What Is the Best Place to Install a Radar Reflector
A radar reflector is used to help make your vessel more identifiable by other boats and ships that use radar to scan for vessels as well as other obstructions. In the world of radar reflectors there are many, many options. For sailboats the options are narrowed down a bit, but there is still much controversy over which ones are the best, in what conditions and why. What makes a radar reflector good in our eyes is: #1 how well does it reflect or bounce back a radar signal in varying conditions and circumstances, #2 how practical and sturdy is it to install on a sailboat mast. Clearly there are many factors in how a radar reflector performs; wind, rain, heel, elevation, type of signal, I am sure there are even more. Here are a few articles (click here and here) that get into the science of it all. In terms of performance you will need to do your own research to see which reflector suits your needs the best. I would like to take second and talk about the reflectors we have installed the most of and their pro's and con's in terms of rigging. 
Mobri – A favorite radar reflector of ours for a long time mostly from an installer's point of view. When properly mounted, they are neatly tucked out of the way of the sails and rigging. This is why we like them so much. Yes, these don't have the best performance, I've come to find out, but we always rig these in pairs (which may improve the performance results?), one on the port stay and one on the starboard stay. This of course makes the reflector twice as expensive. We only recommend these for boat's with at least two sets of spreaders so that they can be mounted to the intermediate or D2 shrouds. We will use seizing wire to properly seize them to the stay 12″-24″ up from the spreader. 
Tri-lens – From what I understand this radar reflector offers some of the best all around performance for the price. Typically you will see these mounted to the face of the mast. This presents an inherent problem for us sailboat riggers; it is in the path of the jib which is inevitably going to try and wipe it off of the front of the mast. This is especially a problem on boats which utilize overlapping headsails, don't have forward lower shrouds, don't have a mast mounted radar and guard (as pictured above), have aft swept spreaders, or use a permanent Stay-sail stay to help protect this vulnerable part from getting knocked off. These reflectors have recently been modified with a second mounting bracket on top for a sturdier mount (not pictured). This second bracket has made us more confident in installing these, as there is a big difference in how sturdy the unit is. Keep in mind the plastic cover of these lenses are well built and therefore very heavy. You'll want to make sure that you have taken every precaution to ensure that it won't come crashing down on your head! Echo Master – The most tried and trued of all of the reflectors. Many will argue that even though this isn't the "fairest of them all", it works pretty darn well. Especially when mounted in the coined "catch rain position" (pictured above), using Davis' Echomaster Hanging Mount, optional. The problem is how do you mount the thing without it flailing about like a wild, out-of-control disco ball. See the gallery below for how we achieve a good way for these to be mounted beneath the first set of spreaders…
{CLICK THE FIRST IMAGE FOR A DETAILED LOOK} **PLEASE NOTE, NOT MOUNTED IN "CATCH RAIN POSITION"** 
You'll need two flag halyard blocks installed on the lower spreader of your choice. The outboard flag halyard block should be at least 18″ in from the O.B. spreader end. The other will need to be installed as in-board as feasible. You will need a small horn cleat installed on the mast (not the shroud!) to tie it off.
Run at least an 1/8″ double braid flag halyard through the blocks on the spreader. Tie the end coming off of the OB block to the top of the reflector.
Tie the end of the flag halyard coming from the in-board end to the bottom of the reflector.
Lift the reflector to about chest height and cleat it. Lash the reflector to the upper shroud, pulling it just slightly closer to the shroud so that it is not parallel to the stay (this is the key to getting it all tight once hoisted into position). TIP: You can tie the downhaul portion of the flag halyard over to the mast cleat to give you something to lash against.
Hoist the reflector about 3/4 of the way to the spreader. Next pull down and over to the cleat on the mast and cleat it as tight as you can. You should be left with something similar to this…
CLICK HERE AND ZOOM-IN TO GET THE BIG PICTURE!
Firdell Blipper – This is probably our least favorite radar reflector that we install. It is another face-of-the-mast mounted design which uses very flimsy mounting brackets. These brackets are almost always bent, damaged or missing. We only recommend using these if they are guaranteed to be well protected from the effects of a tacking jib. Although these are much lighter than the Tri-lens you still don't want it to come crashing down on deck! On top of that, this reflector seems to be one of the weakest reflectors of the bunch according to the product testing sources linked above.
Although there are many more products out there worth researching and we will gladly always explore new products and options, these are the brands that we have had most of our experience installing. Need more information or help installing a radar reflector? If in doubt, don't forget to Contact your local rigger for assistance.
Do you have any experiences with radar reflectors? Don't forget to Share your thoughts below and thanks for the read.
~T.R.C.
What Is the Best Place to Install a Radar Reflector
Source: https://theriggingco.com/2015/07/07/which-radar-reflector/
0 Response to "What Is the Best Place to Install a Radar Reflector"
Post a Comment