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Technique for avoiding collision with floating debris......

Interesting.
Model? Antenna height?

Thanks

Brian W

On Fri, 21 Nov 2003 15:05:44 -0800, "Tom Dacon"
wrote:

The stuff is so low in the water that it can't be picked up by radar. A
debris object would have to be nearly as large as your boat to set off any
radar collision alarm..

This hasn't been my experience. In calm inner waters, such as the inland
passage along the west coast of Canada, radar when set to short range can
commonly pick up a log or the top of a deadhead if it breaks the water's
surface, and it will routinely pick up a seagull standing on top of it. In
fact, I've even seen it pick up the riffles from a tidal rip.

Tom Dacon

Technique for avoiding collision with floating debris......

Maybe on a dead calm sea.

"Tom Dacon" wrote in message
...

The stuff is so low in the water that it can't be picked up by radar. A
debris object would have to be nearly as large as your boat to set off
any
radar collision alarm..

This hasn't been my experience. In calm inner waters, such as the inland
passage along the west coast of Canada, radar when set to short range can
commonly pick up a log or the top of a deadhead if it breaks the water's
surface, and it will routinely pick up a seagull standing on top of it. In
fact, I've even seen it pick up the riffles from a tidal rip.

Tom Dacon

Technique for avoiding collision with floating debris......

while sailing. Stuff like containers that fell off of freighters will show up on
RADAR. No matter what, there is never any substitute for paying attention. I

not if they're submerged just below the surface....

Technique for avoiding collision with floating debris......

Even if your radar will pick up such a low profile object, how would you be
able to set an alarm to such a low threshole and not get false trigger from
the just a slight chop.

Your radar has better sensitivity than mine.. I would be happy if I could
see a mooring bouy when coming into an anchorage at night.

Steve
s/v Good Intentions

Technique for avoiding collision with floating debris......

For boats w/out a bowsprit, a good thick strip of SS, say 3/16 x 1 (or
1-1/2), running down the stem from below the forestay fitting to the
curve of the forefoot would help reduce damage. Would also help when
indulging in a little "Chicago parking" into concrete docks at a couple
knots... g

Bowsprits usually have a stay (correct name escapes me at the moment)
down to the water line. In this case you could run the SS strip from the
lower end of the stay down the forefoot, but if you charged into
anything above the water, you'd catch 'sprit stay. Probably the strip
would still help, though.

Rufus

Jeff Morris wrote:
Avoidance strategies might reduce the odds of collision somewhat, but not enough to
consider the risk eliminated. Radar, for instance, might work in some conditions, but not
all.

This leaves two approaches: one, which has been discussed, is preparing to handle the
damage efficiently. I'd be curious what percentage of collision damages event can be
handled with a collision mat, and how many required abandoning ship. Clearly, when the
damage is too severe, most vessels will sink like the proverbial stone, but there are
certain levels of damage where a mat will save the day.

The third approach is to reduce the odds of the vessel sinking, with positive floatation
and/or collision bulkheads. Multihulls have an advantage, since they don't have the dead
weight of the keel, and the hulls are shaped to facilitate flotation chambers. But any
relatively light vessel can be made reasonably unsinkable. One can make a case that
floatation bags are a better investment than a liferaft.