D.I.Y. radar reflector - input needed

Since its about that time of year that the ocean starts planing nice, I've been spending a lot of time getting setup for the salt. I've been thinking about putting together a D.I.Y. radar reflector so I can be seen in the fog by boats cruising around. I'm looking for input on materials and design ideas. Anyone have experience with radar reflectors on a boat? Any ideas on what metals would be most effective but still be cheap, easy to work with when cutting & drilling, and lightweight? I was thinking about cutting up a bunch of pop cans, flatten them and slap them together a few layers thick with marine goop. Maybe then wrap them in something like duct tape to make them low maintenance. Any thoughts?

here is a pretty comprehesive study that tested some home made and commercial reflectors.

http://www.maineseakayakguides.com/radar_report.pdf

good luck, doug

wonder how high off your deck it needs to be to be seen?

wonder how high off your deck it needs to be to be seen?

I'm thinking that if it was just above head-high, that would probably be high enough, depending on the sea state of course.
I was going to design it in a way that would allow it to be attached to my flag pole that I already have setup.

here is a pretty comprehesive study that tested some home made and commercial reflectors.

http://www.maineseakayakguides.com/radar_report.pdf

good luck, doug

Wow, that's incredibly helpful!
Thanks!

wonder how high off your deck it needs to be to be seen?

I'm thinking that if it was just above head-high, that would probably be high enough, depending on the sea state of course.
I was going to design it in a way that would allow it to be attached to my flag pole that I already have setup.

here is a pretty comprehesive study that tested some home made and commercial reflectors.

http://www.maineseakayakguides.com/radar_report.pdf

good luck, doug

Wow, that's incredibly helpful!
Thanks!

Something to think about if PC is your home port.  Only a teeny tiny fraction of the dory fleet (like I have seen one or two in five years plus) run radar.  I put my trust in a good bright flag on a tall pole.  Depoe Bay is another story and it might not be a bad idea if the fog was really thick, as it often is there in the summer.  I have run out and back from there many times on gps and radar alone and if you were paddling in the "channel" in heavy fog you would be asking for trouble.

I used to be able to see sea kayakers in calm seas at close range (inside 1/4 mile) on my radar.  I assume SOT's would show up as well.  Not a bad idea though.  Would be nice to have one slid up your flag pole just in case.

Something to think about if PC is your home port.  Only a teeny tiny fraction of the dory fleet (like I have seen one or two in five years plus) run radar.  I put my trust in a good bright flag on a tall pole.  Depoe Bay is another story and it might not be a bad idea if the fog was really thick, as it often is there in the summer.  I have run out and back from there many times on gps and radar alone and if you were paddling in the "channel" in heavy fog you would be asking for trouble.

I used to be able to see sea kayakers in calm seas at close range (inside 1/4 mile) on my radar.  I assume SOT's would show up as well.  Not a bad idea though.  Would be nice to have one slid up your flag pole just in case.

Good points, thanks for the input.
Yeah, I'm just trying to increase my chances of not being run over any way I can.  Plus I am planning on going to Depoe Bay more this year.  Since I've got a decent flag setup, I was thinking it wouldn't be tough to incorporate some kind of reflector that I could just hook on to my flag pole so I might as well do it.

I saw a discussion on iFish where some boat operators where commenting on how they wish more smaller ocean craft had some kind of radar reflectors so I decided to take the advice.

How about making yourself a tinfoil hat? 

Then you could use it here to beat up on Spot and Jay without worrying about negative results. 

foil hats safeguard gameplans from mind reading fish?

Okay, so my humor was not as funny as I planned.  

I would think that if you are in fog, you probably won't have any or much wind at the same time, so you could get away with a piece of bent aluminum sheet to use for a flag, say somewhere between 45º and 90º for your bend.

If you need a piece of thin alumimim cut and fitted to mount like a flag on your flag pole, I can probably help ya there bro.    It would be a cool piece to attach all your stickers too.

If ya wanted to do it on the cheap, I'd look at the large disposable cake pans (aluminum), or oil drip pans (galv sheet steel) for materials to play with, like these.

http://www.acehardware.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3506279&CAWELAID=323881588


http://backyardgardener.com/Apparel/Health_Beauty/Home_Garden/Kitchenware/Bakeware/Cake_Pans/Handi_Foil_Oblong_Ca.html



Read through this page and see if you can glean any useful info.
http://www.travelwithachallenge.com/Kayak-to-Canada.htm

I'm pretty sure I've posted this before
http://www.davisnet.com/marine/products/marine_product.asp?pnum=00151

I'd bet you could build something similar out of the pans that you could disassemble and slide away when you don't need it.
here's their PDF instructions http://www.davisnet.com/product_documents/marine/manuals/151_RdrRfltr_INS.PDF that can give you some idea of how it all goes together.

How about making yourself a tinfoil hat? 

Then you could use it here to beat up on Spot and Jay without worrying about negative results. 

The tinfoil hat had the best visibility of all products tested in the posted link.  Line your baseball cap with crinkled up foil. 

Okay, so my humor was not as funny as I planned. 

Sorry for those crickets, I did get a good chuckle out of it for the record. 

I'm pretty sure I've posted this before
http://www.davisnet.com/marine/products/marine_product.asp?pnum=00151

I'd bet you could build something similar out of the pans that you could disassemble and slide away when you don't need it.
here's their PDF instructions http://www.davisnet.com/product_documents/marine/manuals/151_RdrRfltr_INS.PDF that can give you some idea of how it all goes together.

Thanks for that Isaac.
I think I might just save myself the time and go with that since it seems reasonably priced. Not sure though.

I probably will end up lining my hat with foil regardless of whatever I come up with since it can only increase my chances of being seen.

What about one of those metal reflective helium inflatable balloons you give people for a gift or get well wish.  You could skip the "Happy Birthday" and go with the Smiley face or whatever.  A clip and some fishing line and you got a helium filled floater over your kayak.  They last for a couple weeks and maybe somebody can figure out how to reuse them.

To reuse the Mylar balloon, just cut off the tail and insert another latex balloon that can fill the cavity.  Basically putting an inner tube in it.  Otherwise, fashion some piano wire to bend around the perimeter inside to hold it's shape and attach to the flag pole. 

I think France makes a surrender flag lined with aluminum foil.  

My only fear is some idiot in the PB will change course and buzz over to "investigate" that funny blip on his screen, thinking they were diving birds or something.

I like the stealth approach, followed with some appropriate weaponry to protect myself.

It's the AMERICAN way.