I am about to buy a radar reflector ...

[Baggywrinkle]

... the question is which one? Small plastic sailing yacht 11.5m long with a 16m mast.

Do they work? What is your experience of liesure craft and radar? Do we show up?

Any recommendations would be greatly received. I've read some of the threads on the other forums and it all gets quite heated with much speculation so I hope I can get some objective advice straight from the horses mouth.

[Reverend Ludd]

Give one of these a look

http://www.sea-me.co.uk/

[channel]

The radar reflector has its use but for me an AIS signal being put out by a small craft is far more effective. Most ships will have an alarm set for targets showing a CPA of less than 1 mile. It forces the watchkeeper to take action. Also ships will know your name and you theres.

[homa]

Firdel blipper or equivalent. Retails at about £80'ish. Buy the mounting brackets and fix on the mast just above the spreaders.
I have one.
The Pilot cutters, RNLI and other professionals use them.
Basically the bigger the better for any passsive reflector.
The clear plastic toilet roll type IMHO are not worth the bother.

If I had the spare cash I'd buy a Seame, after that I'd probably get AIS.

AIS is excellent for what it is. But I don't even have an AIS receiver on my own boat.

We use radar and AIS all the time at work, but the AIS has its limitations. Very annoying when in congested waters and the AIS software gets overloaded. hence the need for good old fashioned reflector IMHO.

[Baggywrinkle]

Thx. for the answers.

Would love to buy everything I want now but got to prioritise.

Will probably get an Echomax 230 for the time being.

[AntarcticPilot]

The Ouzo report on the MAIB suggests that passive reflectors are little use in practical circumstances. An active transponder like the See-Me is much more likely to be seen.

An AIS Class B transponder is recommended by some, but big ship posters on here have suggested that a) AIS is still (IN THE MAIN!) a new system for big ships that is implemented in a minimalist way (this will slowly change as ships update bridge equipment) and b) that Radar is king in the wheelhouse. These has been confusion about filtering of returns; however, it does seem that any "dangerous" AIS target will always be flagged.

One thing to bear in mind about class B is that the update frequency is slow, so a ship might be relying on information sent by your vessel that is out of date.

[shaxi]

One thing to bear in mind about class B is that the update frequency is slow, so a ship might be relying on information sent by your vessel that is out of date.

i also dislike this , when you got the information ,you don't know if this is still valuable !

[Piers]

AIS is still (IN THE MAIN!) a new system for big ships that is implemented in a minimalist way

Hi AntarcticPilot,

Can I ask a question re AIS, please? From everything I've read, no AIS transmits speed through the water. Is this correct?

Since collision avoidance relies on sea-stabilised info (Speed through the water and ship's heading - not COG and SOG) surely the info cannot accurately be used for collission avoidance.

Am I barking up the wrong tree?

Piers

[AntarcticPilot]

Hi AntarcticPilot,

Can I ask a question re AIS, please? From everything I've read, no AIS transmits speed through the water. Is this correct?

Since collision avoidance relies on sea-stabilised info (Speed through the water and ship's heading - not COG and SOG) surely the info cannot accurately be used for collission avoidance.

Am I barking up the wrong tree?

Piers

AIS transmits exactly what it is told to! Speeds are often inverted (Ro-Ro ferries are prone to this - and I've been fooled by it!). I don't know whether what you say about speed is true; I suspect it is as the primary feed will be from the GPS. But any system should be able to allow for that using current information, so I doubt it matters in practice.

However, Thanks for your implied confidence in me, but I am no more an expert on the system that many other people on the forum - and far less than some!

[Piers]

Hi AntarcticPilot,

Thanks for the reponse. My apologies - I had thought you were literally a pilot (sea or air...) in the Antartic! Should have checked your profile....

All the best, and again, thanks for the heads up.

Piers