Choose pleasure craft or sailing before interpreting the map
The main button opens Ships mode with the pleasure-craft filter selected. It includes loaded records reporting numeric AIS type 37. For the separate sailing category, open reported sailing vessels (AIS 36). These are two distinct choices; neither is a complete definition of every yacht. A vessel with a missing type stays outside both filters even when its name sounds familiar or another field calls it a yacht.
The US Coast Guard's AIS type reference distinguishes sailing vessels from pleasure craft. PocketWorld uses those reported codes directly for these filters. It does not infer an owner's identity, private or commercial use, charter availability, luxury level or a minimum yacht size. An incorrect transmitted code can therefore produce an incorrect category, while a correct position with missing static data can be absent from a category view.
Read the identity and date of an individual report
Select a displayed vessel and compare its MMSI, reported name, raw type and position source. Names are not unique, and they can change; do not merge two records just because their names resemble one another. Read the position's report age before using the location. Opening a card now does not mean the vessel transmitted now. A newer web-page load cannot turn an old coordinate into a new observation.
The filtered counter describes matching loaded records. It is not the total number of yachts at sea, boats in a marina or vessels owned in a country. The map can display only a portion of those records at its current view and rendering budget. To investigate an empty area, first check whether the map has data, which type is selected, and whether country or water filters are also active. A zero after filtering is a different situation from a source error or an unavailable snapshot.
United States: a public AIS report is not a yacht registry
The US Coast Guard's AIS questions and answers explain the system's identity, vessel-type and position information, and discuss static-data discrepancies. That is the appropriate source for understanding the radio system. PocketWorld does not query a private ownership register when you select the pleasure filter. A large vessel, a familiar name or a location near a waterfront home is not enough to establish an owner or the purpose of a trip.
When exploring Florida, New England or Puget Sound, keep geography separate from the flag field. A US position does not prove US registration, and a flag-based country filter does not restrict the map to US waters. Read the actual coordinate and record identity together. Our US AIS identity guide provides further context for those fields. This page does not claim complete receiver coverage of any harbour or promise that a particular boat will be visible.
Canada: distinguish radio identity, registration and position
ISED's MMSI explanation describes the nine-digit radio identity used for a vessel or boat. That radio identity is a different field from a hull identifier or pleasure-craft licence. A number displayed on a boat should not be pasted into an unrelated field and assumed to identify the same record. This map follows the AIS identity supplied with the report; it does not use a licence number to locate its owner.
The Canadian Coast Guard's maritime identification overview describes shore-based AIS and its role in vessel awareness. The Coast Guard's network description is not a guarantee of PocketWorld's provider coverage. British Columbia, the Great Lakes and Atlantic Canada present different receiving environments. Our Canadian AIS coverage guide explains why a missing report cannot establish that a craft is absent or that its transmitter was deliberately disabled.
Keep the category separate from what a boat is doing
A sailing-type record need not prove the vessel is under sail at the displayed moment; pleasure craft is likewise a reported type, not an activity observation. Do not use speed alone to decide whether a boat is racing, anchored for a private event or carrying paying passengers. A passenger-type vessel also belongs to a different bucket even if its name contains yacht. The filter deliberately preserves those distinctions rather than assembling a name-based list of supposedly famous boats.
For a repeatable check, select one category, clear unrelated filters, identify the record, inspect its source and timestamp, and only then compare another report. Preserve any uncertainty in missing fields. Use the general vessel map and search guide for name or MMSI lookup within loaded data, or the fishing-type guide for the separate type-30 category. A map observation is useful evidence about a reported vessel position; it is not an ownership confirmation or a substitute for onboard navigation information.
Reported AIS types, separate from ownership
The pleasure filter selects numeric AIS type 37; the separate sailing filter selects type 36. They apply to loaded reports, not a complete yacht registry. Names, length and descriptive type labels cannot supply a missing numeric code. Source and report freshness remain separate from classification.
Frequently asked questions
Does this identify every yacht or its owner?
No. The main filter selects reported AIS type 37. It does not establish size, ownership or luxury status, and vessels with other or missing codes can be absent.
Where are sailing vessels?
Use the separate AIS type-36 sailing link or filter. A sailing type is not proof that the vessel is currently under sail.
Does a country filter mean vessels inside that country's waters?
No. It uses the available country or flag metadata. Read coordinates separately; the filter is not a coastal boundary or coverage guarantee.