Which Radar reflector?

[willk]

Originally Posted by Maximus

Yep...Reflectors COMPLETE waste of time (on a Low profile craft like a RIB)

That's WHY they fit reflectors on them - not generally needed on oil tankers!

[Pikey Dave]

Originally Posted by willk

'Cos yer Goose is gonna be Cooked...?

...and you can make a hat to stop the alien mind probes


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[Searider]

Originally Posted by Poly

I think tri lens is no longer in production.

Trilens available here - also a useful comparison table.

How to choose a Radar Reflector

[willk]

Originally Posted by Searider

Trilens available here

Don't think so?

Radar Reflectors

[Maximus]

Originally Posted by willk

That's WHY they fit reflectors on them - not generally needed on oil tankers!

And Just how MANY RIB's been mowed down by Merchant vessels lately??
That's With and without Radar reflectors!?...Waste of time!...
There's one of Google Boy
When it's rough your in troughs a lot of the time....(below Sea level) when it's not....it's flat and you should have good vis...and other stuff is very easy to avoid in a fast Power Boat..and give a wide berth!..
on the rare occasions when it's Foggy AND you're off shore in the lanes..(most pleasure Boaters don't venture out of sight of land) they're looking for much bigger slower moving vessels than the average size nimble fast moving RIB...and do you really reckon IF they (a large container vessel or Tanker/Merchantman) DID Actully happen to see a VERY faint and intermittent blip...from a Biscuit tin sized bit of metal pitching about little more than 1m above The Sea..they'd change course!!!??...don't Kid Yerself!


Maybe the RAF could save a load of money not training to fly at low level...(it'd take an exceptional Pilot to fly lower than an A-frame!!)! (to avoid Radar) or maybe the multi million pound military defence Radar systems aren't up to the standard of civilian kit carried on old Chanell chuggers...and the civilian/merchant operators are much more vigilant??

[Maximus]

Originally Posted by Bern Hanreck

Not so sure about that !

https://mcanet.mcga.gov.uk/public/c4...es/Annex15.htm

If you regularly cruise in waters frequented by ferries and any other large vessels , it goes without saying that you stay out of their way . If I were " broken down" or otherwise stranded , I would like that extra bit of security.......

Some have even suggested carrying a roll of baking foil for such emergencies

That's why I mostly travel any distance in Company....have a VHF Radio and if things are Real Bad an EPRIB....BUT..if you'd rather trust a Metal Cake Tin stroll on

[willk]

Originally Posted by Maximus

And Just how MANY RIB's been mowed down by Merchant vessels lately??
That's With and without Radar reflectors!?...Waste of time!...
There's one of Google Boy

I don't understand your brand of logic. Small boats have been known to be mowed down by big/ger boats - and a Radar Reflector can only be said to be a waste of time if you're sure that no collisions have been avoided because one was fitted. And Google Boy?

Originally Posted by Maximus

When it's rough your in troughs a lot of the time....(below Sea level)

I'm fairly sure you'll find that half the time you're in troughs and half the time you're on crests

Originally Posted by Maximus

on the rare occasions when it's Foggy AND you're off shore in the lanes..

It's foggy or VERY rainy quite a bit where I am and I'm not a fair weather boater. I wouldn't feel I had to be in a sealane to be at risk of collision

Originally Posted by Maximus

.from a Biscuit tin sized bit of metal pitching about little more than 1m above The Sea..they'd change course!!!??

You DO realise that radar reflectors have a much bigger radar profile than a biscuit tin? They're non-Stealth technology

Originally Posted by Maximus

Maybe the RAF could save a load of money not training to fly at low level...(it'd take an exceptional Pilot to fly lower than an A-frame!!)! (to avoid Radar) or maybe the multi million pound military defence Radar systems aren't up to the standard of civilian kit carried on old Chanell chuggers...and the civilian/merchant operators are much more vigilant??

Sorry - I don't understand that bit

I don't generally get too worked up about advice given on RIBnet as I think people are grown up enough to work it out for themselves. However, I feel that advising against a radar reflector on a RIB is a poor enough show. Like it or not, every vessel capable of mounting a reflector is supposed to have one:

https://www.nidirect.gov.uk/articles...pleasure-craft

[willk]

Originally Posted by Maximus

That's why I mostly travel any distance in Company....

Uh-huh. Bern and meself travel solo a fair bit, so we have to be self reliant...

[jwalker]

Originally Posted by willk

Uh-huh. Bern and meself travel solo a fair bit, so we have to be self reliant...

Me too. I think he's an armchair ribber myself. Or stupid!

What often surprises me is how frequently one is on one's own, sees a vessel in the distance on a crossing heading and you both end up needing the same bit of water, miles from shore!! It's spooky!

In poor visibility, if you don't have radar and the other vessel isn't showing AIS to you, your only hope of being seen is your radar return.

[Iron Dials]

Originally Posted by Maximus

That's why I mostly travel any distance in Company....have a VHF Radio and if things are Real Bad an EPRIB....BUT..if you'd rather trust a Metal Cake Tin stroll on

Even if you wave them above your head its very unlikely Epirb and vhf set will achieve a good radar return.

[lakelandterrier]

Regulation 19 para.2.1.7 requires radar reflectors to be carried, where practicable, by ships under 150 GT. For UK-flagged this includes pleasure vessels.

The above says it, Whether or not you believe in the value or otherwise of a radar reflector. If it's practicable - and I'd argue that if your boat has an A frame it is, then you should have one.

I've never needed flares,or my sea anchor, or back up GPS / Hand Held radio, or spare battery pack, spare can of fuel etc...I still carry them just in case.

[Siochair]

Well everything I have read intimates that they are not guaranteed to work 100% but I would much rather have 1% of something than 100% of nothing.
If you have the space to fit it and the money to buy it then why not.

[GuyC]

Thanks for all the replies. Other than possibly being aesthetically challenged I'm not sure there is a downside to them.

I had the good fortune to be able to drive a Finnish Navy combat boat which had the square root of bugger all visibility. When I asked how they looked where they were going, he said they tended to drive by radar as that provides the same picture almost regardless of the conditions outside.

It's all about how much risk you are willing to accept but the majority of commercial vessels have a radar which they are meant to look at so why not improve your chances of being seen if you are in the unfortunate position of not being able to get out of the way.

[Pete7]

Originally Posted by lakelandterrier

Regulation 19 para.2.1.7 requires radar reflectors to be carried, where practicable, by ships under 150 GT. For UK-flagged this includes pleasure vessels.

The above says it, Whether or not you believe in the value or otherwise of a radar reflector. If it's practicable - and I'd argue that if your boat has an A frame it is, then you should have one.

I suspect the A frame is actually a better reflector than some seen in the chandlers.

In 1996 I organised an away day from Manorbier near Tenby across the Bristol Channel to Instow near Barnstable in Devon for lunch and then back home for tea in a couple of Osprey Viper ribs.

Wanting a bit of top cover we asked the range staff to follow us on their radar for as long as they could across the Bristol Channel, just in case. We had a great day out and on return went and spoke to the range staff. They had recorded in their log the time we changed direction to enter the Devon estuary 45 miles away. Quite impressive how much of a return you can get from a couple of 6m ribs without radar reflectors fitted.

The rules as LLT stated say you should, so worth watching the likes of e bay for one of the better ones that come up for sale from time to time. Or one of these:

Boatbreakers | Buy, Sell, Scrap & Recycle all kind of boats

Riverside Boatyard - Hamble river moorings and the home of the Chandlery Barge

Pete

[Maximus]

Originally Posted by jwalker

Me too. I think he's an armchair ribber myself. Or stupid!

What often surprises me is how frequently one is on one's own, sees a vessel in the distance on a crossing heading and you both end up needing the same bit of water, miles from shore!! It's spooky!

In poor visibility, if you don't have radar and the other vessel isn't showing AIS to you, your only hope of being seen is your radar return.

So a POSSIBLE 1% effectiveness is a good enough reason to pay for fit and carry one for you..work away!..

Hey if it makes you feel safer when " it's spooky" it sounds it's a perfect fit!... Enjoy you're Comfort Blanket
I maintain something DESIGNED to be fitted and used on Top of a Mast they are of very limited if not totally useless on a low profile Craft like a RIB...But ..if you THINK it's doing any good at all I'm sure to you it's worth every penny!

[Maximus]

Originally Posted by willk

I don't understand your brand of logic. Small boats have been known to be mowed down by big/ger boats - and a Radar Reflector can only be said to be a waste of time if you're sure that no collisions have been avoided because one was fitted. And Google Boy?
I'm fairly sure you'll find that half the time you're in troughs and half the time you're on crests It's foggy or VERY rainy quite a bit where I am and I'm not a fair weather boater. I wouldn't feel I had to be in a sealane to be at risk of collision You DO realise that radar reflectors have a much bigger radar profile than a biscuit tin? They're non-Stealth technology


Sorry - I don't understand that bit

I don't generally get too worked up about advice given on RIBnet as I think people are grown up enough to work it out for themselves. However, I feel that advising against a radar reflector on a RIB is a poor enough show. Like it or not, every vessel capable of mounting a reflector is supposed to have one:

https://www.nidirect.gov.uk/articles...pleasure-craft

As for not understanding...and I'm sure you may have heard this before...Try Harder!
Oh...and how many RIbs is it that HAVE been sunk (with OR WITHOUT Reflectors) by large Merchant men ships British waters?..

[Maximus]

Originally Posted by Searider

Radar reflector test results here:

https://assets.digital.cabinet-offic...ors_report.pdf

All pertains to Yaughts with their very tall masts obviously..VERY tall compared to RIBs but interesting all the same...I like this quote

"These predictions are only valid for the specific case shown below (relating to a Large Yahght) different antenna heights Sea conditions and TARGET HIGHT WILL affect detection rates"!
They don't say!

[Searider]

Originally Posted by willk

Don't think so?

Radar Reflectors

Just spoken with Safety Marine and they are indeed no longer available. Apparently very few people wanted to pay the money for something that actually worked!

[lakelandterrier]

Originally Posted by Searider

Just spoken with Safety Marine and they are indeed no longer available. Apparently very few people wanted to pay the money for something that actually worked!

Wow, I must have got one of the last ones then

Don't really understand this as their price was little different to an Echomax.

[Pikey Dave]

I guess echomax have the market.


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