Radar Useful?

[Rich]

I can add to this for the newer RADAR units:

This past weekend I was onboard a friends boat that had the newest solid state doppler radar. It sure was much improved from my older analog (2005) Radar!

It seemed to be able to see almost every boat around (with minimal testing. just a seat of the pants observation). Even the small fiberglass boats that my older unit would often miss.

Radar is very useful at night, and has been even useful during the day to notice that someone has snuck up quickly behind you. Since we don't have rear-view mirrors on most boats you actually have to turn your body around to see if someone is close behind you. Radar let's you see/notice this without having to rotate around to take a look, so it's often useful for this. Not to mention if someone is approaching you from a side, etc.

The newer doppler radar can automatically highlight (color) boats going away from you. vs coming towards you. This adds to their situational awareness and seems very helpful.

After this short session on my friends boat, I'm looking forward to updating my electronics on my boat a bit more than i was before I had the short demo.

[Descant]

Originally Posted by Rich

I can add to this for the newer RADAR units:

This past weekend I was onboard a friends boat that had the newest solid state doppler radar. It sure was much improved from my older analog (2005) Radar!

It seemed to be able to see almost every boat around (with minimal testing. just a seat of the pants observation). Even the small fiberglass boats that my older unit would often miss.

Radar is very useful at night, and has been even useful during the day to notice that someone has snuck up quickly behind you. Since we don't have rear-view mirrors on most boats you actually have to turn your body around to see if someone is close behind you. Radar let's you see/notice this without having to rotate around to take a look, so it's often useful for this. Not to mention if someone is approaching you from a side, etc.

The newer doppler radar can automatically highlight (color) boats going away from you. vs coming towards you. This adds to their situational awareness and seems very helpful.

After this short session on my friends boat, I'm looking forward to updating my electronics on my boat a bit more than i was before I had the short demo.

Helpful post. Maybe Big Guy's "anachronism" was correct after all, not just a description of the acronym. Gotta love auto correct.
In a crowded harbor, mooring field, etc, how far apart do the targets have to be before you just get clutter? I may have to rethink my old, 2003, radar, but I still want to see a FLIR demo. The New England Boat Show doesn't have the vendor booths in the quantity we used to have. Need to go to Ft Lauderdale, end of October, or maybe Annapolis or Newport.