Anybody want to ride along with one of the classic anglers mentioned in the article?

http://sports.espn.go.com/outdoors/tournaments/classic/news/story?page=b_classic_11_Stout_Radar

Supposedly Skeet Reese is quoted saying "It gives me eyes in the dark and in the fog," explains Reese. "I can spot a buoy in the water three-quarters of a mile ahead and pick up birds sitting on the water 100 feet away."  A further quote from the article: "For example, Reese says that instead of idling through blinding fog, he can run on plane and see where he's going with less concern of hitting something."

Let's hope that this was all mis-quoted.

100 feet to see a bird sized obstruction in the water?  Like a gator's head?  A deadhead?  While running on plane?  There is no possible way that you can avoid a collision when you are traveling that fast and you'll only see the problem 100' away.  At thirty miles per hour, a car needs at least thirty feet to stop on dry pavement, and boats don't have brakes.  Are you just supposed to swerve?  How do you drive around a large bow wake from another boat?  Can that radar even pick out a wave?

We've had boat collisions in the middle of Lake Michigan when people have thought they could run through fog using radar.  Two problems.  First, the operator needs to know how to work and operate the radar, and secondly, the radar has to pick up the target in time for the operator to react.

Any bets on what Lowrance's disclaimer is going to say on the screen each time you fire one of these things up?

Does anybody else think that sanity may just be lost in the fog?

I can see where radar could be beneficial but I think that stating that this is a tool that will let you run on plane in the fog is misleading and can lead to tragedy and no matter how good the radar is I hope others will not trust it to navigate through fog at high speeds. I was a marshal in the 2010 elite on Smith Mountain Lake in Virginia, the day one pro (I won't mention his name) took us into and through the fog way too fast, visibility was very limited and he was running with his GPS map (not radar) and I was very uncomfortable.

On a positive note. There was no fog yesterday during the final day of practice, so those guys who have radar were able to see what the radar saw, and get a good idea of what it does before they had to contend with the fog.

Radar is a very effective means for navigation. It has been used for years in salt water fishing. As with anything there is risk involved and there is a level of common sense that needs to be exercised.

Many of our lakes out West have a significant amount of debris from rain and snow run off that can last well into the spring. Lower units and props get destroyed on clear days every year. If you were in a boat travelling 60mph and saw an obstruction at 200ft you would have the same amount of time to react at half the distance (100ft) travelling half the speed (30mph). So to answer your question, yes, you go around it. A boat is not confined to a lane on a street. Speed and your ability to react are the determining factors. As far as bow waves go you should be able to anticipate them based on the fact that you can see the other boats.

people ride boats all the time at night.  I personally have ridden at dark and must say that it wasn't fun, and if it was something that I had to do alot of I think the radar would be useful.  I'm sure radar would come in handy for nighttime tournaments.

I just hope all of them (and the marshals) make it back in one piece. Just like a safety on a gun, it is a device that CAN fail.

Jason

Have you seen the size of this thing?

http://sports.espn.go.com/outdoors/tournaments/classic/photogallery?id=6135275&photo=26

So what's next? Force Fields to protect the boats from other boats and obstructions? ;D

I can see it now; blasting off, racing down the lake toward the first spot through the fog and me shouting to my co-angler, "Hey partner, divert full power to front deflector shields!!!!"

Heck I might say that at my next tournament just to see what kind of crazy look my co-anger gives me ;D

I think probably they are here to stay, probably they are useful some of the time, and there will be times when radar can't fix stupid. That said most guys can benefit from having on there boat.

     Anyone remember Megabucks where they fished a small lake divided into 10 holes ? I'm just sayin.......

Radar is a very effective means for navigation. It has been used for years in salt water fishing. As with anything there is risk involved and there is a level of common sense that needs to be exercised.

Many of our lakes out West have a significant amount of debris from rain and snow run off that can last well into the spring. Lower units and props get destroyed on clear days every year. If you were in a boat travelling 60mph and saw an obstruction at 200ft you would have the same amount of time to react at half the distance (100ft) travelling half the speed (30mph). So to answer your question, yes, you go around it. A boat is not confined to a lane on a street. Speed and your ability to react are the determining factors. As far as bow waves go you should be able to anticipate them based on the fact that you can see the other boats.

Yes, but two points: boats don't have brakes and you can't always be sure that your swerve isn't going to interfere with someone else's path or some other obstruction you can't see.

Not to pick on tournament people cause I fish a lot of them myself, but there is a lot of adreneline flowing at times which gets in the way of judgment. I see ( and have probably made) some of the dumbest errors at takeoffs in limited visibility conditions. I'm not sure radar is going to solve that

Yes, but two points: boats don't have brakes and you can't always be sure that your swerve isn't going to interfere with someone else's path or some other obstruction you can't see.

That's just it... you can see the obstructions. Think about it for a second. Radar has been used by the military since WW2, airports use it to navigate planes, Police use it bust speeders and its even used for measuring droplets of rain. I am sure everyone has heard of doppler radar. As stated above you can't cure stupid but if radar was so dangerous why do so many different industries rely on it. Not to mention most of which would suffer huge casualties in the event of failure.

Jedi masters can navigate through obstructions blindfolded using the Force. 

Yes, but two points: boats don't have brakes and you can't always be sure that your swerve isn't going to interfere with someone else's path or some other obstruction you can't see.

That's just it... you can see the obstructions. Think about it for a second. Radar has been used by the military since WW2, airports use it to navigate planes, Police use it bust speeders and its even used for measuring droplets of rain. I am sure everyone has heard of doppler radar. As stated above you can't cure stupid but if radar was so dangerous why do so many different industries rely on it. Not to mention most of which would suffer huge casualties in the event of failure.

I should have clarified my example of an obstruction: how about a deadhead floating log or down here a gator which have knocked off many a lower unit.

I love technology and I use it but when it's foggy but I'm going with common sense, backing it down to 40 mph or some other speed where I'm not exceeding my visibility because unlike most scenarios where radar is used such as aviation, I can't count on the other guy to be using the same degree of technology and for the most part I'm just hoping he/she has enough sense to at least have their running lights on