"Eisboch" wrote in message
. ..

"Gene Kearns" wrote in message
...


LD wrote:
After reading through the posts and although I think RADAR is way over
kill
for me, I have a few additional suggestions

Good suggestions, but if there is the potential for the necessity of
transiting narrow and/or busy inlets or other passages in poor
visibility, RADAR is money well spent.

We've never regretted having those "extra eyes."



I agree and am a little surprised that "LD" thinks it's an overkill. Not
only for busy inlets, but for crawling your way back home in pea soup
without running into others that don't have radar or other objects
floating in the water like lobster pot floats with lines that just love to
wrap around your props. I'd agree that if your boating is restricted to
immediate coastlines and inland rivers, the need isn't as great, although
you can still get into trouble if the heavy fog develops. I know I did
once in a 17' center console. I was only 100 yards off shore of Scituate,
MA, a heavy fog developed in a matter of minutes, and I spent an hour
trying to find the harbor channel markers while avoiding submerged and not
so submerged rocks in 4-6 foot breakers. Visibility was about 25 feet.
It wasn't fun.

Another note about fog. It doesn't necessarily "roll in". It can develop
without warning if the temperature, dew point and barometric pressure
combine in the right conditions to produce it. I've seen it go from
crystal clear to pea soup in a matter of minutes, usually when the
barometric pressure suddenly drops quickly due to an approaching front and
the water vapor in the atmosphere condenses.

I am not suggesting that every small boat should have radar, but those
situations *do* occur. If you do a lot of boating and it hasn't happened
yet ..... it will.

You don't need a super, high powered, 60 mile radar to avoid collisions or
running over stuff in the water. I think JVC and others make a reasonably
priced unit with plenty of range.

Radar. Don't leave the dock without it.

Eisboch


Conditions may vary depending on where one boats. We do not see the fog
events on Lake Erie as you see in the NE Atlantic. The need for radar also
depends on the type of boating one does.

I had radar on my 32 footer and used it mainly to monitor possible
approaching storms. We only made daytime crossings and I kept an eye on
weather and sea conditions.....if they were not favorable, we would not
travel.

The majority of boaters on Lake Erie do not travel by night and the majority
do not have radar.

The key piece of hardware I used most was my gps/chartplotter, something I
would consider more practical in my area than radar.

BTW: True or false - If you have a radar unit does it always *have* to be
on when underway?

"JimH" wrote in message
...


Conditions may vary depending on where one boats. We do not see the fog
events on Lake Erie as you see in the NE Atlantic. The need for radar
also depends on the type of boating one does.

I had radar on my 32 footer and used it mainly to monitor possible
approaching storms. We only made daytime crossings and I kept an eye on
weather and sea conditions.....if they were not favorable, we would not
travel.

The majority of boaters on Lake Erie do not travel by night and the
majority do not have radar.

The key piece of hardware I used most was my gps/chartplotter, something I
would consider more practical in my area than radar.

BTW: True or false - If you have a radar unit does it always *have* to be
on when underway?


True, although often debated. Rule 7 of Navigation rules, to quote:

"Radar is not required on vessels under 1600 GT (Title 33 CFR part 164.35),
however, Rule 7 states that proper use shall be made of radar equipment if
fitted and operational."

In other words, whoever has one must use it.

And I guess I agree with your view regarding different boating areas.

Eisboch

"Eisboch" wrote in message
. ..

Screwed that up. Here's Rule 7:

a) Every vessel shall use all available means appropriate to the
prevailing circumstances and conditions to determine if risk of collision
exists. If there is any doubt such risk shall be deemed to exist.
(b) Proper use shall be made of radar equipment if fitted and
operational, including long-range scanning to obtain early warning of risk
of collision and radar plotting or equivalent systematic observation of
detected objects.

(c) Assumptions shall not be made on the basis of scanty information,
especially scanty radar information.

(d) In determining if risk of collision exists the following
considerations shall be among those taken into account:

1.. Such risk shall be deemed to exist if the compass bearing of an
approaching vessel does not appreciably change;
2.. Such risk may sometimes exist even when an appreciable bearing
change is evident, particularly when approaching a very large vessel or a
tow or when approaching a vessel at close range.

"Eisboch" wrote in message
. ..

"JimH" wrote in message
...


Conditions may vary depending on where one boats. We do not see the fog
events on Lake Erie as you see in the NE Atlantic. The need for radar
also depends on the type of boating one does.

I had radar on my 32 footer and used it mainly to monitor possible
approaching storms. We only made daytime crossings and I kept an eye on
weather and sea conditions.....if they were not favorable, we would not
travel.

The majority of boaters on Lake Erie do not travel by night and the
majority do not have radar.

The key piece of hardware I used most was my gps/chartplotter, something
I would consider more practical in my area than radar.

BTW: True or false - If you have a radar unit does it always *have* to
be on when underway?


True, although often debated. Rule 7 of Navigation rules, to quote:

"Radar is not required on vessels under 1600 GT (Title 33 CFR part
164.35), however, Rule 7 states that proper use shall be made of radar
equipment if fitted and operational."

In other words, whoever has one must use it.

And I guess I agree with your view regarding different boating areas.

Eisboch


Yep. At least COLREG Rule 7 would suggest that:
http://www.boatsafe.com/nauticalknow...g/colregs.html

"Eisboch" wrote in message
...

"Don White" wrote in message
...


That's right... no radar on any boat I sailed on... and sometimes we were
in pea soup fog.
We would take a bearing just before entering the fog bank and then
calculated our course.



And cross your fingers that nobody else crossed your path.

Although, a sailboat in heavy fog probably isn't moving very fast.

Eisboch

Plus..on a sailboat you can hear everything...and we do sound our horn 1
long & 2 short blasts every two minutes.

"Short Wave Sportfishing" wrote in message
m...
Don White wrote:
"Short Wave Sportfishing" wrote in message
m...
Steve wrote:
On Sat, 10 Feb 2007 12:29:41 -0500, "LD"
wrote:

After reading through the posts and although I think RADAR is way over
kill
for me, I have a few additional suggestions
As long as you don't head out when the forcast is already bad, you'll
be fine without radar. I'd say probably less than 10% of the boats
transiting my home inlet, a fairly hazardous one as far as inlets in
that area go, have radar.
Where would that be?

That's right... no radar on any boat I sailed on... and sometimes we were
in pea soup fog.
We would take a bearing just before entering the fog bank and then
calculated our course.

Well, you are Canadian.

Compliments aren't going to get you anywhere......

Don White wrote:
"Short Wave Sportfishing" wrote in message
m...
Don White wrote:
"Short Wave Sportfishing" wrote in message
m...
Steve wrote:
On Sat, 10 Feb 2007 12:29:41 -0500, "LD"
wrote:

After reading through the posts and although I think RADAR is way over
kill
for me, I have a few additional suggestions
As long as you don't head out when the forcast is already bad, you'll
be fine without radar. I'd say probably less than 10% of the boats
transiting my home inlet, a fairly hazardous one as far as inlets in
that area go, have radar.
Where would that be?
That's right... no radar on any boat I sailed on... and sometimes we were
in pea soup fog.
We would take a bearing just before entering the fog bank and then
calculated our course.
Well, you are Canadian.

Compliments aren't going to get you anywhere......

It wasn't a compliment. :)