LOTS OF LOW LEVEL FOG OFF OF MAINE COASTAL WATERS........NEED INSTALLATION ADVICE ON GPS/RADAR PRODUCT AND/OR COMPONENTS THAT BEST FIT 26X CONFIGURATION AT THE HELM.
GPS/RADAR
- Thread starter BLUE MAX
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are you kidding?
I've never seen radar installed on a trailerable sailboat. A good radar/chart plotter/gps setup is going to cost as much as your boat is worth. But whatever, if you're going to do it, I'd look no further than Raymarine radars and plotters. My father has the whole shebang on his J/120, and it's pretty sweet. The Raymarine instruments and GPS and radar and autopilot all integrate nicely on one display (or you can have as many separate displays or control devices as you want), and you can toggle all the layers of information on and off at a whim.
I've never seen radar installed on a trailerable sailboat. A good radar/chart plotter/gps setup is going to cost as much as your boat is worth. But whatever, if you're going to do it, I'd look no further than Raymarine radars and plotters. My father has the whole shebang on his J/120, and it's pretty sweet. The Raymarine instruments and GPS and radar and autopilot all integrate nicely on one display (or you can have as many separate displays or control devices as you want), and you can toggle all the layers of information on and off at a whim.
my $.02
My experience with GPS is it doesn't work if the sky is obscurred. i.e. fog or cloud overcast
My experience with GPS is it doesn't work if the sky is obscurred. i.e. fog or cloud overcast
cloud buster
Justin, that wasn't even worth $.02. GPS is NOT affected by cloud cover or fog. Buildings, trees, mountains, any solid surface (although my portable seems to work fine inside the cabin, so apparently it is not affected by fiberglass), can interfere witht he signal but NOT clouds or fog. You might just want to use a handheld. Love mine.
Justin, that wasn't even worth $.02. GPS is NOT affected by cloud cover or fog. Buildings, trees, mountains, any solid surface (although my portable seems to work fine inside the cabin, so apparently it is not affected by fiberglass), can interfere witht he signal but NOT clouds or fog. You might just want to use a handheld. Love mine.
Garmin
Steve, I have a Garmin etrex handheld and when it gets cloudy, I lose signal. Maybe there's something wrong with it?
Steve, I have a Garmin etrex handheld and when it gets cloudy, I lose signal. Maybe there's something wrong with it?
Yup!
Justin, My Lowrance Atlantis Handheld which is about 4 years old now has never had trouble receiving a signal in fog or through clouds and according to everything I've read that's pretty standard. I would definitely call tech support at Garmin and ask them about it.
Justin, My Lowrance Atlantis Handheld which is about 4 years old now has never had trouble receiving a signal in fog or through clouds and according to everything I've read that's pretty standard. I would definitely call tech support at Garmin and ask them about it.
thanks
Sorry for taking the thread off course. In the effort to help the original poster the subject was helpful to me. I am working with Garmin to fix my problem
Sorry for taking the thread off course. In the effort to help the original poster the subject was helpful to me. I am working with Garmin to fix my problem
go GPS
Radar is hard to set up and have work well on sail boats, especially small sail boats. I have several hand held GPS's and one mounted GPS in my power boat. On the Macs the best seems to be my Lowrance H20c. It will hook upwith an auto pilot, and or a dcs vhf radio. Has color charts. The whole US and northern carribian chart package only costs $99, un like the $99 a section you get with the garman products. Has a good built in base map, I use traveling all over the US. Even the base map charts are good enough for most sailing. It gets good battery life (12 hours on 2 AA) and comes with the power cord to plug into a 12V plug (cigarette lighter plug). A GPS can help keep you in the channel, and help from not being able to get bearrings, but I still keep a DR on paper charts too. Just have to use my ears for collision avoidance with other vessels, and sound the proper signals my self. Do check out the Lowrance products before dropping your hard earned bucks on the Garman, I think you will find you get a lot more bang for the buck. The cheapest place I have found the Lowrance (Garman too) is at Caballas sporting goods stores.
Radar is hard to set up and have work well on sail boats, especially small sail boats. I have several hand held GPS's and one mounted GPS in my power boat. On the Macs the best seems to be my Lowrance H20c. It will hook upwith an auto pilot, and or a dcs vhf radio. Has color charts. The whole US and northern carribian chart package only costs $99, un like the $99 a section you get with the garman products. Has a good built in base map, I use traveling all over the US. Even the base map charts are good enough for most sailing. It gets good battery life (12 hours on 2 AA) and comes with the power cord to plug into a 12V plug (cigarette lighter plug). A GPS can help keep you in the channel, and help from not being able to get bearrings, but I still keep a DR on paper charts too. Just have to use my ears for collision avoidance with other vessels, and sound the proper signals my self. Do check out the Lowrance products before dropping your hard earned bucks on the Garman, I think you will find you get a lot more bang for the buck. The cheapest place I have found the Lowrance (Garman too) is at Caballas sporting goods stores.
Try this
Blue, Some of the newer radar units have smaller radomes and are very compact. Less expensive and better power consumption. I have seen them mounted on the stern gunwales, out of play of the sail. A combo gps/radar would be perfect for your situation in fog. Also, one of the new navy radar reflectors would be a good idea. They are three-lobed and rounded and work better than the old cardboard circles. On an X you can mount electronics on arms to the side of the pedestal so that they swing out and position where you want them. Sounds like a great place to sail.
Blue, Some of the newer radar units have smaller radomes and are very compact. Less expensive and better power consumption. I have seen them mounted on the stern gunwales, out of play of the sail. A combo gps/radar would be perfect for your situation in fog. Also, one of the new navy radar reflectors would be a good idea. They are three-lobed and rounded and work better than the old cardboard circles. On an X you can mount electronics on arms to the side of the pedestal so that they swing out and position where you want them. Sounds like a great place to sail.
Do you know of a place to put in at Lake Travis
Is the water level really down about 30'?? Do you where I can put my Mac 25 in on Travis when it gets this low??Or should I just wait for the level to come back up....one day???Thanks
Is the water level really down about 30'?? Do you where I can put my Mac 25 in on Travis when it gets this low??Or should I just wait for the level to come back up....one day???Thanks
Lake Travis
I am at Lake Travis Marina (at the top of Hudson's Bend) and we still have a launching ramp that reaches the water - yes, the lake is emptying out, it is at its lowest level in six years. I do not know if they allow non-members to use it for a fee or not. If you would like me to find out, let me know. Yacht Harbor Marina charges $20 to use their ramp, but I am not sure if it is still usable or not. You might want to e-mail them through their web site. Steve Laban s/v Ebb Tide II MacGreggor 22 Lake Travis Marina Lake Travis, TX
I am at Lake Travis Marina (at the top of Hudson's Bend) and we still have a launching ramp that reaches the water - yes, the lake is emptying out, it is at its lowest level in six years. I do not know if they allow non-members to use it for a fee or not. If you would like me to find out, let me know. Yacht Harbor Marina charges $20 to use their ramp, but I am not sure if it is still usable or not. You might want to e-mail them through their web site. Steve Laban s/v Ebb Tide II MacGreggor 22 Lake Travis Marina Lake Travis, TX
Lake Travis
Today, I trailered my 26X for the first time in 8 months. The lake is now down about 25' and going down about a foot a week, maybe more. The official LCRA website says it could go down to 40'. One ramp at Keller is still wet, but it is very steep. A 4x4 was helpful. As it turns out, this is useful because I needed maintenance, but I was worried about not being able to get the boat out. One of the Keller ramps is unusable and the other is almost in the sand. I'd give is a couple of weeks, maybe. They say they are one of the deepest on the lake, but the Austin Yachting Club was also using their ramp today. (not public) Keller will let you use their ramp for $20. Let's pray for rain!
Today, I trailered my 26X for the first time in 8 months. The lake is now down about 25' and going down about a foot a week, maybe more. The official LCRA website says it could go down to 40'. One ramp at Keller is still wet, but it is very steep. A 4x4 was helpful. As it turns out, this is useful because I needed maintenance, but I was worried about not being able to get the boat out. One of the Keller ramps is unusable and the other is almost in the sand. I'd give is a couple of weeks, maybe. They say they are one of the deepest on the lake, but the Austin Yachting Club was also using their ramp today. (not public) Keller will let you use their ramp for $20. Let's pray for rain!
Lake Travis Ramps
Update: Per this evenings TV newscast, because of the low level of the lake, there are only 2 public ramps open, Mansfield Damn & Sandy Creek Parks. Reportedly, if the lake drops another 3 feet Sandy Creek will have to shut down. Steve Laban s/v Ebb Tide II MacGreggor 22 Lake Travis Marina Lake Travis, TX
Update: Per this evenings TV newscast, because of the low level of the lake, there are only 2 public ramps open, Mansfield Damn & Sandy Creek Parks. Reportedly, if the lake drops another 3 feet Sandy Creek will have to shut down. Steve Laban s/v Ebb Tide II MacGreggor 22 Lake Travis Marina Lake Travis, TX
Hey Steve
Steve, When the lake goes up again, how about if we go out sailing? Do you know of any other Macs nearby? My email is rightaway@att.net. Sorry for stealing your thread, Blue Max.
Steve, When the lake goes up again, how about if we go out sailing? Do you know of any other Macs nearby? My email is rightaway@att.net. Sorry for stealing your thread, Blue Max.
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