Anchor Camera - Ideas Needed

[JLR]

On my 43, I anchor when I fish in Long Island Sound. Unfortunately, there seem to be a tremendous amount of old abandoned sunken lobster pots on the bottom connected by equally abandoned trawl lines. So, when I lift my anchor with the windlass from the wheel, one out of five times I end up lifting one of these trawl lines. The problem is that in order to make sure the anchor has not lifted one of these lines before I cruise to the next spot, I would need to head up to the bow each time, get on my hands and knees and eyeball the anchor. Most of the time I fish alone. Most of the time, it is choppy when I pull up the anchor. Aside from laziness, I prefer the safety of the wheelhouse when alone to shimmying up to the bow each time to check. Is there any type of anchor cam, go pro, or other type of camera I could mount under the bow sprit that could shoot the anchor when fully up? I cannot imagine a camera that would withstand the constant barrage of saltwater under the sprit that could survive. Any and all ideas are appreciated.

 

[Pascal]

Indeed it will be a hard to find a conventional surveillance camera that will withstand the element, plus the risks of getting it banged up by the anchor.

You coudl rail mount a GoPro aimed down and monitor that on a phone or iPad thru wifi.if you turn it on an doff remotely it shoudo last a few hours.

There are also some very small wired cameras, the size of a bolt, that would fit in a thin hole. If not waterproof they could be protected by eopxing a quarter size piece of lexan

 

[krush]

Get a cheap wifi camera and zip-tie it to the rail when you need to use it. Stash it away when not needed. Or, what about a mirror?

 

[Boatsb]

Polecam.

 

[JLR]

Rail or pole mounted wifi go pro sounds like it should work. Any ideas which one or where/how to mount it to see under the bow sprit?

 

[mrdeepseafisher]

My wife got me a Go Pro that is wireless and uses the Iphone as the remote screen. I can control the stop/start of the camera. There is a bit of a delay but it works pretty good. I would mount a camera on a rod out over the bow and use an Iphone to control the view. I think you would need to have a wireless router in the cabin acting as a DHCP host and that would be your wifi signal for both devices to use while offshore.

Might be worth a try.

 

[racclarkson@gmail.com]

Boy that mirror idea sure seems like a good one and easy to try. Get an old car rearview and maybe you'll have a back up compass.

 

[JLR]

I wonder whether a single mirror would do the trick. Geometry and planar math is not my strong suit. But, if it could work, it would be an ideal solution.

 

[bobk]

OK, since we are thinking out side the box now, how about just listening to the groan of the winch. Mine certainly sounds different when it is pulling up half of the bottom as opposed to just a fairly clean anchor. Or, install an amp or volt meter to see if it is heavier and working harder. All this assumes the bottom is mostly sand that falls off as you raise the anchor.

Bobk

 

[racclarkson@gmail.com]

JLR, the word you're searching for is convex.

 

[JLR]

Thank you. Much to think about and plenty of time before the fishing season heats back up in the Spring.

 

[JLR]

Limited research so far indicates that a Gopro Hero Session 4 mounted on a handlebar/seatpost mount (attached to a bow rail) should get the job done. Somehow, I can't get by thinking that whatever it costs (about $250 all in) is going to end up in the drink the first time I use it. But, still in the thinking stage.

 

[Avenger]

It would be my luck to drop it too. Make sure you have the waterproof housing and attach a float. GoPros are really tiny, you wouldn't need much of a float at all.

 

[madhatter66]

Viewing on the cell via wifi may not work. I have a cheap version of a gopro. It failed video transmission as soon as it entered the water. I was at my slip and did not work in 4ft of water. Yes I had protective case on. Gopro may be better to view on cell or maybe not. I had to start video prior to entering water and review when I retrieved it.

 

[Walter P]

WOW...talk about over complicating something simple. As a kid I loved to look at Rubin Goldberg drawings and this thread certainly brought it to mind. Bobk suggested a simple solution. Expanding on that, when retrieving the anchor look at it as it clears the water but before it comes to it's stop under the bow pulpit. You can always lower it a couple of feet to get an easy look at it.........

Walt

 

[JLR]

Simple is good. However, the anchor is not visible at any point (up or down) from the wheelhouse. Hence, the need for an aid.

 

[Hseaton]

You've probably solved your problem by now but just to add my 2 cents.... To see when backing up, I use a wireless camera available on eBay, Amazon, or I bought mine at NAPA on sale. It's the add on kind that attaches to your license plate at the rear of the car. It does need 12 volts but I mount mine in a waterproof tackle box (small, the size of a cigar box) along with a 12v lithium-ion battery w/3000mAH (also available from those sources above), that comes with its own charger and has an on/off switch built in. When I want to use it, I open the lid and let it drop down out of the way and turn the battery on. The camera transits a good picture to either helm as I don't mount it, just plug it into a cigar lighter for power. It might not work for your application but since we're throwing out ideas....

 

[JLR]

Keeping this alive until I find the right solution. After buying the GoPro and finding a mount and testing it on my Iphone I can report back that neither the size nor clarity of the image on my Iphone will do the trick. So, I am now looking for access points to hard wire a waterproof camera on the underside of the bow pulpit with a video feed to the Garmin in my wheelhouse. This is the way I should have done it to begin with. No recharging of the GoPro, nor mounting each trip, nor the high likelihood that it ends up wet, aside from the actual video quality. Now, although I have bought dozens of cameras for my boats over the years, I am under no illusion that the camera that I buy will actually last for more than a season or two, despite claims of being waterproof and the like. But, replacing a cameras is easier than getting hauled again for wheel work. So, the process continues.

 

[JLR]

A hard wired CCTV camera was mounted under my bow pulpit yesterday aimed directly down at where my anchor enters/exist the water. The video output was wired to my Garmin GPS at the helm which had an available video input. It looks great. While I expect that I may have to replace the camera every year or two (despite claims of an outdoor 67 rating), it worked out better than any wireless device or setup I tried. While this may seem like overkill to many, I do not want to risk another adventure of fouled wheels resulting from an anchor that pulled up a trawl in L.I. Sound. And, it was a nice way to spend a balmy 45 degree day in December in New York.