Updating all our electronics this Spring including installing radar. Obviously will not be mounting on mast with plans for stern mount. Due to our bimini it appears that we may be mounting on the swim platform off to the side due to clearance issues. Has anyone done this before? Concerns? Any other suggestions? Thanks!
Hi - good luck on the installation - pretty fun stuff - I mounted off my transom (pretty common) - look at the link on this site and see if helpful
https://freedomyachts.org/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=12701&p=50380&hilit=Radar+mount#p50380
Hi there, my F35 CK came with a substantial frame bolted on top of the bow pulpit with a flat platform for the radar scanner, roughly 2m above deck level. The radar slowly became useless - ?why on Earth do you want one? - and when I took it all down, the insides of the dome were just a pile of alloy dust.
It pre-dates digital photos but given time I can dig something out. The frame was useful for bracing yourself against while working with the sail cover and provided a good base for wooden supports when we de-masted to transit the Midi/Lateral. I’ve kept the frame and put it back on when I had a notion (subsequently dis-proved) to go thru an inland canal.
Once again, what possible use is radar when an AIS plotter will show anything worth bumping into and tell you where you are.
Edited:
BTW, I think that the IRPCS (COLREGS) require that you use all available means to keep a lookout - so you can never legally turn it off! Bye-bye battery, unless radar now uses a heck of a lot less amps than previously.