The height will be determined by the riggers. It's still higher than the
arch system so I'm happy. With a new sailplan they are tweaking the system
so everything works in concert and that keeps the snagging problems out of
it. Otherwise what you say would be exactly right. I'm taking advantage of
a once in a lifetime situation. How high is high enough. Wait for the lats
and atts article. OK don't wait. At 120 feet off the water our huge 3cm
and 10cm sets have trouble picking up some targets until they are within 8
to 10 miles. These targets are fishing float reflectors, small wooden hull
native fishing boats and .. . sailboats. The further down the more 'ground
clutter' (waves, spray etc.) and the distance is less. Not a problem much
if the target is a huge cliff or a massive freighter but a definite problem
if the shoreline is flat and low or the ship is low and non reflective.

I thought hard about this for some time but finally told the rigging shop I
preferred mast mount but would go along with whatever fit the sail plan
design the best.

I ended up with the best of both worlds in what is always a compromise
situation.

Anyone want a used but workable Goldstar? It was mounted six foot off the
deck in the middle of the spinnaker track.

M.

"DSK" wrote in message
...
Michael wrote:

Not at all. Might be true on a lighter weight hull but it had no effect
on
Se Fjern at 26' and even less on Se Lange at 31'. As I've learned
height
is everything. The radars placed low down or on short poles are useful
for
harbor entrances and the like, not so useful on open ocean situations.

Well, how far do you need to see? Our little old (late 1980s vintage)
Furuno
mounted 12' above the waterline can pick up a 30' sailboat or a low sandy
coastline at 16 miles. We had a good chance to get it dialed in (and
you're
right, experience makes a BIG difference) on our last cruise up Pamlico to
the
Chesapeake and back.


In
this case I have 'weight below to spare. Windage increase would be even
more
of an issue but even that is negligible.

Windage plus the tendency of lines & sails to snag on the thing. I'd put
it aft
especially if you are already putting on an arch.


I added radar to begin with
because of conditions up here in the Pacific NW. Lots of fog during the
best of the summer sailing system is not uncommon. With the original
12"
radome I found life a lot easier. On the trans-Pac I set the guard
system
and it would come on every 15 minutes, do 20 turns and alert me if some
target showed. Like an auto-tilller it's an extra crew member. Down low
it's in the troughs too much and tends to beep off on signals from the
tops
of swells and waves. Reduce the seas state sensitivity and it degrades
performance in areas needed.

Very true, but that's one aspect of performance that modern sets are much
better. Having a computer analyze the return signal can tell you all sorts
of
things that can't be seen by the Mark 1 eyeball. I don't have very much
experience at all with the new fancy radar sets but at some point we are
going
to upgrade.



By adding height you make it a useful tool.
With the original radar I refined the settings based on actual targets.

How high do you have to go to make it 'useful'? I think the latter point
is mor
important, to have a reliable set that you have experience with real
returns, so
that you know what the radar is showing you. Too many people think of it
as
magic and only turn it on in foul weather.

One of the best ways to use it IMHO is around commercial shipping, it
tells you
unequivocably what their speed & course are. I also believe in taking
visual
bearings but it's nice to have the backup.



--
katysails
s/v Chanteuse
Kirie Elite 32
http://katysails.tripod.com

"Women and cats will do as they please, and men and dogs should relax
and get used to the idea." - Robert A. Heinlein