On Sat, 20 Dec 2003 19:22:10 +0100, "Ric" wrote:


I have a sailing boat, and I have my radar inside. It would be much more
useful on the outside, but the downside is that it would be exposed to sun,
salt and getting wacked by ropes etc. I have on my list of things to do to
make a swinging arm that in is parked position holds the radar on the inside
above the chart-table, but on its swung position holds the radar in the
companionway where I could see it from the helm.

I concur that it is much more useful outside. So much so that I
permanently mount it over the binnacle, on a platform wide enough to
protect it from the mainsheet.

My first radar was a Furuno 1720, a CRT radar that was not supposed to
be exposed to the weather. It was already old technology when I bought
it in 1990.

I mounted it on a sliding dovetail track that brought it into the
companionway. However, I once dismounted it and lashed it temporarily
at the helm, with plastic bags to protect it.

It was so much better there that I redid everything, making that the
only mount. I had to mount it with velcro straps whenever I used it,
and the plug for the cable stayed outside, filled with silicone
grease. I got 11 years out of that before the plug gave up.

I got a new Raytheon LCD radar (SR70, I think, anyway bottom of the
line in 2001, just before they changed the name to Raymarine).

It stays mounted. I hope it will last as long as the Furuno did, but
even if it doesn't it is worth it.

I have seen Furuno 1620s that stayed in the weather for years as well.
I don't want the PITA of dismounting it and exposing the cable
connections.

I am not pushing a brand. Both Furuno and Raymarine make fine
instruments. The choice should perhaps be made on the importance of
individual features. But, I am strongly pushing a weatherized LCD
display, mounted at the helm.



Rodney Myrvaagnes J36 Gjo/a


"In this house we _obey_ the laws of thermodynamics." --Homer Simpson