RTH feature may be activated with a fairly full battery.

  
  

• Keep an eye on the wind. If your boat is upwind from the drone, it’s going to be fighting a headwind to make it back home. Set your battery warning level much higher than with a mission over land. Fighting air currents over the water tend to eat up batteries quickly. Leave yourself enough time to get back to the boat and land safely. This always takes longer than you’d think.

  
  

• Have a bailout plan. This may not always be up. If your target is kiteboarders, a quick ascent can have you in the ‘chute or tangled in their lines.

• When flying over water, a drone tends to descend and ascend when close to the surface, depending on the air pressure and the reflections from the water itself. Keep an eye on your IMU and compass behavior to avoid erratic aircraft movements and fly-aways. If the boat’s rocking, you might need to return to shore for a stable environment to recalibrate.

Technique

Most of the same cinematic rules apply on water as do when capturing shots on land. Think “ground” rush, reveal up, reveal down and reveal sideways, follow, lead, orbit, special shots. The boat captain can make it easier for you by positioning the boat for steady launch and recovery, and maintaining a constant speed and course.

One of the most challenging aspects of capturing moving objects with a moving drone on a moving boat is “keeping the frame”. If you’re flying at a different speed than the object being tracked, it will seem to be constantly speeding up and slowing down. And, automating your tracking shots when flying from a boat is not a great idea unless you’re well-practiced with the automated features of your drone.

Flying a drone from a boat can turn an ordinary flight into a true test of preparation, timing, and composure. The deck moves, the wind changes, and there is no forgiving patch of grass under a rough landing. But that challenge also makes the footage and the experience more rewarding. Plan the launch and recovery, account for the boat’s movement, keep a close eye on battery life and wind, and never let the shot outweigh sound judgment.

About the Author

Mike Sobola is a Private Pilot and Commercial Drone Pilot with Mid-Atlantic Drones and author of “How to Make Money with a Drone” available on Amazon.  He has logged more than 3000 hours as Pilot-in-Command of a drone, many from a moving boat. Mid-Atlantic Drones specializes in Drone flights throughout the Mid-Atlantic region, the Washington, D.C. airspace and the DC Flight-Restricted Zone.