I’m not a believer in the efficacy of radar reflectors. Credible studies have shown that most do not live up to the claims the manufacturers make for them, and some are just plain useless.
Instead, I believe it’s our responsibility in poor visibility to manage close-pass situations actively with radar.
That said, making ourselves more visible to others on radar can’t hurt, and further, carrying a reflector is required in Canada.
Also, if we did have a collision in low visibility I’m guessing our position would be less defendable if we did not have a radar reflector up at the time.
But that leaves the problem of how to mount the damned thing.
On the McCurdy and Rhodes 56 we had a Firdell Blipper mounted on the front of the mast, but there was no way in hell I was going to clutter up our J/109 rig that way.
And I really did not want to hoist one on a signal halyard since it would chafe the main when reaching or running.
So what to do?
My first idea was to suspend it on a cat’s cradle of light line between the back stay and the radar stand, but that got ugly quickly, and, worse still, the reflector would cause a blind spot when the radar scanner was inclined to compensate for heel.
Finally, I came up with a solution that I think will work well, at least for those like us with radars mounted on a pole aft, my preferred option:
great hack – love it.
on the sun rot issue – just put 4 little strips of matching hook or loop (as appropriate) over the remaining 4 strips on the radar and they’ll be covered…
Hi Ben,
Just shows what >6 years of engineering training can do for you!
Things put on top of other things
https://youtu.be/PO6iFI3XcTc?feature=shared
First Tally Ho, now Morgan’s Cloud. It’s official: August is “Dress Your Radar in a Funny Hat” month 😉
Great hack. Might work well on my radar mounted up on the mast. Right now it’s loose, kicking about in the saloon.
I know an engineer and a sailor who shot radar at model airplanes in a anechoic radar range, trying to find out what does not reflect… Anyway, he reports that the Davis EchoMaster reflects quite well. As well or better than any fancy device. Height and rain catcher position are the key.
Once on a Pacific delivery of a cold mold wood-veneer sloop with a wood mast we spotted a ship on the horizon. Wondering about the wood mast and the Davis EchoMaster aloft, we called them up on the VHF: Can you see us on radar? Reply: Wait a bit. I will turn on the radar and it needs to warm up. A bit later: Yes, we see you on radar.
That said, AIS is a game changer. You can watch big ships route around you. It’s the coastal fishing fleet I worry about.
Hi Randall,
Yes, the study by Stan Honey done at SRI that I linked to also shows that the Echomaster is one of the best, perhaps the best, particularly in the “rain catch” or “double rain catch”. Worth a read if for no other reason than it will convince us to keep a good watch and not rely on ships seeing us.
Of course the big question with tests like the one you conducted, while useful, is did the radar reflector really make much difference or would they have picked you up anyway. I’m always gratified by how well small fibreglass boats without radar reflectors show up, both with our old magnetron radar and our new solid state.
I believe that the Canadian requirement to equip a “radar reflector or other means to enable the vessel’s detection” does allow you to use an active radar target enhancer. Is there a reason other than the ~$2000 cost why you haven’t chosen to use an alternative that tests as much more effective than a passive radar reflector?
Hi Mark,
Sure active radar reflectors are great: https://www.morganscloud.com/jhhtips/single-handing-tips/
That said, I don’t sail in fog enough these days to warrant the clutter, expense, and complication of an active reflector.
I don’t see why you would want to remove it. We have an Echomax (which scores well in tests) permanently mounted on tight dyneema strings suspended between the upper spreader and the shrouds. Clear of the mast so better reflection (as the inventor originally intended), high so good visibility, and no chafe issues. And more robust than the Davies (and seagulls cannot nest in it!).
You can even get it in bright orange for an extra safety bonus (!) but we have also put orange film on top section of mast.
Hi Richard,
As I said in the Tip, there is no way I am going to clutter up the J/109 rig like that, and in my case there would be chafe and such a thing would be a pretty much guaranteed spinnaker catcher. All these things are use dependant.
Fair comment though not my experience. And yes, very application dependent.
But I do wonder whether your new boat and racing background may be colouring your views more than it used too. This is AAC.
I hope you will forgive this observation: it is not meant to be negative. I continue to learn and enjoy.
Hiu Richard,
Absolutely right, our J/109 is a return to my performance sailing background. I thought about calling her “Second Childhood”. As I said in the Tip I was very happy to have a Blipper mounted permanently on the mast on the M&R 56. Different time, different boat.
A big reflector like that has non-negligible windage and weight. Plus chafe. And they’re ugly, whereas a boat should look pretty. All valid reasons to stow it when it’s not needed.
Our boat has a 4″ tubular reflector (I think it’s a Plastimo 39099) permanently clipped to a cap shroud at the spreader. It’s more a regulatory fig leaf than anything – its RCS is too small to make much of a difference beyond a couple of miles out if there’s any significant sea clutter going on – but it does tick the box on the police’s spot-check list, the local small commercial traffic can see it just fine, and it’s impossible to forget to hoist it, so I haven’t felt the need to remove the thing. If we took it into heavily radar-dependent areas, we’d need to fit a radar (we currently don’t have one) and a large reflector, which – like John’s – I’d want to stow on clear sunny days.
I only hoist my echomax from the lower spreader when it’s foggy. I keep a thin strong dynema line loop in place using a very small but strong Ronstan block. My Winner is only 9.5m so I don’t want to clutter it unnecessarily and reading the tests so many didn’t work well and the few that do need to be nearly vertical to work. Whenever it’s been needed it works well according to the shipping around me. I don’t have radar and can’t see others data reliably until I buy a new plotter. Still using paper charts! Fortunately the Bristol Channel is usually too windy for mist to hang around long. I remember the old guys here who used to sail into the shallows and anchor until the breeze picked up, it’s a good time to brew some decent coffee.
Our home-made “Echomaster-style” reflector is mounted permanently on the backstay. No chafe issues and visibility by radar tested by ferry 2NM away. It has served us well and been there for the last 15 years. We do not view or feel it as ugly. Sadly though our OE32 is on sale now.
Nice hack.
I’ve never been to interested in reflectors because we don’t have fog down here and I don’t often sail at night. A few passages in the past, but not anymore. That said, the article you quoted is the best out there. I did start to research this topic years ago, to the extent of obtaining a few reflectors and doing a few tests on the water, but decided there was not much to add. Except one thing….
The made a short mention of the Firdell Blipper, which failed because it was too small, not because the concept was fundamentally flawed. Instead of using eight 90 degree trihedrals with only one active at any time and large nulls between them (better in catch rain position), they are oriented in a more horizontal plane. Unfortunately, their design had two flaws. First, the trihedrals are too small. Easy to fix. The second is that it is less able to handle high heel angles, a problem for monohulls but not a concern for the multihull gang, like me. The critical heel angle should be about 30 degrees, so without knowing the exact angles Firdell used, I can’ say why they performed so badly at 20 degrees of heel.
In fact, the most common type of reflector on ATNs in the Chesapeake Bay is this modified type. They are a welded construction for bullet proof durability.
https://cdn.mesemar.com/wp-content/uploads/Reflector-Radar-MSM.jpg
Duckworks published this simple DIY version that could be made from flashing using little more than shears, a pop-rivet gun, and a straight edge. I would use something heavier than flashing to keep the faces flat.
https://www.duckworksmagazine.com/07/howto/radar/index.htm
They best lend themselves to mounting on a flat surface that does not heel too much. Of course, mounting on a gimbled radar mount meets this criteria.
I considered welding one up from medium gauge aluminum and mounting it on my hard top, but I didn’t see the need. Now I don’t sail at night or in poor visability. AIS helps a lot, and slowly, more are using it. Just sharing a DIY idea.
Hi Drew,
I agree. the Firdell Blipper is a a disappointment, particularly when healed. I should have been clear that my mention was not an endorsement. I installed it before we knew how poor it was and never got around to replacement, mostly because I figured no radar reflector was going to add a lot to the reflection of a 56′ metal boat and the Blipper satisfied the law. That said, it probably would have been better to replace it since I’m far from sure about the above assumption. And thank for the DIY fill.