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Navigational Aids, in the past, but that has largely been replaced by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

In article .com,
"Wilbur Hubbard" wrote:

He's a commercial fisherman if I've got him pegged. I bet even your
precious Bruce Gordon is not enamored of recreational vessels constantly
in his way mucking up the works. You seem to be forgetting that
recreation is LOW PRIORITY so stop selfishly interfering with commerce
with your toys. Have a little human decency.

Wilbur Hubbard

You peg folks like you sail Wilbur..... I am reTIRED these days, and I
have fished commercially only for ONE day in my entire life. I come to
the Marine Electronics World from two directions. I am the LAST of the
Alaska Cannery Radiomen. I spent a career outfitting, and build
Communications Systems for the North Pacific Fishing Fleet. I had a
second career with the Federal Communications Commission, as a Resident
Field Agent for Alaska, where I was a Regulator, of all things RF for
the State. Nice guess though....

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

I cruise BC waters 11months a year. Chart plotters don't show me where other boats are, nor floating debris. Only a radar can do that on a dark rainy or foggy nite. I rarely need my radar, but when I do , its a real blessing.
When I finished high school, it would have taken a years wages to buy a radar, Now it's a couple of weeks wages, less work time than it used to cost to buy a depth sounder.
Coming back to BC from Tonga a few years ago, I sailed into Ucluelet in pea soup fog. Between radar and GPS it was a carefree breeze. 20 years ago I would have had to change my shorts several times in the same situation.
The peace of mind is worth the cost ,many times over.

On Mon, 5 Sep 2011 19:18:19 -0400, "Wilbur Hubbard"
wrote:


For the most part they wasted their money.

Why do I say this? It's because most of the so-called cruisers don't do
much in the way of cruising. To wit: Capt. Skippy who has been on the
hard for close to 9 months now and the little time he did spend cruising
he was rarely out of range of wi-fi and the Internet where he could pull
up radar images from powerful ground-based radar to inform him of storms
closing in. Why, I can pull up radar images from the Miami radar and see
storms approaching from miles away on my iPod.

Skippy, like most of todays so-called sailors ,doesn't need radar aboard
any more than they need sails as little as they use either. All they
really need is a diesel engine and Internet access. About 99% of the
time they have both. That's all they really need to stay happy. That and
plenty of spliff or rum.

LOL!

Wilbur Hubbard


You are absolutely correct - a waste of money......

But then, willie-boy, r.b.c's resident fool has never cruised at all.
Cheers,

Bruce