The furuno wifi unit is about as cheap as it gets while still be high quality and not used. You will need a tablet for the screen to view the radar. Don't skimp on the tower, the rocket launchers are very much worth it, plan on at least as many rods as you bring trip.

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Radar is line of sight, so a low radar is alot less useful than a tall one on a mast. A takedown or folddown mast could be an option.

The number of people I know who have a radar on their boat is large. The number of people I know who know how to use the radar they own safely and effectively is considerably smaller. It's not the license to run around at 20kts in the 0 vis fog that some seem to think it is.

You need to practice with it when you can see so you can believe it when you cannot.

 

So I’ve had two hangups about radar, the first being I was concerned about clearance under the roof I was planning to build for the boat. I built the roof, so now I can pin a number to the clearance. To my eyeball, it looks like as long as my custom arch was built as low-profile as possible, there’s adequate clearance for a dome up there. But ideally the dome will also be low-profile.

I’m just after something that’ll get me back through the jetties in fog and show me the other boats around me in said fog. In other words I don’t need the latest-greatest that shows a single bird 2 miles away or whatever.

Since I’m not positive this is my “forever ocean boat” I also want to keep this as inexpensive as possible. On the other hand I’ll be running this boat for at least the next couple/few years so might as well check this rather large safety box if possible.

I’m thinking really simple arch. Skip all the rod holders and ladders and so on.

Appreciate hearing thoughts from those who actually know anything about this (unlike me, haha)....

There isn't really an entry level price point for radars. You may want to look for a pre-owned system. That said, the reason for my reply was your arch.

It sounds like you are having a custom arch fabricated. Consider a folding arch. We had a folding arch fabricated for our boat so we could motor under a low overhead/clearance bridge on one of our favorite lakes. I think that it was only 250.00 extra for the folding option.

We have folded our arch while on the lake many times. The process is simple enough; unscrew a couple knobs and fold the arch aft.

 

The radar beam simply needs to be high enough to clear the roof. Each manufacturer has specs for the beam angle. A mast isnt necessarily needed (or wanted). Hell, even proper clearance isnt needed. If you dont have 100% clearance at the bottom of the beam it will clip your beam, and so your close in target detection ability, depending on how much of the bottom of the beam is being deflected off the roof.

The lowest profile radar dome ive seen yet is the Lowrance Halo 20. I dont know them all though. Again, the manufacturers will give you the dome height spec as well.

 

The radar beam simply needs to be high enough to clear the roof. Each manufacturer has specs for the beam angle. A mast isnt necessarily needed (or wanted). Hell, even proper clearance isnt needed. If you dont have 100% clearance at the bottom of the beam it will clip your beam, and so your close in target detection ability, depending on how much of the bottom of the beam is being deflected off the roof.

What is your basis for this? I know there are over the horizon radar systems that use the ionosphere to reflect signals, but I wasn't aware they were installed on boats. Plus, if you are in 10 foot seas and have a 10 foot high radar, you are gonna be blind in the trough. Is there some physics trick I am unaware of to bend beams over the horizon and wavetops?

Also, I know that high power radar at deck height will cause some people headaches, and probably isn't good for anyone.

There is a good writeup on the West Marine site, but I am pretty dang sure that the height of the dome matters with respect to actual range, and as Hold Fast said, you can shadow the near stuff if you are too close to the roof, and you can't see the near stuff if you go too high.

This is from the West Marine website:
"This question, how much range you want from a radar, involves a couple of factors and some trade-offs. First, there’s the factor of height. Your radar can’t see over the earth’s curved horizon, so the height of your unit above the ocean surface, and the height of the target you’re looking at limit how far away you can identify objects.

For the techies among us, here is a simple formula: (1.22 nautical miles x square root of height of radar) + (1.22 nautical miles x square root height of target) In simple English, that means that if your boat has an antenna on a T-top that’s nine feet off the water, and you’re searching on the screen for a boat that’s the same size, you’ll need to be within 7.3 nautical miles (1.22 x 3 + 1.22 x 3 = 7.32). That’s the best-case scenario, but since fiberglass isn’t a very good radar reflecting material, you might have to be a lot nearer before you see the other boat.
Here comes the first trade-off: Installing your radar in a higher position increases the maximum range, but it also increases the minimum range around your boat, inside which targets cannot be detected. If you’re a fisherman and you’re looking for a stationary group of sport-fishing vessels (or birds that are feeding on fish), you’ll want lots of range. But if your main purpose in installing radar is to see close-in pilings, moored boats or rocks in your foggy harbor, you’ll go for short-range performance. "

 

The radar I have says it has a 48 mile range. Well that's nice but the horizon is not 48 miles out it is much closer.

Motion of the boat and wave height will render far away targets unreadable. In rough water they will be intermittent appearing only for brief little glimpses. With the setup I have now you can actually see the lines of swells in 5 or more foot of waves. At 6 feet above sea level (head height) the horizon is 7 miles by thumbrule (estimate). The horizon goes out farther as you go up higher. Radar is line of sight.

Getting the radar aimed is kinda tricky. You have to consider the pitch angle your boat runs at on step and at slow speeds. If you aim it above level then get 5 degrees bow high on step you will not see things close up that are dead ahead. If you angle it down too far you won't see as far out. Also there are considerations for height and sloppy seas. The higher up you go the more the radar is going to wave around. This is a problem on sailboats with a radar mounted on the mast. When you set it up make sure that you can change the angle of pitch before you nail it down. You might have to try a few different setups to get it right.

 

So I’ve had two hangups about radar, the first being I was concerned about clearance under the roof I was planning to build for the boat. I built the roof, so now I can pin a number to the clearance. To my eyeball, it looks like as long as my custom arch was built as low-profile as possible, there’s adequate clearance for a dome up there. But ideally the dome will also be low-profile.

I’m just after something that’ll get me back through the jetties in fog and show me the other boats around me in said fog. In other words I don’t need the latest-greatest that shows a single bird 2 miles away or whatever.

Since I’m not positive this is my “forever ocean boat” I also want to keep this as inexpensive as possible. On the other hand I’ll be running this boat for at least the next couple/few years so might as well check this rather large safety box if possible.

I’m thinking really simple arch. Skip all the rod holders and ladders and so on.

Appreciate hearing thoughts from those who actually know anything about this (unlike me, haha)....

I have the wireless only first watch radar from Furuno. I use a ipad with cellular, therefore I subscribe to and pay for the TZiboat navigation app and the navionics app. The radar works excellent. Screen shots below. I paid 850 bucks with free shipping and no sales tax.

 

I have the wireless only first watch radar from Furuno. I use a ipad with cellular, therefore I subscribe to and pay for the TZiboat navigation app and the navionics app. The radar works excellent. Screen shots below. I paid 850 bucks with free shipping and no sales tax.

View attachment 974161

Socket985 made a compelling recommendation on the Furuno First Watch when I asked a while back. I gave it a hard look. Ultimately our crew wanted a hard wired system and went with 18” xHD/943 xsv. Just installed it last weekend. I’ve seen a bunch of them on other peoples boats and it surprised me how big it was. Mounted it on a hard top with a 5” pedestal mount and 4 degree wedge. (12 degree beam)

This is our 3rd round of boats but I’m a rookie on the salt. Most of what I know is from Ifish and the internet but I debated/researched quite a bit.

If I was worried about clearance I would go folding. If I was going budget first, I would go wireless unless I already had the brand/chart plotter that would support it. In our case the MFD and transducer were more than the radar. We tried to balance cost with no regrets. I found wired entry level all ended at about the same price when you added it up with the extras.

 

 

I’m with Socket, I went with the Furuno wireless Watchman. I purchased the TZ app so you get radar overlay on charts. I’ve been pleased with it, I can’t tune it for “birds” but it does what I need it to do for a reasonable price ($800) You can run two devices off it, I’ll run my iPhone on the dash for reference and my passenger on the iPad calling stuff out. I had a monochrome Furuno so I was used to Furuno. I like having an independent chart plotter.

 

That wireless Furano is the one I’d been seeing in my searches. Good to hear it’s legit. Last time we revised our cell plan, we ended up with an unused extra “line”, in other words I could add a cellular-capable ipad for no extra charge.

Guess I better start looking at arch builders. I’m picturing something really minimalist. I’ve already got 6 rocket launchers on the gunnels, and it’s usually just me and one other person... but I’ll think about that. Ugh. I really don’t want to **** this boat out with a custom $4k arch.

 

Same ? Went with stand alone Furno $2,000.00

 

In a month or so I'll be posting a used RayMarine radar in the classifieds. My RayMarine a128 MFD died, but the radar was fine. I went with a whole new Garmin system.
ron m

 

Another bump for the DRS4W from Furuno. It's not perfect, but combined with TZiboat on an ipad, it's pretty sweet for a boat I know I won't have forever.

 

The only thing about using an iPad or any general tablet is, they are not marinized, they are not designed well for salt. You spend enough time with salt air/water exposure and the connectors will evenually corrode. Yes, you can use protective covers, etc...but that salt air will get in there eventually. The charger port and ear phone jack are the most common suspects...

I've had to tear some apart and replace those in the past for this reason.