Dag Stenberg wrote:
In rec.boats.cruising renewontime dot com wrote:

The problem for merchant ships is that small sailing vessels are just
hard to see. VERY hard to see. They usually present a poor RADAR
target and have dim or no navigation lights.


Could you tell us what is a sufficient RADAR target?
I found an old article:
http://www.ussailing.org/safety/Stud...eflector_2.htm
according to which my Mobri "does not perform well".

They say that in my area many commercial ships from a certain country do
not really keep RADAR watch, only listen to a possible radar warning
while reading magazines and having tea. Does that seem possible?

To get a radar warning alarm, they would need to have the radar turned
on and operating. However, if you are asking if someone is standing by
the radar at all times watching it, the answer is, no.


Where would you like the yachts to have their navigation lights?
Masthead or deck level? Masthead is seen from further away, but misleads
with regard to distance.

Dag Stenberg

Where the rules allow, the higher the better. Don't worry about them
misleading as to distance as much as worrying about being seen at a
distance.
A great secondary ID method for sailboats at night is lighting up your
sails with a flashlight, etc..
Generally this will give a brighter target without destroying visibility
of your running lights.

otn