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... ).

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?

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)

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)?

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?

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

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

Lloyd Sumpter
"Far Cove" Catalina 36