Radar Mount on a 27 FC

[rnummi]

Anybody have any experience mounting a radome or a mast capable of holding same on an Albin 27FC? The pilot house top is balsa cored laminate so i don't think it could handle any substantial weight. I'm open to any suggestions. Will be awhile till I get to it but wanted to poll the experts first.

[Jeremyvmd]

No experience on the 27 and hardly an expert, but the top on a 28te is balsa cored as well and supported my dad and nephew as we were working on the radar arch and radome recently (although I suspect the top is thicker on the 28). I think as long as there is enough glass and core you should be ok. Modern radomes are being made lighter and lighter. My 4g is about half the weight of the furuno I took off. I would think as long as you cut out the coring and filled with epoxy around any bolt holes, at worst you would jeed a backing plate of some kind...

[rnummi]

Thanks Jeremy, it looks fairly sturdy, just didn't know if it was sufficiently so. I saw the tilt forward mount on another post but was concerned w ability to hold a radome. Was looking at the new furuno wireless radar.

[Jeremyvmd]

honestly I don't think wireless tech is quite there. I suspect you will lose some image quality with a wireless radar and you want the best image you can afford.

[Marcy K]

Am trying to remember our 1985 A27 radar configuration. It had a stainless mount - 4 legged with a piece of wood (painted plywood) across the top and the Raytheon mounted on top of that. We often ceased 2 kayaks on the roof too - we installed another teak hand rail in the middle of the roof to tie them off to (as well as the side roof rails). I was the one who climbed up there to raise or lower kayaks - so there was substantial added weight. There were no roof/weight issues over the 10 years we owned "Willet".

Marcy K
A34 Paumanok 1986
Falmouth, MA

[tego]

My radome is mounted on a commercially produced tilt-down mount that allows the radome to lay down over the windshield for transporting. The radome is not heavy. The mount probably weighs more than the dome, and combined, are still relatively light- probably about 25-30 pounds max. I have been on my wheelhouse roof several times with no ill effects (185 lbs). I do, however, lay on the roof and don't stand on it, so the weight is distributed over a larger area. I have an '87 27FC, which was put together by much more skilled Albin workers, apparently, than those that built the '84s. After 2 1/2 years of ownership, I haven't found any delamination, major leaks etc, plus I believe my PO's were experienced boaters when they owned mine. I really feel for you guys that are rebuilding yours. Remember that entry level boats are generally purchased by inexperienced boaters who learn the hard way about maintenance and caring for a boat. Lots of subsequent owners have to pay for their " learning curve". Good luck, Ben

[rnummi]

Do you have the name of the manufacturer (of the tilt down mount)....

[Beta Don]

Commercially made Radar mounts are *expensive* and the tilting ones even more so

While there is some advantage (greater range) to mounting the radome up on a mast well above the roof, for a trailerable boat I think I would just mount it on a piece of plywood screwed to the roof - Soak both sides of the ply with epoxy and do the edges twice. Paint it white to match the top and you'll have a workable Radar for about $250 to $300 less than buying a nice tilting mount

Don

[tego]

mummy, I checked the boat today ( went for a 4 hr ride to stir up the oil prior to changing) and the name on the radar mount was "Tower Power". No other markings on the unit that I could see. It's about 12" high and has two removable knobs which allow the mount and radome to tilt down in front of the windshield. I like it 'cause I want to trailer her in the future. It worked great when I had her trucked down here from New Hampshire. Ben

[rnummi]

Yep, found it. Muchas Gracias!

[rnummi]

I saw Beta Don's electronics mount today... Very impressive. Now I need to find a guy in Tampa Bay that does aluminum welding... He built his using an old sailboat boom.

[rnummi]

I also see where Edson I believe makes a tilt retrofit platform. I just like that A30 look w the raked radar mount. I've also seen the scan struts which are evidently made of Fiberglass. Anyway, I'm pretty far away from that at this point. I'm searching the archives for various options. My brother thinks it's like putting an ocean liner's mast on the little A27.

[Beta Don]

Where are you going that makes you think investing in a small boat radar is something you'll want/need? If your budget for a chartplotter is ~$500, what would you be comfortable spending on a radar? Any experience with small boat radars . . . . especially something you could get for less than $500?

If you plan to boat a good bit at night, especially in strange waters unfamiliar to you and/or you live where unexpected bouts with pea soup fog can be a frequent issue then you probably need to add radar, but something that will actually be of practical use is likely going to set you back a good bit more than $500

I got a free Raymarine black and white radar from a friend who had just upgraded to a Garmin 741X with matching color radar (currently on sale at West for ~$1800). After looking at his radar overlayed on the chartplotter, I decided to leave the old black & white unit he gave me off the boat - Translating what I see on the black and white radar screen to my color GPS screen would be of more confusion than help, I thought. I just did not see where it would be of benefit often enough to make it worth installing . . . . and it was free. You're welcome to it Rick, if you think it would be of use to you. I can ship it to you in May when we make a trip home

IMO, unless you're planning on spending around $2K or so for a modern color unit, a $500 radar with a separate $500 chartplotter would not be of that much practical use - Again, only my opinion. For the sort of money you would have to spend to get something new enough to be of practical use, I would carefully reconsider what your needs are and how often you would actually make use of it

As an aside, I think I told you about my sailing friend who spent last year in Maine and Nova Scotia. He bought the previous version Garmin chartplotter (740S like mine) with radar new before he left 2 years ago and he swears by it - Wouldn't boat in the fog prone northeast without radar *for sure* he says. But, a month after the warranty expired, his radar quit functioning - He'll get a newly rebuilt unit from Garmin before he leaves again this spring, but the Garmin repair price to get it going again is $730. This is the second radar system he's 'lost' - A lightening strike took out his first system before he was actually able to make much use of it

Small boat radar is a fairly expensive proposition and if you boat where it's something you actually need, by all means, spend the money and get a good one, but if you're not going far from home, don't boat very often at night and seldom see much fog, possibly your 'boat units' could be better spent elsewhere?

Don

PS - I think Ron is probably right!

[rnummi]

Thanks for your thoughts. I was thinking a self contained unit that had everything all in one package. That turned out to be a Simrad GO7, Chartplotter w sounder. Turns out you can't network a radar into that. I wasn't actually buying (or looking) for radar, just the arch (like yours). Mostly telecom, cell booster etc. I keep looking at the Furuno DS4W but everyone seems to think that it's pretty useless. I don't plan on voyaging into the fog or dark, it would be nice to get w decent Chartplotter though. Right now it would be nice to have a working electrical system. I plan on tracing all my electrics tomorrow, cutting 30 years worth of random unplanned, unrouted electrical spaghetti and reroute get to organized bus bars. Ben (Tego) came down to scope out the trailer and ended up being dragooned into helping me finish the starting system.

When all that's complete, I'll plug in a Chartplotter. You're right of course.... Radar seems a bit science fiction in the current state of affairs. A "nice" to have as opposed to "how deep is the water" and "where the heck am I".

[Panhdjoe]

Hello, just wanted to comment on the usefulness of radar on a small coastal cruiser, I have had a older Raymarine Pathfinder series for awhile that I only got around to installing last year. On our cruise last year down the intracoastal to Florida we ran into some serious thunderstorms on several occasions. I found it very useful to know exactly where the cell of the storms were in relation to our position and once turned around to get out of the middle of a bad one. I have not yet run into the need to stay underway after dark on when fog sets in but I would use the Radar to get to a safe place to Anchor. Count me a a fan of the added safety factor of Radar.