starcrafttom
Active member
There has been a lot of discussion here at the pub about radar in the past. Is it worth the money? Should I get a stand-alone unit or an integrated unit? Which brand is best? Well after cornet bay this weekend I am really glad that I have it. Here s the story that unfolded for us.
The Susan E crew got up early on Saturday to a sunny clear sky and no wind. So we headed the truck and trailer to twin bridges. We had some fog on the highway north of Arlington and once we turned off the highway it started to get really thick. By the time we turned off at twin bridges we could not see twin bridges, the big blue building or the two bridges themselves. We launched under the bridge and fired up the radar. Now I am not a seasoned radar operator. In fact I have never had one on a boat before until the Susan E., which I have only had for a month. For the last month I have been running around in clear weather with my radar and over laid on my chart plotter. This has allowed me to get use to seeing what the radar is showing me and how it looks on the screen. I was not doing this to be prepared but to have another toy to play with. Well we ventured out of twin bridges and headed south to La Connor. The chart plotter will show you a lot and is very accurate when zoomed in all the way, but it will not show you what’s not on the maps. You know big boats. I have not used the radar by itself and don’t see a reason to. The system works the best with the radar over laying the chart plotter. As we headed south in the ever thicken fog I was warned of three different boats coming down the channel. By using the target acquire feature, I was able to track and project their course, speed, and distance with out really thinking about it. To make things even better I was able to hit the autopilot so I would stop wandering around from side to side in the fog. By looking at my track on the chart plotter I noticed that I was going back and forth while looking out the window for boats, logs, and shore. We made the far end of the la Connor channel. As we motored out he long channel at the south entrance to la Conner I was able to se on the plotter were the last marked was before turning north. If you turn north at any point before the last marker you are going to run aground. After the last buoy the fog cleared up and we headed to cornet bay. We got to bay in time to follow the group to lunch
. On the way back from lunch we stopped to fish at thatches. The group was on the radio talking about the fog in the deception pass area. Several boats with out radar had to follow the ones with it. By the time we got to the area the fog was all the way north to Anacortes Park launch. At first the fog was 100 yards of visibility, then 50 yards then 25. During this time I was able to track several large boats and one group of kayaks. By the time we entered the pass the fog had gotten so thick that the fog and water just kind of flowed in to one green, gray wall. As we passed under the bridge we could not see either bank or the bridge. As soon as we crossed under the bridge the fog lifted in 50 yards and was clear the short run to cornet bay and the c-pod. In the extra half hour it took for us to fish after the group had gone thru the fog had changed to a wall. If it had not been for the radar I would not have tried to go and would have turned back for the islands. So if you are thinking about buying a c-dory and don’t know if the wife will go for the 4 grand it takes to have the integrated system have her talk to my wife, because this was the best money we spent on the boat. Fog in the northwest is a year round problem. In the Sacramento valley, my old home, it can come out of nowhere even worse then the bay area. In the south I would want it for the rain. I have pulled to the side of the road on my motorbike in the south just to wait for the rain to stop and the road to reappear. Best thing I own besides the downriggers.
The Susan E crew got up early on Saturday to a sunny clear sky and no wind. So we headed the truck and trailer to twin bridges. We had some fog on the highway north of Arlington and once we turned off the highway it started to get really thick. By the time we turned off at twin bridges we could not see twin bridges, the big blue building or the two bridges themselves. We launched under the bridge and fired up the radar. Now I am not a seasoned radar operator. In fact I have never had one on a boat before until the Susan E., which I have only had for a month. For the last month I have been running around in clear weather with my radar and over laid on my chart plotter. This has allowed me to get use to seeing what the radar is showing me and how it looks on the screen. I was not doing this to be prepared but to have another toy to play with. Well we ventured out of twin bridges and headed south to La Connor. The chart plotter will show you a lot and is very accurate when zoomed in all the way, but it will not show you what’s not on the maps. You know big boats. I have not used the radar by itself and don’t see a reason to. The system works the best with the radar over laying the chart plotter. As we headed south in the ever thicken fog I was warned of three different boats coming down the channel. By using the target acquire feature, I was able to track and project their course, speed, and distance with out really thinking about it. To make things even better I was able to hit the autopilot so I would stop wandering around from side to side in the fog. By looking at my track on the chart plotter I noticed that I was going back and forth while looking out the window for boats, logs, and shore. We made the far end of the la Connor channel. As we motored out he long channel at the south entrance to la Conner I was able to se on the plotter were the last marked was before turning north. If you turn north at any point before the last marker you are going to run aground. After the last buoy the fog cleared up and we headed to cornet bay. We got to bay in time to follow the group to lunch
. On the way back from lunch we stopped to fish at thatches. The group was on the radio talking about the fog in the deception pass area. Several boats with out radar had to follow the ones with it. By the time we got to the area the fog was all the way north to Anacortes Park launch. At first the fog was 100 yards of visibility, then 50 yards then 25. During this time I was able to track several large boats and one group of kayaks. By the time we entered the pass the fog had gotten so thick that the fog and water just kind of flowed in to one green, gray wall. As we passed under the bridge we could not see either bank or the bridge. As soon as we crossed under the bridge the fog lifted in 50 yards and was clear the short run to cornet bay and the c-pod. In the extra half hour it took for us to fish after the group had gone thru the fog had changed to a wall. If it had not been for the radar I would not have tried to go and would have turned back for the islands. So if you are thinking about buying a c-dory and don’t know if the wife will go for the 4 grand it takes to have the integrated system have her talk to my wife, because this was the best money we spent on the boat. Fog in the northwest is a year round problem. In the Sacramento valley, my old home, it can come out of nowhere even worse then the bay area. In the south I would want it for the rain. I have pulled to the side of the road on my motorbike in the south just to wait for the rain to stop and the road to reappear. Best thing I own besides the downriggers.
