"Lloyd Sumpter" wrote in message
...
Hi,

Thinking of getting radar for Far Cove, mainly for this planned trip to
WCVI,
which has lots of fog.

Now, I've survived 20+ years of sailing Georgia Strait, etc. without
radar.
If it's really foggy, I just stay put. If I venture out, I use several nav
aids
including GPS to determine my position, blow my horn and listen.

I'm thinking that, even WITH radar, I wouldn't venture out in
unfamiliar
waters in dense fog. And if I was out and the fog rolled in on me, I would
think
that GPS, sounder and a good chart would be better to find that anchorage
than
radar, assuming I could see at least 100 ft or so.

Comments?

Also, if I mount the radome on a post at the stern like most seem to,
doesn't
the mast and sail interfere with it looking forward?

Lloyd Sumpter
"Far Cove" Catalina 36


You may not plan to venture out there if its foggy but what if you are
already in transit or need to get from A to B?

There is a fellow in my Nanaimo marina who spent all year fitting out his
36' Seabird to sail it down to Mexico this Fall. This is the second time
he's tried. Last year they got into a vicious storm off Washington and
turned back. This year they set out from Victoria and got into pea soup fog
somewhere West. Had no radar and decided they couldn't risk colliding with
shipping. Turned back again. Maybe having radar would save a lot of
planned trips as well as make trips-in-progress safer.
Darned expensive though compared to a chart plotter, especially if you go
high-tech for the radome mount and pay someone else to install it all. I
have the radar but I'm still saving for the mount.

As for pole mounts, there does not seem to be an issue with blind spots.
Aside from simplifying the installation I've been told that a malfunctioning
radar often results from problems in the radome so a pole or backstay mount
simplifys removing this unit for servicing. I've also been advised to use a
2" diameter pole to reduce vibration and not to go too high for the same
reason.
Gord