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Old 13-06-2016, 09:01   #16
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Re: Radar for SE USA, the Gulf, and Carribean

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They don't have to be seperate units.
They do if you have had your radar a while and it is analog, but the new systems are digital. This is the whole decision driver.
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Old 13-06-2016, 09:04   #17
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Re: Radar for SE USA, the Gulf, and Carribean

I was very glad to have radar at times in Fl and Caribe.
-Tracking waterspouts crossing the gulf stream
-tracking thunderstorms on night passage between islands in the Caribe.
-Late night arrival into a harbor, pitch black out.
-Arriving into an unfamiliar harbor with gale force winds and 10 ft seas pushing me along, hidden harbor entrance without radar.
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Old 13-06-2016, 09:09   #18
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Re: Radar for SE USA, the Gulf, and Carribean

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Originally Posted by sailorboy1 View Post
They do if you have had your radar a while and it is analog, but the new systems are digital. This is the whole decision driver.
If you've already got one and it's working, you may as well keep it, I wouldn't advocate dumping it, you'll surely be able to mount the display somewhere down below, albeit perhaps not somewhere that's very convenient/suitable, but it'll do for that once in a blue-moon moment that it could be needed. I wouldn't spend money on a new one though, or indeed in repairing the current one if/when it finally dies.
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Old 13-06-2016, 09:13   #19
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Re: Radar for SE USA, the Gulf, and Carribean

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It's a space for mounting the displays issue.
I thought you said replacing a radar? Put it in the same place or if it ain't broke don't fix it. What can you get for $1000?
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Old 13-06-2016, 09:26   #20
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Re: Radar for SE USA, the Gulf, and Carribean

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Using radar for evading squalls is good. You can also use it when it's not rainy at all.
About 10 years ago +/- we had a lot of forest fires on the middle/northern parts of the Florida east coast. We left out of Daytona northbound one morning and had to navigate by radar for about 3 hours due to the smoke lol.
Radar can come in handy even when you don't plan on it.

We encountered the same smoke conditions in 2006(?) when traveling north on the ICW. My recollection was that it was from forest fires in Georgia. We ended up tucking in close (as in really close) to the stern of another northbound that had radar (we did not have radar at that point), with the thought that if they did not run aground/crash into a dock or another boat, neither would we. At just about the time I was going to throw in the towel and anchor, the smoke cleared. Radar would have been a great asset.

We have had radar on several boats. I have also used it for determining range and distance, such as when you are trying to maintain a distance of 1-1/2 miles from a coast line, or when holding a lighthouse at 280 degrees. This has to be done with caution, especially for low lying objects.

Squall avoidance is also greatly helped as noted above. With the low cost, and the reduced electrical consumption of the newer radars, I would definitely say go with the radar.
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Old 13-06-2016, 09:28   #21
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Re: Radar for SE USA, the Gulf, and Carribean

I've been a licensed ship captain in the commercial shipping industry for 30 years. I would say you have to look at it from a safety point of view. If you avoid hitting or running over someone else and injuring someone or worse then it is worth every penny also avoiding getting in the path of a ship or another large vessel and getting yourself ran over.only my 2 cents .these things don't make headlines but it happens everyday.
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Old 13-06-2016, 09:39   #22
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Re: Radar for SE USA, the Gulf, and Carribean

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Originally Posted by sailorboy1 View Post
I don't feel it makes sense to spend money to buy new nav cards for a 15 year old chart plotter considering that a new chart plotter with US charts is about the same price. So the question is whether it is worth spending around $1000-1500 to replace my radar when upgrading my 2001 chart plotter.

So for those who have spent time boating in the Southern East Coast of the US, Gulf of Mexico, and the Caribbean, is it really worth a $1000 to have radar?

Keep in mind I'm cruising and not really in a rush and can wait for weather to change.
Having extensively cruised the Caribbean and all parts in between and living in Florida I found Radar indispensable for showing approaching squalls. Sometimes you can sail around them or at least prepare for them.
What Radar do you need, the Radome or the Display? As I have a a 101/2 hb2 Raymarine colour display that I don't use for sale.
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Old 13-06-2016, 09:53   #23
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Re: Radar for SE USA, the Gulf, and Carribean

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I thought you said replacing a radar? Put it in the same place or if it ain't broke don't fix it. What can you get for $1000?


Well, this $1700.00 B&G plotter/radar combo from Defender, for example:

B&G Zeus Touch T7 Touchscreen Multifunction Display with Broadband 3G Radar

Shopping the interweb will find many excellent radar/plotter combos for under $2K
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Old 13-06-2016, 10:21   #24
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Re: Radar for SE USA, the Gulf, and Carribean

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Well, this $1700.00 B&G plotter/radar combo from Defender, for example:

B&G Zeus Touch T7 Touchscreen Multifunction Display with Broadband 3G Radar

Shopping the interweb will find many excellent radar/plotter combos for under $2K
I might suggest you read that. I appears to be only a display compatible with a no. of things.
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Old 13-06-2016, 10:55   #25
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Re: Radar for SE USA, the Gulf, and Carribean

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I might suggest you read that. I appears to be only a display compatible with a no. of things.
You are drifting. The price adder to add radar to a Raymarine MFD is $1089 for a digital and $1427 for a color digital.That is why in post #1 it says $1000-1500 to add radar. The topic is whether is is worth spending this to get radar to cruise in the SE US, Gulf, Caribbean.
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Old 13-06-2016, 11:11   #26
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Re: Radar for SE USA, the Gulf, and Carribean

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Originally Posted by sailorboy1 View Post
You are drifting. The price adder to add radar to a Raymarine MFD is $1089 for a digital and $1427 for a color digital.That is why in post #1 it says $1000-1500 to add radar. The topic is whether is is worth spending this to get radar to cruise in the SE US, Gulf, Caribbean.
My I did not realize you were speaking it was in addition. Have you considered, if it would work for you. A pivoting mount in the companion way, if space is a concern. I hope you can put that all together for that price.
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Old 13-06-2016, 12:11   #27
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Re: Radar for SE USA, the Gulf, and Carribean

Color radar is great for trying to keep out of heavier rain showers and worth the money I think. Going across the gulf stream to the Bahamas you sometimes come across long tows and radar helps to confirm there are 2 joined vessels. Wouldn't be without it.


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Old 13-06-2016, 12:35   #28
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Re: Radar for SE USA, the Gulf, and Carribean

Another 2 cents.
Radar may be a little less valuable than it used ot be with AIS but there are still boats out there that don't transmit AIS and can certainly hurt you. Radar is also pretty much indispensable when approaching a coast where the charts are suspect and visibility is poor. I still almost never will approach most new (to me) harbors at night, even with all the goodies, but I'm old school about that. AIS on the nav bouys are changing my ways a bit.

Also is great in tracking squalls at night to get to the low wind side of them.

What would I do in your shoes? Don't know what price range of plotter you are thinking of but when my plotter got sick I checked on the cost to repair. For the same money I could get two netbook computers and put OpenCPN and free US charts on them. Very happy with that decision. If I was looking at a new plotter could have done the 2 netbooks and a radar for the same cost. OpenCPN now interfaces with some radars, and with the various plugins, is very close to dedicated plotters, and you can watch movies on the computer.

Bottom line, I believe a radar is a valuable safety item and, although I could do without, it is high on my desirables list.
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Old 13-06-2016, 13:21   #29
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Re: Radar for SE USA, the Gulf, and Carribean

Sailorboy,

We were in your same predicament four years ago, here's what we did.

Kept the now 14 year old radar as a stand alone device at the cockpit and nav table anf forgot about upgrading the totally useless Furuno chartplotter.

We now use three ipads and an Iphone 6 for all our chartplotting needs fully integrated with a Vesper Vision AIS system. The redundancy is like seven times.

Invest in handheld devices, forget about yesterdays junk. You'd be wasting your money on a chartplotter for full time cruising. All the actual doers out there use ipads or tablets.

It's only on internet forums that people argue about the usefullness of traditional chartplotters vs ipads. In practice, nearly everyone out cruising uses an ipad.

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Old 13-06-2016, 13:35   #30
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Re: Radar for SE USA, the Gulf, and Carribean

Well I'm checking the availability of the older C-Map nav cards. I don't really have the time currently to work on this new project.

OTH I could go the iPad route. Or get a smaller chart plotter (could get a little one for the price of 2 C-map cards).
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