Radar

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Terry Cox

Terry Cox

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Dec 25, 2000
6,052
Hunter Passage 42 Shelter Bay, WA
Rob, depending upon whether you want...

radar detection closer to the boat or farther away high on the mast may not be such a good idea. What does the radar installation manual say as far as best location? Mounting the antenna high on the mast may give you maximum range, but it may also create a blind spot closer to the boat where detection can become more important. Many skippers prefer to mount theirs on a transom pole so as not to become an obstacle during tack changes. Terry
 
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Jerry Clark H356 SV Persistence

Mast mount

I have a 2KW Raymarine radar located on the mast without a gimbal mount. You don't need the gimbal, the mast mount does give you better range and still allows very close in to the boat. I can see targets about 50 feet from the mast in any direction. If you haven't seen the target before then, it is probably too late anyway. Much of this discussion is very academic as in reality, both work well and the differences in each are too subtle for most people to see the difference. I have used stern pole mounted systems and I prefer the mast because it eliminates much of the sea clutter you get with waves when the antenna is down lower. Adding the chartplotter overlay is night and day for most people and you can be fairly sure of your target. I would highly recommend it.
 
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Windwalker

Radar while heeling

The vertical spread of the radar beam is typically 30 to 40 degrees, meaning that even if you are at 20 degrees heel, you're still sending a beam down to the water on the upwind side. And on the lee side, you are still sending a portion of the beam above the horizon. That seems to match up with others practical user comments stating radar performance isn't adversely affected when heeling without a gimbaled radome mount.
 
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Smitty

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Sep 16, 2005
108
Cal 28-2 Milford, CT
Similar questions

My Cal 28 came with a Furuno 1621(??) radar mounted on a Questus mount (backstay/gimballed) with the display mountable on the cabin top (under the dodger). The removable display is a great idea, but I think it contributes to the intermittent operation, and I can't see it from the helm. It's also in the way of some of the cockpit led sail controls. The radar works intermittently and I'm considering replacing it and my old Signet instruments(wind, speed, depth) with a Raymarine system comprised of ST 60 instruments, radar, gps and E80 multi display. Here's a couple of questions/issues that I'm looking for advice on: 1) Is there any reason not to reuse the Questus mount for the radar? I've heard some suggest that the gimballing and attendant cable flexing will eventually break the cable to the radar. I've also heard that this mount can cause backstay issues. Any truth to either of these? 2) I'd really like to put the E80 on the pedestal guard (either Edson or other mounting). The question is: will that work and still allow decent visibility over/around/under the display? The mate is only about 5' tall while I'm 6' 2" tall. I really like the idea of having all the stuff available at the helm, but I really don't want to completely screw up visibility. The pedestal guard that came on the boat is the same height as the top of the wheel. So, I would probably have to replace it with a new higher guard. The only guards available from Edson are 54" high. That's almost too tall. Can they be cut before installing? Last question: should I have started a new thread for this? Or, is this the right way to ask this question?
 
Fred Ficarra

Fred Ficarra

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Dec 2, 2003
4,245
- - Seabeck WA
Who cares? Welcome

You don't have to buy your guard from Edson. Any rail shop will make one for you exactly how you want it for a lot less cash. Mine is custom.
 
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Alchemist

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Mar 31, 2004
244
Catalina 380 T Holland
A Rail Shop is a stainless steel fabricator

All you need is the stainless pipe (depending on what footings and pedestal bracket you have, it's probably 1" or 1.25" diameter tubing), a jig to bend it around, and a design. Basically, any stainless shop could make you one. Steve Alchemist
 
Fred Ficarra

Fred Ficarra

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Dec 2, 2003
4,245
- - Seabeck WA
They make anything having to do with boat rails.

I would try the phone book first and then a google. One of our Puget Sound shops is called Railmakers. They bent the guard for me. They also built my radar arch.
 
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Smitty

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Sep 16, 2005
108
Cal 28-2 Milford, CT
Thanks - Now how about

the Questus mount and visibility questions. Is the Questus really a bad thing, and how hard is it to see around pedestal mounted (large) instruments? -Smitty
 
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