I finally finished installing my new (first) radar on Monday afternoon. Yesterday was sunny and relatively calm and so I decided to take Shibumi out to see what things looked like on a radar screen. Interesting! Happily the shorelines on our islands are for the most part steep to and easy to pick out on the radar screen. However, we also have about a zillion little islets and rocks sticking up that are hard to separate from navigation buoys and boats. Sure the boats move and the rocks and buoys don't. But when Shibumi is underway, the relative positions of the rocks change, making it look like they are moving on the radar screen. I could easily pick out on radar the boats that I could see, but I'm not sure how well I could have distinguished them from rocks if there had been a pea soup fog and they were invisible to the eye. Everything is easier to see when the range is set close in. However, that also gives you less reaction time when the Washington State Ferry is bearing down on your at 18 knots. Anybody have some suggestions for a newbie radar user? Thanks. Gary Wyngarden S/V Shibumi H335
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Daniel Jonas
Radar
Gary, Keep the radar on often when it is clear. You will get a better feel for it over time. Also spend some time relating what you see to the chart. If you have radar that will chart overlay, that helps you see the relationship better also. Generally, bouys deliver a pretty good return. Also spend some time moving back and forth on the zoom. Learning exactly how the system works when it is nice out makes it that much more comfortable when it is not. Also, keep in mind that radar by itself will not provide all that you need in low visibility conditions. You need to keep a position, know the waters and have good charts, and proceed with caution. If your radar is below, you can also practice by having a reliable and qualified person at the wheel follow your commands. You don't get to look outside or come up. Try taking the boat all the way into port this way. We have performed the same practice in advanced offshore classes, it can be a real confidence builder. Obviously, the person at the wheel should keep you safe. Dan Jonas (S/V Feije II)
Gary, Keep the radar on often when it is clear. You will get a better feel for it over time. Also spend some time relating what you see to the chart. If you have radar that will chart overlay, that helps you see the relationship better also. Generally, bouys deliver a pretty good return. Also spend some time moving back and forth on the zoom. Learning exactly how the system works when it is nice out makes it that much more comfortable when it is not. Also, keep in mind that radar by itself will not provide all that you need in low visibility conditions. You need to keep a position, know the waters and have good charts, and proceed with caution. If your radar is below, you can also practice by having a reliable and qualified person at the wheel follow your commands. You don't get to look outside or come up. Try taking the boat all the way into port this way. We have performed the same practice in advanced offshore classes, it can be a real confidence builder. Obviously, the person at the wheel should keep you safe. Dan Jonas (S/V Feije II)
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Bryce Grefe
radar trainer
Gary, I bought a program called radar trainer by starpath a few years ago. It runs on a pc and allows you to see relative motion as the radar does and also allows you to put a down looking screen beside it. It was tremendously helpful in putting things into perspective. Has numerous training exercises available. Did 4 days of pea soup on the ME coast last year and was quite comfortable. Think I got it for around $75 at a boat show special. Bryce S/V Spellbinder H410
Gary, I bought a program called radar trainer by starpath a few years ago. It runs on a pc and allows you to see relative motion as the radar does and also allows you to put a down looking screen beside it. It was tremendously helpful in putting things into perspective. Has numerous training exercises available. Did 4 days of pea soup on the ME coast last year and was quite comfortable. Think I got it for around $75 at a boat show special. Bryce S/V Spellbinder H410
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Carl and Juliana Dupre
Companion Chartplotter
Hi, Gary. We are radar newbies this spring also. We have sailed on boats with radar before, and there are times when the radar image can indeed be very hard to interpret. Daniel's got it right; practice. We plan to spend a good deal of time in clear weather learning to calibrate the radar image to visual reality. That's great for local daysailing where you see the same thing every day, but not a lot of help for times when you are away from home waters. As far as we are concerned, there is no substitute for a companion chartplotter, and the ideal, as Daniel said, is direct radar / chart overlay on the same screen. Both Furuno and Raymarine sell overlay units, but the price is about twice what you and we already paid for our straight radars. We looked long and hard at these when we were shopping. For a bunch of reasons we ended up buying straight radar (no chart overlay) along with a separate Garmin 176C chartplotter mounted right alongside the radar screen. Side- by-side isn't as good as direct overlay, but it's a huge step up from trying to go with the radar image alone. BTW, if you do go hunting for a chartplotter, be sure to get one that offers both "North up" and "track up" orientation capability; for best comparison to a radar image, you will want the "track up" view. Most current vintage radars will also take NMEA input; buy the connector cable and run the wires, and the radar screen will display GPS waypoints. This will also help image calibration. 'Syzygy' is supposed to splash next week. We can't wait!! Then we can start practicing with our new radar! Carl and Jule s/v 'Syzygy'
Hi, Gary. We are radar newbies this spring also. We have sailed on boats with radar before, and there are times when the radar image can indeed be very hard to interpret. Daniel's got it right; practice. We plan to spend a good deal of time in clear weather learning to calibrate the radar image to visual reality. That's great for local daysailing where you see the same thing every day, but not a lot of help for times when you are away from home waters. As far as we are concerned, there is no substitute for a companion chartplotter, and the ideal, as Daniel said, is direct radar / chart overlay on the same screen. Both Furuno and Raymarine sell overlay units, but the price is about twice what you and we already paid for our straight radars. We looked long and hard at these when we were shopping. For a bunch of reasons we ended up buying straight radar (no chart overlay) along with a separate Garmin 176C chartplotter mounted right alongside the radar screen. Side- by-side isn't as good as direct overlay, but it's a huge step up from trying to go with the radar image alone. BTW, if you do go hunting for a chartplotter, be sure to get one that offers both "North up" and "track up" orientation capability; for best comparison to a radar image, you will want the "track up" view. Most current vintage radars will also take NMEA input; buy the connector cable and run the wires, and the radar screen will display GPS waypoints. This will also help image calibration. 'Syzygy' is supposed to splash next week. We can't wait!! Then we can start practicing with our new radar! Carl and Jule s/v 'Syzygy'
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larry w.
Radar
Gary; Congrats on your new purchase. I hope you mounted the screen at the helm. If you do any singlehanding at all, you'll want the screen where you can see it from the wheel. It's no fun to keep dashing below. Read the owners/users manual thoroughly and keep it handy for reference. Use the radar in clear weather. I've found on my unit, Raytheon ST50, that I like the manually set levels for gain, sea, etc. The more you use it, the more comfortable you'll be with it. Good luck.
Gary; Congrats on your new purchase. I hope you mounted the screen at the helm. If you do any singlehanding at all, you'll want the screen where you can see it from the wheel. It's no fun to keep dashing below. Read the owners/users manual thoroughly and keep it handy for reference. Use the radar in clear weather. I've found on my unit, Raytheon ST50, that I like the manually set levels for gain, sea, etc. The more you use it, the more comfortable you'll be with it. Good luck.
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Dan
More
Good comments from all. Practice the manual settings in the clear for awhile. You can filter out the smaller boats pretty easy just trying to clear up the sea returns. Getting the gain just right takes some practice and maybe some luck. I agree that the radar should be at the helm. Our display happens to be below, but we repeat to the helm. Color helps a lot also. We do have the chart overlay, and even the MARPA function. If yours is at the helm, you can only practice by covering yourself up. Like in aviation, make sure you have a good check pilot. What we notice is that the larger ships and local ferries are pretty easy to spot. Many of the bouys give really good returns, some even an enhanced return (you will know that when you see it). What gets hard sometimes is to see the small little power or sail boats, or the small fishing runabouts that are around here so often. Spend some time looking at those in the clear as you encounter them. Dan Jonas (S/V Feije II)
Good comments from all. Practice the manual settings in the clear for awhile. You can filter out the smaller boats pretty easy just trying to clear up the sea returns. Getting the gain just right takes some practice and maybe some luck. I agree that the radar should be at the helm. Our display happens to be below, but we repeat to the helm. Color helps a lot also. We do have the chart overlay, and even the MARPA function. If yours is at the helm, you can only practice by covering yourself up. Like in aviation, make sure you have a good check pilot. What we notice is that the larger ships and local ferries are pretty easy to spot. Many of the bouys give really good returns, some even an enhanced return (you will know that when you see it). What gets hard sometimes is to see the small little power or sail boats, or the small fishing runabouts that are around here so often. Spend some time looking at those in the clear as you encounter them. Dan Jonas (S/V Feije II)
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