On Tue, 2 Jun 2009 21:22:28 -0400, "Wilbur Hubbard"
wrote:

Radar
doesn't show depth of water, for instance. In other words those sailors
attempting to use radar properly do so at the peril of disregarding all the
other important aspects of sailing. Radar needs a dedicated radar operator.

Radar does use a fair amout of power. That's a fact but not
necessarily an issue on a larger boat with decent battery banks.
Modern radars do have power saving modes where they wake up every
minute or so, make a few sweeps, activate an alarm if targets are
detected, and then go back to sleep. I've sailed thousands of miles
at night without radar but I count myself lucky and will never do it
again if I have a choice.