Do you know how your radar works?

[Piers]

I too use the EBL, in my case because the MARPA is utterly crap . The obvious limitation though is that you can only track as many targets as you have EBLs, in my case two. Does your Furuno allow more (or any number), or do you find that you only really need to keep an eye on one or two vessels at a time? My solution is to turn on the AIS overlay, and check that each radar return has an associated AIS target, then I only need to manually (with EBL) track any that don't.

Remember that there's a delay in AIS transmissions so the radar return will be displaced from the AIS position. Also, alteration in the traget's track will show faster on radar than the delayed AIS. I only use AIS for 'casual' info, not for any form of avoidance.

Trials (the luminescent foot print) will show you which targets are the likely problems, and for those I use the EBL. A combination of trails and EBL is simple, very workable, and tells you exactly what you need to know.

Bear in mind that the COLREGS change in restriced vis so you need to know the aspect of the target, not just it's position, to ensure you take the correct avoiding action.

 

[paul salliss]

Am keen to get some tuition on my radar, if anyone wants to put themselves forward please PM me, would like tuition on my own boat, / Garmin kit, will be based on Hamble for a few more weeks before I move on

 

[Hurricane]

Remember that there's a delay in AIS transmissions so the radar return will be displaced from the AIS position. Also, alteration in the traget's track will show faster on radar than the delayed AIS. I only use AIS for 'casual' info, not for any form of avoidance.

Trials (the luminescent foot print) will show you which targets are the likely problems, and for those I use the EBL. A combination of trails and EBL is simple, very workable, and tells you exactly what you need to know.

Bear in mind that the COLREGS change in restriced vis so you need to know the aspect of the target, not just it's position, to ensure you take the correct avoiding action.

Firstly, let me say that I do much the same as you and PRV.
But lets not kid ourselves, unless the visibility is poor, we get nowhere near a collision anyway and simple visual view of the situation is all that is necessary.
I come from a dinghy racing background where boats pass within mm of each other.
On one of my Yachtmaster courses, I was very surprised that other students on the course didn't have that spatial awareness and anything within a mile was an instant problem.
I'm not saying that you push these limits but people perceive these situations differently.
Once the relative speeds of vessels in an open environment (the sea) is properly understood and apreciated, it is easy to see that on a clear day Radar just isn't necessary.
Fog though, is a completely different story.

However, where MARPA/AIS does come in handy is in making a decision a good few miles away from a target whether to pass in front or behind.
But in normal conditions Radar is just an electronic nicety which becomes more of a game than an essential (certainly in the Med anyway).

 

[prv]

Remember that there's a delay in AIS transmissions so the radar return will be displaced from the AIS position.

Maybe your fancy radar can distinguish the 60 metre maximum offset between the two positions (assuming a ship doing 20 knots), but I assure you that mine cannot .

Also, alteration in the traget's track will show faster on radar than the delayed AIS.

Again, that might be the case with your excellent radar (lot of respect for Furuno here), but not with my 18" Raymarine leisure set. However, if I have the ship selected on the AIS display, I can see his rudder angle change as soon as he puts the wheel over, so I know he's manoeuvring even before the ship actually moves.

Pete

 

[Piers]

Maybe your fancy radar can distinguish the 60 metre maximum offset between the two positions (assuming a ship doing 20 knots), but I assure you that mine cannot .

Again, that might be the case with your excellent radar (lot of respect for Furuno here), but not with my 18" Raymarine leisure set. However, if I have the ship selected on the AIS display, I can see his rudder angle change as soon as he puts the wheel over, so I know he's manoeuvring even before the ship actually moves.

Pete

Hi Pete, Good comment, but it's never been a case of the faster moving or the large commercial targets that cause a problem. It's the smaller slower moving, which have much longer AIS broadcast delays and which transmit much lesser information, that are the issue. Hence my previous comment.