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

Considering buying a radar, so I have a few questions:

1. On a sailboat, where do you put the display? I rarely steer from behind
the
wheel, mainly by sitting on one of the gunwales beside the wheel, or
sometimes
by Otto while hiding from the rain under the dodger (hence the
name... ).

Ours is in the pilothouse such that it can be seen from inside
or from the outside. I've seen many that are mounted on a
swing arm such that it can be swung into the companionway.

2. Realistically, how far do you set the max range? I'm seeing that unless
I
mount the antenna up the mast, I'm not gonna get more than maybe 10 miles
range
no matter what unit I buy. Then again, if I see a freighter steaming at 30
knots, 10 miles away, I still have 20 minutes to do something. Is a
20-mile
range worth getting?

The long range is nice for tracking storms. I usually keep ours
set at 3 or 4 miles while cruising.

3. Do you trust yours enough to use it instead of a "watch" (ie watch the
radar
screen instead of where you're going)? Trying to decide if getting a radar
will
increase my cruising time significantly (ie more confidence in running at
night)

It's no substitute for a proper watch, just an adjunct. I do feel
alot more secure at night with it there.

4. I see a "guard zone alarm" but no "constant-bearing alarm". Why not?
wouldn't
a constant-bearing alarm be far more useful (and not that hard to
implement)?

Mine not fancy enough for either. I can see that a constant
bearing alarm would be nice though.

5. I'm looking at the Furuno 1623 or 1712, or the JRC 1000. I have a
Furuno
GP-31 GPS and I'm impressed by the quality (also, probably 90% of
commercial
boats around here have Furuno radars). Any comments?

Ours is a Furuno and works very well. It came with the boat and
so kind of old.

6. Is it worth while to mount the antenna up the mast, or should I use a
"dedicated" mast at the transom?

Ours is mounted on an arch. Works very well.

That's all for now...dreaming on a dull winter's day...

Lloyd Sumpter
"Far Cove" Catalina 36