Radar or not ....

[Bulawayo]

We sailed for twenty odd years without radar and many a day we did not switch it on. Now we have it but mainly because it came with.

[Rustic Charm]

Originally Posted by cabo_sailor

Rustic Charm,

I think I can catch the eye of a staff member or two. I'll be sure to put in a good word for you as "thread extender of the year". That is, as soon as contest is announced. ��


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really I just wanted to follow the thread, so had to say something useless so I get the posts. Maybe in a couple of years I'll finally get one.

[Hudson Force]

Originally Posted by Rustic Charm

really I just wanted to follow the thread, so had to say something useless so I get the posts. Maybe in a couple of years I'll finally get one.

'nothing wrong with your plan, but there is another simple route. Click on "Thread Tools" at the top of the forum and then select "Subscribe to this Thread". This will keep you with a notice of all new posts.

[reed1v]

Originally Posted by Bulawayo

We sailed for twenty odd years without radar and many a day we did not switch it on. Now we have it but mainly because it came with.

Same here. We did the milk run without radar nor gps and managed to avoid many reefs just by good old fashion navigation. Crossed the pond many times without anything but a plot chart and dead reckoning. Think kids nowadays are too dependent on their electronic toys.

[Rustic Charm]

Originally Posted by Hudson Force

'nothing wrong with your plan, but there is another simple route. Click on "Thread Tools" at the top of the forum and then select "Subscribe to this Thread". This will keep you with a notice of all new posts.

thank you. found that now. What can I say I'm a typical man, I don't read instructions

[GordMay]

Greetings and welcome aboard the CF, Spinbig.

[jdazey]

Not to quarrel with anything folks have said about sailing without radar, but I want correct some misinformation about radar capabilities. A good, properly adjusted radar _will_ pick up logs, unlit kayaks, and fishing boats. I have picked up a seagull with my Furuno. In addition a GPS is very accurate, but sometimes the charts are not. Gut Bay in Chatham Strait is over 1/2 mile from it's charted position. Relying solely on the GPS would have put me into a cliff.

We made our first trip to Alaska many years ago with a compass and a lead line. We did not run at night or in the fog, something radar and GPS allow us to do a lot of now.

[Simonsays]

Originally Posted by jdazey

A good, properly adjusted radar _will_ pick up logs, unlit kayaks, and fishing boats. I have picked up a seagull with my Furuno.

it depends on the sea state, the experience in fine tuning the radar and the hight of the radar dome.
the rougher the environment for the radar, the more attention it requires to be usefull up to a point where it becomes a burden shorthanded.

fog + swell crossing the tide f.i... you can set the radar to pick up the eddies but you need to know that you are picking up eddies with those settings and not other ships

[Hudson Force]

Originally Posted by nknowland

..............
My question: can I get by w/o radar for one season in the Bahamas on our 40ft sailboat? .........

Those in disagreement about not needing the radar should recall the previous recommendations were for a season in the Bahamas.

I think we all agree that radar has many advantages, but some cruising areas with fog and rock have more need for radar than the Bahamas.

[deblen]

Originally Posted by nknowland

I am in North Florida, just about ready to head for Miami and then crossing to the Bahamas. As of yesterday, our old Raymarine Radar system has bit the dust. It's an old analog system so no support or parts or any help whatsoever from Raymarine.

I have neither the time nor money to replace the radar dome and chartplotter right now. I have two Garmin GPS units that are used for navigation. We rely on the radar primarily for night cruising and storm tracking. No fog in the Bahamas Mon!

My question: can I get by w/o radar for one season in the Bahamas on our 40ft sailboat?

Thanks......

You didn't say which model Raymarine radar/plotter you have,but if it has a plotter function,it must have a GPS input.
You indicate the dome is bad. If display still works,can you still use the plotter function with GPS 0183 input from an ext. GPS?

Jus wundrin...
Cheers/ Len

[sailorboy1]

The thing missing in the thread is a dollar amount. The questions should be "Is it worth spending $1500 for radar in the Bahamas?". I'm going to be facing whether to replace my radar fairly soon. Even though I have sailed the NE USA for the last 8 years I'm thinking the answer is NO.

If you have radar now and have been using or not using it regularly the answer should be pretty apparent on whether you feel it is worth your money.

[Pirateking]

Our boat spent the last three winters in the Bahamas, and she let us come visit on a regular basis (darn work). There are rules in the Bahamas.

Rule 1: never sail at night

Rule 2: commercial vessels in the Bahamas are not required to have AIS, and mostly they don't, particularly those giant inter-island ferries, that deliver everything from TV sets to furniture to a new truck for a guy on Exuma. And trust me, they are not keeping a lookout all the time.

Rule 3: It can rain hard enough to restrict visibility, but the odds of you running aground are greater than finding the ferry.

Rule 4: watch where you anchor, even if it is out of the marked fairway, move further. I was almost run down by a big green ferry that was coming out of Governors Harbor on Eleuthera. He was throwing a bow wave and too close for comfort, I had to raise him on the radio and get him to make a choice because there wasn't time for both of us to turn the same way. Yes, I missed him the first time on my lookout, and 5 minutes later he was behind my bbq grill and I thought there was something wrong with radar in the middle of the day when I saw the blotch but no AIS signal, until I looked behind the grill. But he had no lookout, no restricted course, and I am pretty sure had set the auto pilot and left the wheel.

I then heard from Galeen, a Valiant 42' that the same ferry had run down without stopping in the middle of the night in Rock Harbor on Eleuthera. Galeen was anchored in an anchor zone, out of the channel, with anchor light and deck light on. The ferry hit Galeen from the stern and split her to the waterline, but not further. We buddy sailed to Spanish Wells, where he got enough repair to come back to the US for full repair and X-ray. (The valiant was fine, no broken tabs on the bulkheads)

So you are not going anywhere to hav fog, you will love the Bahamas, particularly the Exumas, but keep an eye out at all times.


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[Terra Nova]

PK--good post.

[Pirateking]

Thanks TN


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[nknowland]

Thanks again for all the thoughtful replies. I should have said that we've crossed to the Bahamas for 4 seasons so have a good idea what to expect. We have probably relied on radar for two ship locations and one storm. We are now so used to having radar that it's a different conversation to ask if we really "need" it for sailing from GA to the Bahamas.

And yes, it is a matter of cost to do this now. The bottom line for chartplotter/radar bundle is ~$2000 and I just don't want to shell out that kinda cash right now ... just for one more season in the Bahamas! And, I'm not so sure I want to upgrade to an AIS/VHF radio based on what I'm learning! AIS may not perform as I'd like in the Bahamas. We cross the Gulf Stream in the daylight, always have someone at the helm, and are pretty conservative with our weather windows.

It's good to be grounded about the things we "really need"!