Considering RDFs

[Dan Dickison]

The last two sailboats that we've owned have come with a radio direction finder. Now that our plans include extensive world cruising is the RDF worth keeping or is it taking up vital space at the nav station that could be used for a GPS and SSB?

Dan Dickison responds:
Thanks for getting in touch with us regarding your question. These days it's fairly rare to even hear anyone mention an RDF. Nonetheless, despite all the hype you hear and read about more contemporary systems, a radio direction finder can still be a useful item on board. Tom Wood wrote a fairly comprehensive overview of these units for SailNet that he titled In Praise of the RDF. The point he makes on behalf of what he lovingly calls a "navigational dinosaur" is that when other onboard systems have failed in the past, the RDF has gotten him home on several occasions. I think his article will provide the best answer to your query. Once you've read it you should have an easier time of making up your mind. Good luck with your world cruising plans.