Radar Dome locations

[mikeandanne]

I have noticed a lot of boats with radar mounted on the front of the fly bridge coaming....now it seems that in bad weather would you not want to be where you could see the best then would you not be in the beam path , or am I missing something. Now a few of the boats had no lower helm and the radar instal appeared to be factory on the front of the bridge.

Could someone who has used radar explain this as it seems confusing and seems to be downright dangerous...Mike

[comodave]

Putting the dome on the front of the bridge coaming is not ideal. You do not want the dome located where the beam will hit your eyes or your groin if you want further children... Also, one of my boats had it mounted there and I had a blind spot to the rear of the boat. I mounted a mast on that boat and moved the radar dome up onto the mast. On my F32, I installed a radar arch and put the dome up there.

[prowlersfish]

Agreed . Its a poor location . And it is I believe against most radar manufactures installation guide lines . you use to see it a lot . I don't believe any boat builders are installing them like this at least I hope not.

[gitchisum]

Agree with both comments. I see this on most great lakes boats, I think most reason that if radar is needed, you will be driving from lower helm. Plus it is a much cheaper install!!

My F-26 with a FB was like that, and I did not run the radar while I was up there. My F-32 now has a full arch.

[prowlersfish]

I think the main reason you see them there is that it is easy and cheaper to do so . I mainly see it with older radars on of course older boats . So maybe its before they knew better ?? I have always put it on my hard tops . and was a big reason I built a had top for my F30 clean machine .


Mike , you said factory installed . Are you seeing them install on new boats this way down there ? I personally want to be on the fly in bad visibility (t I never use my lower helm ) . But many folks don't use the fly at all or rarely use it .

[bjanakos]

Agree with both comments. I see this on most great lakes boats, I think most reason that if radar is needed, you will be driving from lower helm. Plus it is a much cheaper install!!

My F-26 with a FB was like that, and I did not run the radar while I was up there. My F-32 now has a full arch.

'Tis true. Many Great Lakers rarely use radar unless it's fog, heavy rain, or dark. Uses way too much battery power when trilling around on 1 motor.

[mikeandanne]

I think the main reason you see them there is that it is easy and cheaper to do so . I mainly see it with older radars on of course older boats . So maybe its before they knew better ?? I have always put it on my hard tops . and was a big reason I built a had top for my F30 clean machine .


Mike , you said factory installed . Are you seeing them install on new boats this way down there ? I personally want to be on the fly in bad visibility (t I never use my lower helm ) . But many folks don't use the fly at all or rarely use it .

The boats that got me thinking are the ones with the fake front windows, so no lower helm and soft tops with no arch....these were 90's and exactly the same install,small open array, maybe an assumption on my part about being factory maybe just coincidence ....with that setup you have no choice. Completely agree with running the boat from the bridge . I used mine to go to gas dock once and to work on engines.

Never look at new boats...Too Shiny!!!!

Can the radar be set to just see ahead and not send to the rear so that type of install would better???

[prowlersfish]

Never look at new boats...Too Shiny!!!!

100% agree

Can the radar be set to just see ahead and not send to the rear so that type of install would better???

No , at least on the ones I have used ( and seen mounted like we are talking about )

BTW Are you looking at radar ?

[Paul]

Radar on the arch on my 26'. Great range and 360°.

[mikeandanne]

BTW Are you looking at radar ?

Not specifically the radar but the boats under them, that being said I don't mind learning as much as I can as I have no experience with it.....Mike

Nice boat other Paul....very,very clean.

[captainmaniac]

There are lots of reasons for radar, not just bad weather operation from below. I have had foggy days on the lake with visibility < 500 ft where I was operating from up top, but being able to 'see' around me would still be good. When you can't see more than 500' in any direction but can hear waves breaking, you wanna know why!!! Is it a boat pushing water? Is it shoreline? Is it a breakwall or pier sticking out into the lake? Based on where I thought I was, I thought I was in the clear. It turned out to be a shoreline extension (that I saw about 150' away and killed throttles from 1500rpm to idle), so apparently I wasn't as far offshore as I thought I was based on the compass course I had been steering.

Seeing 360degrees is good. If you are at anchor or trolling, you will be able to see what is coming up on you from behind. Freighters aren't a big fan of going around the little guys...

Mount it high. Mount it central. Get the best view you possibly can - otherwise you are wasting your money. You can't lose if make sure you have the best info available about what's going on around you, unless you ignore it.

[bjanakos]

Paul,

Where did you find that radar arch? I'd like to do something similar with my hardtop, but not quite that tall. I am looking for something to support a dome, GPS, a couple of antennas, and a mast head light without having to make so many cuts into my hard top.

[Paul]

It's home made. I had a local hyrdaulics shop bend the tube for me (Ø1.25" 304 Stainless) to the dimensions that I requested, then had a waterjet shop cut a center plate for the radar mount and the flanges for the foot mounts. I did all the notching, fitting and welding myself.

[P-Dogg]

Since the discussion is no longer simply about radar dome locations.....

Making the most of radar takes practice. You should use it all of the time so you get practice seeing out the windshield what information the radar is showing on the display. Plus it is the law* of the land. From the COLREGS:

(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.




*Strictly speaking, it is a regulation.

[bjanakos]

Making the most of radar takes practice. You should use it all of the time so you get practice seeing out the windshield what information the radar is showing on the display. Plus it is the law* of the land. From the COLREGS:

(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.

*Strictly speaking, it is a regulation.

And the train comes off the rails in 3... 2... 1...

This one comes up on "The Dull Truth" as nausea.

The term "Proper use" has a broad definition and rule 5 supersedes it by stating "available means appropriate in the prevailing circumstances and conditions " If the captain decides that running the array at idle speed on one motor puts the boat at risk of draining batteries, it's his call. Agreed, one SHOULD use it, but is not required to given certain circumstances (unless the vessel is over 1600GT).