BoatBanter.com - View Single Post - I feel sorry for the people who bought radar for their cruising boats.

Mark Borgerson

In article .com,
llid says...

"Bruce Gordon" wrote in message
...
In article .com,
"Wilbur Hubbard" wrote:

For the most part they wasted their money.

bunch of drivel snipped......

LOL!

Wilbur Hubbard

Only a Moroooon (Bugs Bunny definition) would think to use a Radar
only
for spotting Weather..... That is NOT what Marine Radars were
Designed,
Built and Installed to do. Marine Radars were and are designed, to
keep
you from running into other Moving Objets, that can't be seen with the
naked eye, or enhanced eyes, when it is DARK, Foggy, or Precipitation
is
cutting down your visual Range. Back in the day, Radar was used as a
Position Fixing Device, but that has largely been replaced with, first
Loran A, Loran C, and now GPS. It also was used for locating Buoys,
and
Navigational Aids, in the past, but that has largely been replaced by
the ChartPlotter, driven by the above mentioned Position Fixing
Devices,
on the modern Bridge. the AIS Transponder System is making some
inroads,
into the classic RADAR uses, but there are many OBJects, that simply
do
not carry AIS Transponders. So, simply, Radar in todays Marine
Environment, is to keep you from running into other non-fixed Objects,
that you can't see, due to a variety of causes.

--
Bruce in Alaska add path before the @ for email

Duh, if you can't see where you're going then slow down or heave-to
until visibility improves. Motoring around at high speeds relying solely
on radar causes more collisions than it avoids. I'm talking recreational
vessels, now, not commercial vessels that have to maintain some sort of
reliable schedule. There is no reason for a cruising boat to be
operating in no-visibility conditions in congested areas.

In the Northwest, the fog often come to you, rather than the other
way around. When it does arrive, it is nice to be able to get out
of the way of the 300-ft, 17-knot ferry on a fixed schedule.

Mark Borgerson