It isn’t difficult to understand, but for it to be an effective tool, you must work with radar to become familiar with what it is depicting.Practice using radar on clear days so you can match what your eye sees with the on-screen image the radar is producing. The arch, which holds radar, GPS and VHF antennas, is bolted directly to the console using 5/8-inch-diameter stainless bolts. He also modified the center console to accommodate the installation of various electronics. The radome contains both a solid-state transmitter and receiver, which simplifies installation wiring, since the signal is processed entirely in the radome. The new broadband system is said to simplify target identification at extremely close ranges — a breakthrough feature — in addition to a host of other features.Small-boat radar installations can be a bit more challenging than those on larger boats. Wiring is run within a channel down one leg. There is a strong possibility that the antenna of your GPS or your VHF receiver can receive interference if they are in the path of your radar’s transmission beam. I filled the void with West System epoxy blended with several different fillers, adding strength to the area and assuring that there would be no water penetration into the foam.While the epoxy was in its green stage (firm but not fully cured), I drilled through the deck and into the epoxy blend to install threaded stainless inserts for the deck socket’s four mounting bolts. This needs to be visible for at least 6 miles legally.A radar reflector is quite simply a large metallic object which is fixed to your boat. A vessel on a mooring, at anchor or under way and without the required illumination are all accidents waiting to happen. Or, it has taken me longer to return to port than anticipated, and I must navigate unfamiliar waters at night.Obviously, I would be less concerned if I were aboard my 36-foot trawler. A radar reflector can be used as a way of making your boat more visible. A larger vessel often cannot see you even with radar, partially because of your size and the fact that the radar may be set on longer ranges for tracking rainstorms or finding that flock of birds circling over fish. I took a trip to J&J’s Somerset, Mass., facility, and they made quick work of bending stainless tubing to add a rear leg truss to the mast with a quick-disconnect fitting for securing the leg to the gunwale.Wiring for the Raymarine radome passes through the mast and exits through a slot at the bottom. Wondering if I'm able to do the install myself or bring to a professional. While a plotter indicates what you will encounter on your course, based on the chart you are using, radar shows what is actually out there. Weather conditions out at sea can be vicious at times, the radar reflector needs to be securely fixed so that it can't come loose even in the harshest of weather conditions.Now all you need to do is test that the radar reflector really does make your boat more visible. I trailer the boat through areas with low tree branches, including those in my own driveway, so I had to keep the trailering profile as low as possible. This is something that you will have to think about carefully to get the best all round result.The radar reflector needs to be physically fixed to the boat, this can be done using a large pole or support. Our desires were similar, but we have different skill sets. There are calculations and tables that provide maximum radar ranges based on radome height above the water, but most of these won’t be useful in our application.When discussing the radar installation on my 21-foot Whaler with technicians at Raymarine, I was told that at a height of 10 feet above the water, my 2-kW, 18-inch-diameter, enclosed radome would have a range of 3.9 miles to the horizon. And if you don't have radar on your boat, then you really do need to think about AIS if you sail in open … If you have a non metallic boat then people may find it very difficult to identify your boat on radar systems, this can put you in unnecessary danger which is why radar reflectors are so important.Any non metallic fishing boat will need a radar reflector as a legal requirement. Choose the biggest radar reflector that your boat can accommodate.The radar reflector needs to be located as high up on the boat as possible, by doing this you will maximize the chances of it effectively helping other sailors to identify your boat.
This should be sufficient for all of the goodies I should ever need to install on the boat. You’re not the big guy looking down but the little guy looking up. And if you don't have radar on your boat, then you really do need to think about AIS if you sail in open water at night or may experience reduced visibility.There is no legal requirement for recreational sailboats to have an AIS transceiver or transponder, so all most sailors need is an AIS receiver of some sort so that you get the information about an approaching ship that may pose a threat. The system is solid state, eliminating the magnetron and its microwave pulses from the radome. And if there is fog or rain or it's dark, then you are at greater risk for collision, even if you use radar, since the range of radar is usually less than AIS range.