Radar Mounts

J

Jeanie P

New member
On CD22's, I see radar mounted flush to the roof just behind the running light. I see some on their own bracket and some mounted on arches. Is there any problems to flush mounting on a CD22?

Other than being able to slide a dinghy under it, what is the advantage to having a arch? Are they custom made for CD22 or can they be purchased from existing stock? Where is the best place to order?
Thanks.

Allan
 
It's nice to have a dedicated "tool rack" where you can install lots of stuff without drilling more holes in the roof. Even things like the VHS antenna and the gps puck can get in the way when mounted on the the roof handrails. Also a great place to put rod holders. I don't have one, but often wished I did. I think a seach of previos treads will show some recommended vendors.
 
Raising the height of the radar antenna by 2 feet or so will, (slightly) increase the effective range of the radar; either a mast or an arch can do this. The arch is not inherently necessary for storing a dinghy on the cabin roof, one could tie it down just as well without an arch. In my case the arch mounts the radar higher, provides a place to mount the GPS and radio antennae and is likely going to be the place I mount my MOB retrieval system. Fisherfolk like to put rodholders on the arch. Were I to do it over again, I would still go with the tall arch. Contact the factory and they should be able to help you with a supplier, warning, arches are not cheap.
 
I have not mounted one flush--just because I want it above the GPS antennas which are mounted flush or on short pedistals. The vertical meam of the radars are about 30 degrees, so you like to have it clear the top of the cabin--thus I like a short pedistal.

Personally I have not had the radar arch--The other antennas fit well on the roof, and less stress in one place. But that is not a huge issue. The arch puts more weight aloft, it makes the boat higher. I don't have the need for a set of rod holders up high--but some folks like those rocket launchers.
 
I had a 2KW dome on top of my 22, Captain's Choice. It was on a 10" pedestal and I thought it was a little high. I've got a 8" one with a 2 degree forward rake for Captain's Cat to mount the 4KW dome on. Hopefully, next week! There's a mount for a remote "GOLIGHT" searchlight on the front of it and a mount for either GPS or anchor light coming out of the back above the dome. The old one had the anchor light mount but not the searchlight one.

Cptns_Choice.sized.jpg

Charlie
 
Hi Allan,

Flush mounting radar works fine on my 22’ C-Dory. Since I sometimes carry an inflatable on the roof, I mounted the dome so that its aft end is even with the Nav/anchor light. The dome extends on to the brow with custom made wooden blocks, so there is still room to carry an 8’ inflatable behind the dome with the Nav/anchor light in position.

There are photos of my boat that show the radar dome in
Cruises and Event photos Champlain Foliage , Erie Canal, and Rideau Canal cruises.

Rick from Maine
 
My flush mount works fine too although I will be putting an arch on soon.
I have a roll up dingy and like to store it on the roof. While an inflated dingy over the top of a flush mount works fine a rolled up one is apparently too dense and blocks my rear signal. My wife recently got G.A.S. and bought an inflatlable kayak so I need some more room up top.

I rubber mounted my flush mounted so the vibration when broadcasting isn't amplified by the roof. Nothing fancy just some good quality garden hose gaskets worked fine.

079_G.thumb.jpg
 
Charlie...what mount did you get? I'm going to be using the Seaview 10" aft leaning mount with a light bar and 2 degree base wedge. (Accoding to a chart I found the Furuno has a 20 degree vertical sweep, Raymarine has 25 degrees). I will mount the GPS puck at the top of this light bar.

Did the light bar ever cause any sort of blind spot on your C-22? I know something large like a mast can cause that but supposedly not a VHF antenna or small pole like a light bar.
 
Matt, it's a SEA SCAN mount aft leaning with a built in downward tilt (2deg I think), a light/gps mount (above the dome) on the back and a platform for a GOLIGHT remote spotlight on the front. Bought it on E-Bay. Never noticed any interference problem with the light support on the old boat.

RadarMount.jpg

Charlie
 
Captains Cat":360n3kej said:
Never noticed any interference problem with the light support on the old boat.
Charlie
Click to expand...

Charlie, I'm aware that what you mean by interference in the above quote refers to interference with the radar......however, if we expand this conversation further, I would add that if operating a roof mounted Go Light on a vessel with a bow railing, glare is projected off the bow rail by the light. On my 16' Cruiser, I had a Go Light mounted on the roof and although it was "doable", the glare was a bit of a distraction. On my 22' Cruiser, the Go Light is mounted on top of the bow rail and is much more desirable.
 
Nice integrated rig! I was thinking of using Sea Scan as well. There are several brands out there and most look pretty good.

The first thing I did when I got my mount was to make sure the pre-drilled bolt holes matched up to the bottom of my radar. They matched up perfectly but I wanted to make sure before I started anything else! The mounts for Raymarine will not fit Furuno or Garmin for example according to the mount manufacturers.
 
Thanks Dave. Thought about that and will either put black tape or "paint" of some sort on the back side of the bow rail where it has the potential to reflect back in my eyes. Thought the height would be an asset. Thanks for the comment! :wink: The TC bow rail is perpendicular to the front of the cabin top as it goes the width of the wide bow...

Charlie
 
Captains Cat":1ahu2cxi said:
Thanks Dave. Thought about that and will either put black tape or "paint" of some sort on the back side of the bow rail where it has the potential to reflect back in my eyes.
Charlie
Click to expand...

Charlie,
I never did attempt to remedy the "glare" problem on my 16', as I seldom was on the water at night and when I was the usage was relatively brief. However, if you feel the need to cut down on the glare, I always considered using black/gray pipe insulation and securing it with snap ties.
Probably the most beneficial the light ever was to me, was when I pivoted my Go Light 90 degrees in order to direct the beam directly off the port side of the 16' to illuminate the beach from the water, so friends of mine could see to move camping equipment that was staged on the beach up to their campsite.
Obviously, with the way the Go-Light is mounted on the 22', I can still do the 90 degree or direct the beam dead ahead.
 
Blind spots from masts or light bars: Consider that the radar scanner width is 18" to 24" (a few less and a few more on the C Dories)--so that the beam is sent out from the entire scanner--a 10" mast or light bar will not block the beam.

We have not noticed significant loss of signal with rounded sailboat aluminum masts on our radars. Even if there is some attenuation, the boat is always moving several degrees and the next sweep of the scanner will show up anything which is obscured partly by the mast.

Interesting that the rolled up inflatable produced a shadow aft. The transom alone or a pontoon will not.
 
Yes. It was very interesting to not see Catalina island on my radar as I was headed home. I haven't thought through the physics but two things come to mind.

1) the floor boards in the roll up may be wood (has water in it)
2) the floor boards may have some metal in them


Either case wouldn't bother the radar if the dingy were inflated and over the top because the floor boards would only block a small amount if any of the upward 12.5 degrees.
 
ripple":1uxz6ajy said:
Dave,
How did you attach your Go Light to the front rails?
Click to expand...

Ripple,
Les at EQ Marine outfitted "Sea Shift" and he welded a plate of stainless steel on to the bow rail and secured the base of the Go Light to the plate.

(By the way, in noticing the name of your vessel, I can't help but remember drinking wine by that same name back in the early '70's.. :wink ).
 
Some dinghy's transoms have a good sized Aluminum plate , and that could be enough to block the aft radar beam. We have not had the problem, but we have a small dinghy which lays farily flat even when rolled up (and as I recollect no metal in the transom)--and we put the transom down.
 
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