Hello all, During the rendezvous, there was a brief discussion about radar and mounting options. I'm interested in hearing your thoughts and experiences with radar, and which mounting location (mast, backstay, or on pole/arch aft of cockpit) you prefer, and why.
Our 35 had a radome mounted on a pole just off centre from aft deck, supported by the pushpit rail. It had been removed when we bought her, and now with larger solar panels, I'm not sure this is a good location due to shading issues (although I might be able to resolve this with a re-designed arch, or push it far enough aft to prevent shading the panels. I've seen a few backstay mounts, but haven't looked closely at them. I imagine there will be some shading issues, but perhaps a bit less depending on how high the radome is mounted. Mast mounting seems fairly straightforward with the right bracket, and since I am planning to pull my mast soon for a re-wire and inspection, I will have a good opportunity to explore this option. My dock neighbour has his on a pole, and removes it for racing or when not needed, so this is one advantage of pole or backstay mounting - easy removal. I probably would leave it on for year round sailing, but would likely take it with us to our next boat unless the buyer specifically wants it. As far as brand, I went with a B&G Vulcan 9 package with wind, compass and DST, so this means I will need a Navico unit: 3G, 4G or Halo (Simrad, Lowrance or B&G). Although we've only had perhaps 5-6 days in the past two seasons where radar would have been useful, with a planned trip around Vancouver Island from June-August of 2021, we anticipate some foggy (or smoky) days in waters that will be a bit more challenging, and also new to us. Would love to hear your thoughts... Thanks -- Shawn Wright [email protected] S/V Callisto, 1974 C&C 35 https://www.facebook.com/SVCallisto
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