radar "wedge" for 282 hardtop?

[bc282]

considering adding a small wedge in between the hardtop and under the radome to tilt it forward.

i'm finding that the radar misses targets that are in front but catches them when they are along side or behind.
not saying it misses everything in front, just lower targets (like boats!), but islands and mountains and big stuff are definitely seen on the radar!

if i put a small 4 or 5 degree wedge, will that overly increase the amount of sea clutter on the radar as a tradeoff? :huh

Any other 282 owners with radar with similar issues?

here's an old pic of the boat but the radome has not changed

 

[cgmiller]

sea clutter can be filtered out with the unit. Having the bean angle parallel with the water when you are running will certainly help your close target resolution...with out the wedge your beam is shooting up in the air when you are running on plane..

 

[JeffN]

A couple of years back I added and adjustable platfrom to my radar dome mounted on my acrh. It looks like a box about five inches high but you can change the angle quite a bit. It is not as sexy looking as the fixed angle tower things but it did make a difference with my radar image. I did try several adjustments before I finished. I looked at a wedge but did not think it would be enough for my application. The wedge would be the most simple solution though. My optimum angle ended up being greater than 4 degrees. Try the wedge I think you will see an improvement.

 

[Capt Bill]

I installed a new radar 24" Lowrance dome on my Sailfish, just last week. I cut 3" plugs with my hole-saw on the drill press; 1" for the rear mounts, and 1/2" for the front. I cut them on an angle, so that when positioned with the thicker ones at the rear, they provided a flat mounting surface for the radar. The Lowarance unit has 3" dia rubber discs inset on the bottom mounting surface, which sit directly on my mounting spacers.

I'll try to post a side-view pic a little later.

 

[bc282]

Considered ordering a sea view angled radar wedge but for $150, I've decided to get one fab'd by local plastics fabricator out of starboard for $50.
I hope this makes a difference.

 

[wdlfbio]

That's a much better deal. If you like the fit, finish, and performance, please pass onthe details. I have mine mounted flush and works fine when I'm just tooling along (which would be in heavy fog), but not for close targets when on plane.

 

[bc282]

Well the fabricator had to make it in 2 pieces as his band saw does a max of 6" deep cuts.
Did a decent job, but I ran out of time to install it. Came in at $35 and under the anticipated price of $50. Sweet!

My 4kw (24") Furuno radome needs a wedge of 10.5" wide in the front/back and about 8" deep.
Very close to what I measured and what Seaview's pricey wedge spec'd at.
7/8" at the at the fat end (back) and 1/4" in the front should achieve that 5 degree tilt.

Hopefully the existing Furuno fasteners under the radome will be long enough to accommodate the additional 7/8" starboard material.

Furuno email support suggested not to exceed 6 degrees tilt, so hopefully it'll be in that 4-5 degree range when it's said and done and targets will light up in front as they should.

Will get this project done mid August before next trip.

PS, the first trips of the season on the PacNW was awesome! limits of chinooks, halibuts, rockfish and a bunch more coho, ling, cabezon and crabs! Kick azz weather for most of it too! Life is good.