Radar reflector
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The effective range of your reflector to another radar is the analogous to the range you'd get from your own radar antenna looking for returns from a target:
range (nautical miles) = 1.25 * sqrt(height in feet)
Not to be glib, but the higher the better. It's up to you as whether the added range is worth the added trouble of installing a pennant halyard.
range (nautical miles) = 1.25 * sqrt(height in feet)
Not to be glib, but the higher the better. It's up to you as whether the added range is worth the added trouble of installing a pennant halyard.
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We put ours up on a bridle on the backstay, as far up as we can. Hoisting on a spreader-mounted pennant halyard would also allow you to snug it up to a shroud, which would help to keep it quieter. If it's not tied off they can tend to bang around a lot, and the higher you put it, the more it will want to do that.
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A spreader halyard can be perfect, however, you will want the return line to be run away from the reflector, so it doesn't chafe against it.
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I have the standard aluminum Davis Echomaster Deluxe. It is attached to a spreader halyard on the port side. The Deluxe model has the ability to run the hanging line through the center so it is always in the rain-catch position. No worries about line chafe either.
See the photo below. This one is not setup properly. The line should be led back down through the center. Unfortunately I could not find a photo of one properly mounted.
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See the photo below. This one is not setup properly. The line should be led back down through the center. Unfortunately I could not find a photo of one properly mounted.
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I would suggest against a perment installation. When in or expecting high winds you want to be able to get anything that is aloft down. That would include the reflector. Also, don't expect too much from the reflector. Study after study says they help but not by much.
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On ours we have two sheaves mounted under the spreader, moving the 'down' line away from the reflector and avoiding the edge chafing(more like cutting) through the line.
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IMHO - This is worth reading, no matter which RADAR reflector you own or are contemplating owning:
This article looks at the results of an independent study commissioned by the Marine Accident Investigations Branch (MAIB) to help leisure boat owners choose the most appropriate radar reflector for their vessel from those currently on the market.
A copy of the full Radar Reflectors Report published by MAIB is linked at the bottom.
Rik
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I have noticed that sailboats without a reflector tend to NOT show up well on the radar screen. There is something about the shape/stays, etc. of a sailboat that makes it more difficult for radar to reflect back. Mine stays up permanently. If the weather is rotten and waves high it's one of the most important times to have it up so you can be seen by ships. If the windage on a small ball of aluminum is all that stands between flipping and not, you're in some sort of trouble.
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609 Posts
We stopped using ours after it wore through it's halyard and almost hit Suzi on the head!
If you know someone with a radar on board as him to check your reflection with it both up and down.
After we took ours down, we radioed a tugboat and asked what we looked like on his radar. We had finished our boat insulation project which involved Reflectix inside the hull. Apparently it did more than insulate - the tugboat operator said, "My God, you look like the Queen Mary."
If you know someone with a radar on board as him to check your reflection with it both up and down.
After we took ours down, we radioed a tugboat and asked what we looked like on his radar. We had finished our boat insulation project which involved Reflectix inside the hull. Apparently it did more than insulate - the tugboat operator said, "My God, you look like the Queen Mary."
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