Do I need or can i justify Radar

[chuckr]

Originally Posted by Hank Kivett

Thanks guys...all this is very helpful and i do appreciate all of it and am taking it all in..if i was to get the radar i was planing on mounting it on the stern along with my motor hoist for my dinghy which should get it about 15 feet off the water as opposed to a mast mount....any problems there.

As for need -- well we have been out a bit and yes it is nice but the longer we stay out the less we use it except for at night, an ocean crossing, during what may appear to be thunderstorms, and sometimes during the day when we are in the midst of a lot of fishing boats and trying to figure which way they are going. We do have send and receive AIS.

As for the mounting we have a quest pole off the back of our boat and works great.

[a64pilot]

Originally Posted by Hank Kivett

Thanks guys...all this is very helpful and i do appreciate all of it and am taking it all in..if i was to get the radar i was planing on mounting it on the stern along with my motor hoist for my dinghy which should get it about 15 feet off the water as opposed to a mast mount....any problems there.

When I bought my Radar I had exactly the same question so I called the manufacturer, their answer is there in no practical difference between being on or above the spreader and on a mast at the stern operations wise, however their opinion was that the ease in mounting and possibly one day servicing the thing was better on a Radar mast at the stern.
Their one concern was it had to be above the boom, seems a few people have mounted them at approximately boom height and the boom will block a lot of the signal.

[jongleur]

Where can I find a pole
to mount a radar at the stern?
Must it be custom fabricated?

Maybe I missed where it was stated.

Thanks

[Rough Magic]

Here's the place:
Garhauer Marine Hardware -12712158

They have lots of well made hardware.

[jongleur]

Thanks. My Google ** was weak. Now
I know to use radar "tower".

[jongleur]

Anybody use wood for the pole
in a stern mount?

[Simonsays]

Originally Posted by Snowpetrel

Here lies radars seductive trap... Should you really be entering a tiny port in these conditions? That's not to say the things are handy, and even downright useful at times, but they can also encourage more risky behaviour.

imho AIS is way more prone to that overreliance than Radar and i'd trust a system that measures other objects relative to me higher than systems that measure my relative position to some satelites that are >4000km away
than again i got trained in radar usage by the navy.

[Canibul]

radar spelled backwards is still radar.

[belizesailor]

Originally Posted by Canibul

radar spelled backwards is still radar.

There you have it - the definitve justification to get one!

[exMaggieDrum]

It's simple - you need it when you need it. The rest of the time you don't.

There have been many times when I felt I needed it, and couldn't avoid needing it. But you can get by without it. It is a luxury that in my opinion is handy enough to justify for me.

We took off on our first boat's first overnighter to meet up with some other cruisers. We took off late due to a technical problem. We got to the San Juan Island of Sucia in the pitch black dark. Couldn't even see the island one mile away. Had an old radar but didn't really know how to use it. Thought we were going to have to sail around all night staying well away from other islands or rocks using the depth sounder, charts, and the GPS. Not fun. We were literally freaking out. Finally turned on the radar and fiddled with it enough to get the island on the screen. Went back and forth along the south side and found the little narrow inlet and came in on radar and picked up a mooring ball. Made several mistakes and got lucky. The entrance to this inlet has claimed many boats in the day time. The other experienced cruisers (we were newbies) were amazed that we even tried it. Lots of other stories where radar saved the day. Those times are when it is foggy, at night, or too much rain, i.e. poor or no visibility. If you avoid those times you don't need it. And sometimes at night you can use navigation aids to get in to harbors so you don't need it then either. But if it is foggy you do. But a chartplotter can get you in places too but that doesn't help with movable obstacles - other boats primarily or places that aren't well charted - other countries mostly. But most of the time you don't need it, only when you do.

[tartansail]

As others have said the need is dependent on your sailing grounds and how you plan to use the boat. We use radar on overnights, on trips to Maine, and early in the season when it is foggy. We have a lot of fog in New England and visibility can be well under 100 yards.. It has made the difference between going out carefully and, sometimes, being stuck in harbor with fair winds but no visibility.

As to the specific installation, we had a Garmin 740 with the 18" radome on a stern pole on our previous boat. We were very happy with the ease of installation and the ease of use. It was a very nice, cost effective setup compared to some of the alternatives. We recommended it to friends who are also happy with it.

[a64pilot]

Only time I have ever actually really needed Radar was in a 21' center console fishing boat, fog came in so bad in Panama City Fl in an early Summer morning that you could not see 100 ft, and that happens what maybe once in ten years? But we happened to be out diving when it rolled in.

But it really pays for itself at night sailing and you spot the thunderstorm cell and can take a deep reef or steer to avoid the cell entirely, just know of course it can't see the cell behind the cell so to speak, but a good one can see heavy rain way off.

[Simonsays]

Originally Posted by a64pilot

just know of course it can't see the cell behind the cell so to speak

it also can not see the navy ship inside the cell and yes, we used to do that for training.

[belizesailor]

Originally Posted by Simonsays

it also can not see the navy ship inside the cell and yes, we used to do that for training.

Hang on, Ive tracked ships inside weather by adjusting gain/filters. Admittedly, its more challenging, and helps if you suspect they are in there, but certainly possible.

[Snowpetrel]

Originally Posted by belizesailor

Hang on, Ive tracked ships inside weather by adjusting gain/filters. Admittedly, its more challenging, and helps if you suspect they are in there, but certainly possible.

This is where a 10 cm radar really counts.

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