Bil Hansen wrote:
"Jeff Morris" wrote ...

Don White wrote:

Someone at our local boat show was bragging up this model
http://ca.binnacle.com/online/produc...dept%5Fid=5120

For a smaller sailboat like mine, I'd buy...
http://ca.binnacle.com/online/produc...dept%5Fid=5120



The first item, a Davis Radar reflector, is a good item. I keep one
folding up as a reserve to the Firdell mounted high on the mast. The
second, a Mobri, is considered by many to be useless. "Essential
invisible" according to the US Sailing test.

http://www.ussailing.org/safety/Stud...ector_test.htm


US Sailing and West Marine have given the Mobri bad press.

Don't forget Practical Sailor and Practical Boat Owner. And you'll find
dealer sites that advise "best suited for powerboats," presumably
because they don't work well when heeled.

So if the Mobri
reflectors are 'essentially invisible', why does the USCG specify them
(since 1998) as the internal radar reflectors for unlighted buoys?

See http://www.uscg.mil/systems/gse/gse2...ions/450-D.pdf and note

Interesting reading. However, the M3 and M4 are considerably larger
than the S2 commonly seen on small boats, and the buoys use three of
them. Also, I found no other mention of Mobri on the CG site, including
in the detailed specs for the buoys. I wonder if they are actually
used, since there are other vendors of reflectors for this purpose?

And remember, these are small, foam buoys used in inland waters. Even
the largest size only cost $5000, the smaller sizes are under $500.
These are not the steel buoys found in the ocean.

....


The USCG Ocean Engineering Division didn't specify the less expensive Davis
reflector. Funny that, eh?

Hilarious. However, I'm guessing you've never actually sailed on the
ocean, because if you had, you'd appreciated that most ocean buoys
incorporate the same design as the Davis into their fabrication. And
several sizes of the foam buoys you mention incorporate aluminum corner
reflectors instead of the cylindrical type.