Where to Put the Radar, First in a series of "Now WTF do I do with it" threads Options

[longy]

Since you asked - I did a complex design/install on a Shannon 50 ketch. Design, fab & mount custom davits off transom. These extended 3 1/2' or so aft of the transom, (1/2 width of Avon) At the end of one davit I stood a 7 1/2' pole, cross braced to both davits. On top of that sat a wind gen , 2-blade with about a 5' swept disc of danger. No way to get close to that disc while inside the stern pulpit, which I & the owner thought was more than adequate. In spite of this, while trying to Med-moor at a fuel dock in Turtle bay (Mex) an experienced crewmember climbed up/out on the davit arm & got his face laid open severely. His only saving grace was the owner was a retired heart surgeon. The local 'clinica' had no expertise for that level of injury. The owner stepped in as soon as he saw what was (wasnt) happening, sewed up the patient & got a medevac plane flight out that afternoon.
For a stern pole mount, I would take a hard look at any possible loose runners, mainsheets etc that are in the area. Have the blade disc above arms reach. Have a line off the back of the gen so you can manually turn it 90 deg to the wind to stop blades, so you can tie them off.
On the Shannon, direct measurements of output (with the biggest blades out there) averaged out to 1/2 the apparent wind speed output in amps, and anchorages mostly zero, as sheltered areas did not have enuff wind to achieve start up speed.

[Jon Eisberg]

Good looking boat Jon, you certainly know how to have a bit of fun.

Thanks, but the part about having fun, doesn't that belong over in the daniel's Agony Aunt thread? (grin)

Yeah, that has to be one of the best looking 30 foot cruisers I have ever seen. It is damn hard to make a 30 footer ocean worthy and good looking at the same time.

Thanks, again... I suppose the key is, try to leave the designer's/builder's handiwork as close to the original as possible... One of the sadder trends in modern cruising, is how many people add so much crap to their boats, they're barely recognizeable - there's good reason you rarely see a manufacturer's ad or brochure of one of their boats in full cruising trim... Wasn't always that way, of course, look at pics of yachts cruising a few decades ago, by today's standards they are remarkably free of all the stuff people now can't go cruising without... Now, the most common malady begins at the ass end, and typically results in the terminal aesthetic condition, Death by Stern Arch...

My basic rule of thumb is, if it can't be stowed below decks for a passage, I don't want it on my boat... my dinghy stows on the foredeck, but I manage to find a spot for just about everything else below, somewhere... On a boat as small as mine, cramps my style a bit, but it's well worth it in terms of ease of sailing and moving about on deck, and avoiding the Beverly Hillbillies/Joad Family/Conestoga Wagon look to a certain degree...

In port or at anchor, however, all bets are off - then she starts sprouting wind machines, solar panels, an outboard and barbecue on the stern rail, the whole 9 yards, just like everyone else... (grin)

[Joli]

Hi Jon,

I stay the hell away from any Daniel thread, no fun to be found there.

Cheers,

Joli

Good looking boat Jon, you certainly know how to have a bit of fun.

Thanks, but the part about having fun, doesn't that belong over in the daniel's Agony Aunt thread? (grin)

[Shrinkage]

FYI the scanstrut backstay mount pole is anodized aluminum, has room in the channel for radar cables, gps cable, and NMEA2K cable- doubt one could stuff the GTO cable in there even if one wanted to (in addition to above).

[Nettles]

Hey BJ, I've been wanting to post to this thread since inception but haven't had the time. Here's my 2p.

The best place (imho) for a radar on MOST boats is on a removeable post in the stern. This doesn't work for you for reasons enumerated above. The second best place is on a (this kills me to say) Questus or similar backstay mounted system. In my experience, constructed intelligently, the radar and the SSB can be friends. No guarantees there but I have several clients who have this setup and our sparkies seem to have resolved any issues which may have been problematic. My bitch with the Questus is What a huge PITA it is to get it on and off. In my yard this has to be done to launch/haul the boat. If this is something you can do yourself, go for it and hang it high. If not, then plan on spending a couple hundred bucks every year for your rigger to do it for you. The microwave factor is a bit of an issue, especially with your cockpit being so far forward of the unit but the jury is still out on how bad it is and you've already had all the kids you want, so WTF?

This leaves the rig for an attachment point and in your specific case, I think it's the best one. If it were me, I would mount the dome (protected by a guard) four feet above the first spreaders and call it good. The righting moment you are losing is pocket change when compared to that ginormous stow-a -snarl that is a Hood (which I presume it is), you'll get a better picture and when you pull the rig the candyass rigger won't have to stand on the spreaders to get the choker clipped into the hook.

If in fact your rig is a Hood, There is a metric ton of room in there for the radar cable. If your rigger can't do it, we can.

Hope this helps, PM as needed.

[froggie]

BJ -

Maybe you could get Bob to design you a radar mast similar to this one that he did about 20 years ago for a 69 foot sloop:

(IMG:http://setsail.com/images/stories/dashew/radar_mast_echoes-10-edit.jpg)

You can find more info here: Ultimate Radar Mast

And of course there was a discussion of it here in CA: Radar Tower

I have to say that if you're set on having one then one like this is the way to go.