"Daniel E. Best" wrote in message
news:2xwEb.600052$Fm2.547268@attbi_s04...
On a swing out arm in the companion way.

That's what I'd like to do too. Did you make yours yourself or are ready
made items available? If so, could you point me to the site?

x-no-archive:yes


"Ric" wrote:

I'd get the same make of radar as your chartplotter. Partly because the
knobology will be the same between the two instruments, and partly because
they will talk to each other better. I have a Raymarine chartplotter and
bought a Furuno radar, and they won't properly share NMEA data - both
manufacturers blame the other half for the incompatibility. I bought Furuno
because all my research showed that they are fabulously reliable (and my
personal experience has confirmed this) but I still wish I'd bought
Raymarine because of the knobology and compatibility issues.

We don't have a chart plotter, and the only things I have 'talking' to
each other are the GPS and the computer charting system. I don't have
the GPS working with the autopilot or the radar. I don't have the
radar working with the GPS or anything else - and I don't intend to do
so. Maybe I'm a Luddite, but for what we do, I don't see the need for
it. The autopilot steers much better than I do, but with all the
non-charted obstacles in coastal waters we can't set it and forget it
anyway.

I'm not sure I know what a chart plotter is, except that it seems like
a lower tech kind of computer charting ???

I have a sailing boat, and I have my radar inside. It would be much more
useful on the outside, but the downside is that it would be exposed to sun,
salt and getting wacked by ropes etc. I have on my list of things to do to

If I was exposed to sun, salt and getting wacked by ropes in our
cockpit, I wouldn't go there either. AFA sun goes - I know too many
people who can't go out in their boats anymore because of skin cancer.
I don't want to be wacked by ropes either. Fortunately I'm waterproof
and the salt will wash off.

make a swinging arm that in is parked position holds the radar on the inside
above the chart-table, but on its swung position holds the radar in the
companionway where I could see it from the helm.

I've seen this done a couple of times. Seems to work well, although I
guess you'd have to have a remote so change scale etc.

Stick the radar halfway up the mast. If you have a rear gantry it is better
there, especially if gimballed. The nominal range of the smaller Furuno,
Raymarine and JRC radars is about 12 miles but in practise they are only
really reliable over about 5 miles. They will pick out land over a greater
distance, but that is not really helpful. Ships are the danger, and they are
only really visible at about 4-5 miles.


grandma Rosalie

x-no-archive:yes


"Ric" wrote:

I'd get the same make of radar as your chartplotter. Partly because the
knobology will be the same between the two instruments, and partly because
they will talk to each other better. I have a Raymarine chartplotter and
bought a Furuno radar, and they won't properly share NMEA data - both
manufacturers blame the other half for the incompatibility. I bought Furuno
because all my research showed that they are fabulously reliable (and my
personal experience has confirmed this) but I still wish I'd bought
Raymarine because of the knobology and compatibility issues.

We don't have a chart plotter, and the only things I have 'talking' to
each other are the GPS and the computer charting system. I don't have
the GPS working with the autopilot or the radar. I don't have the
radar working with the GPS or anything else - and I don't intend to do
so. Maybe I'm a Luddite, but for what we do, I don't see the need for
it. The autopilot steers much better than I do, but with all the
non-charted obstacles in coastal waters we can't set it and forget it
anyway.

I'm not sure I know what a chart plotter is, except that it seems like
a lower tech kind of computer charting ???

I have a sailing boat, and I have my radar inside. It would be much more
useful on the outside, but the downside is that it would be exposed to sun,
salt and getting wacked by ropes etc. I have on my list of things to do to

If I was exposed to sun, salt and getting wacked by ropes in our
cockpit, I wouldn't go there either. AFA sun goes - I know too many
people who can't go out in their boats anymore because of skin cancer.
I don't want to be wacked by ropes either. Fortunately I'm waterproof
and the salt will wash off.

make a swinging arm that in is parked position holds the radar on the inside
above the chart-table, but on its swung position holds the radar in the
companionway where I could see it from the helm.

I've seen this done a couple of times. Seems to work well, although I
guess you'd have to have a remote so change scale etc.

Stick the radar halfway up the mast. If you have a rear gantry it is better
there, especially if gimballed. The nominal range of the smaller Furuno,
Raymarine and JRC radars is about 12 miles but in practise they are only
really reliable over about 5 miles. They will pick out land over a greater
distance, but that is not really helpful. Ships are the danger, and they are
only really visible at about 4-5 miles.


grandma Rosalie

On Sat, 20 Dec 2003 19:22:10 +0100, "Ric" wrote:


I have a sailing boat, and I have my radar inside. It would be much more
useful on the outside, but the downside is that it would be exposed to sun,
salt and getting wacked by ropes etc. I have on my list of things to do to
make a swinging arm that in is parked position holds the radar on the inside
above the chart-table, but on its swung position holds the radar in the
companionway where I could see it from the helm.

I concur that it is much more useful outside. So much so that I
permanently mount it over the binnacle, on a platform wide enough to
protect it from the mainsheet.

My first radar was a Furuno 1720, a CRT radar that was not supposed to
be exposed to the weather. It was already old technology when I bought
it in 1990.

I mounted it on a sliding dovetail track that brought it into the
companionway. However, I once dismounted it and lashed it temporarily
at the helm, with plastic bags to protect it.

It was so much better there that I redid everything, making that the
only mount. I had to mount it with velcro straps whenever I used it,
and the plug for the cable stayed outside, filled with silicone
grease. I got 11 years out of that before the plug gave up.

I got a new Raytheon LCD radar (SR70, I think, anyway bottom of the
line in 2001, just before they changed the name to Raymarine).

It stays mounted. I hope it will last as long as the Furuno did, but
even if it doesn't it is worth it.

I have seen Furuno 1620s that stayed in the weather for years as well.
I don't want the PITA of dismounting it and exposing the cable
connections.

I am not pushing a brand. Both Furuno and Raymarine make fine
instruments. The choice should perhaps be made on the importance of
individual features. But, I am strongly pushing a weatherized LCD
display, mounted at the helm.



Rodney Myrvaagnes J36 Gjo/a


"In this house we _obey_ the laws of thermodynamics." --Homer Simpson

On Sat, 20 Dec 2003 19:22:10 +0100, "Ric" wrote:


I have a sailing boat, and I have my radar inside. It would be much more
useful on the outside, but the downside is that it would be exposed to sun,
salt and getting wacked by ropes etc. I have on my list of things to do to
make a swinging arm that in is parked position holds the radar on the inside
above the chart-table, but on its swung position holds the radar in the
companionway where I could see it from the helm.

I concur that it is much more useful outside. So much so that I
permanently mount it over the binnacle, on a platform wide enough to
protect it from the mainsheet.

My first radar was a Furuno 1720, a CRT radar that was not supposed to
be exposed to the weather. It was already old technology when I bought
it in 1990.

I mounted it on a sliding dovetail track that brought it into the
companionway. However, I once dismounted it and lashed it temporarily
at the helm, with plastic bags to protect it.

It was so much better there that I redid everything, making that the
only mount. I had to mount it with velcro straps whenever I used it,
and the plug for the cable stayed outside, filled with silicone
grease. I got 11 years out of that before the plug gave up.

I got a new Raytheon LCD radar (SR70, I think, anyway bottom of the
line in 2001, just before they changed the name to Raymarine).

It stays mounted. I hope it will last as long as the Furuno did, but
even if it doesn't it is worth it.

I have seen Furuno 1620s that stayed in the weather for years as well.
I don't want the PITA of dismounting it and exposing the cable
connections.

I am not pushing a brand. Both Furuno and Raymarine make fine
instruments. The choice should perhaps be made on the importance of
individual features. But, I am strongly pushing a weatherized LCD
display, mounted at the helm.



Rodney Myrvaagnes J36 Gjo/a


"In this house we _obey_ the laws of thermodynamics." --Homer Simpson

In resonse to question 2, there are two reasons to look at higher power
radars. One is to check for weather at long ranges, the other is that high
power radars can produce better imaging of targets which have a weak return,
such as kayaks, etc.

You are correct that you cannot see targets at the surface of the water very
far out. Radars advertise their range for the same reason computers
advertise their CPU clock speed. It's a hard number that's easy to
understand.

Dave

"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... ).

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

In resonse to question 2, there are two reasons to look at higher power
radars. One is to check for weather at long ranges, the other is that high
power radars can produce better imaging of targets which have a weak return,
such as kayaks, etc.

You are correct that you cannot see targets at the surface of the water very
far out. Radars advertise their range for the same reason computers
advertise their CPU clock speed. It's a hard number that's easy to
understand.

Dave

"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... ).

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