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« on: November 30, 2021, 04:55:08 PM »
I’d hoped for a meaningful response to my question from the two gentlemen, but after 10 days guess I’m not getting one. For the remaining 460+ forum members, here’s some food for thought from folks that don’t put things on their boat because they love gadgets, don't believe something is better than nothing, nor do they prefer to do it cheaper vs the right way –
When I installed radar 4 years ago I asked several longtime, long distance cruisers I know and trust how to mount radar for ocean coastal cruising from Seattle to Panama. They said:
Try to maintain a cruising heal angle of 15-20 degrees for comfort, and install the radar on a fixed mount.
If on a mast, the installation height depends on the beam angle of the radar unit and how near to the boat you want target recognition.
Their experience with gimbal/leveling/swing type mounts was they do give some advantage, but for typical cruising you won’t notice a difference.
I recently asked several sailing YouTube channels that are mostly engineering types, sail in different parts of the world or circumnavigate, and are fulltime live aboard cruisers. They said:
All have radar on a fixed mount installed on the mast, a pole, or a cockpit arch.
While a fixed mount may trim off a few degrees, it’s not a deal breaker. It still sees plenty far enough for typical use.
The boat does not sail at a fixed angle of heal, the boat moves.
One said that years ago he made a custom bracket to set the radar at various angles. He doesn’t adjust it anymore because there’s no real need.
Regarding doing it ”right” means mounting radar with a gimbal/leveling/swing type mount on the back stay, real world experience says that isn’t exactly “right”.
Before deciding on a major investment, ask people you know and trust that have real world experience in the type of sailing you want to do for their input. As is often said, YBYC.
