On Sun, 12 Aug 2007 07:53:27 -0400, "Roger Long"
wrote:

The numbers in the British study aside, what do those of us in midsize
fiberglass sailboats generally look like to you in the real world? Do you
often see a boat with a radar reflector hanging that didn't show up on the
scope? Are we little blips that you could easily overlook? How would you
rate the chances of a vessel over running its visibility in fog not seeing a
radar reflector equipped boat?

Many, if not most, of the cruising sailboats I see offshore have some
sort of visible radar reflector. They typically show up very well at
4+ miles. I believe we'd see most of them without a reflector based
on my experience picking up small power boats.

We see a lot of 20 something fishing boats in near shore conditions,
invariably without any visible reflector. Most of them show up pretty
decently also. Larger cruisers and sportfish show up very well, most
without any sign of a reflector.

A lot depends on the radar however. My 26 year old backup system does
not do nearly as well and requires a good eye to separate targets from
the clutter. Digital technology has advanced a lot in that time and
it has made a big difference in my opinion.