[kepowee]

Hi All I Was Watching A Program On Bbc2 Last Nite Seaside Rescue They Sent The Chopper Out To A Cruise Ship Called The Legend Of The Sea On One Of The Shots Of The Bow It Showed A Radar Scanner On A Short Mast Iv Never Seen One Like This Before Can Anyone Give Me Any Info On This Ken Powell

[StewartM]

Hi Ken, these are usually referred to as Docking Radars. Because of the way in which the radar beam comes out of the scanner, in a sort of cone shape, low targets very close to the ship will be outside that beam, so the one low down right at the bow will pick up objects low in height and close to the bow, like the quaysides in very bad visibility, but also useful for picking up smaller craft, bouys, small islands etc in crowded waterways in bad vis.

Cheers, Stewart.

[kepowee]

Hi Stewart Thanks For The Info Ken

[makko]

They are also very useful for checking position in crowded waterways or narrow long approach channels, especially if there is a malecon or promenade with lots of light.

I'm an Engineer, but asked the same question nigh on 25 years ago when I had to do Bridge time! If I remember rightly, on one occasion we were in the Inland Sea in Japan and another time may have been Vancouver. Oh! and you can "measure" the wave crests too!

Regards,

Dave

[fred henderson]

The same arrangements are also fitted at the stern of large cruise ships.

Fred

[billyboy]

promenades with lights eh!...reminds me of entering Portsmouth at night. easy to become disorientated there. we had no radar at all!
wonder if thats why the matelots used to quote "first the nab and then the warner, fort block house and sh 1te house corner"