Radar reflectors

[Mike]

I was tearing apart the flybridge dash and found a radar reflector zip-tied to the wiring inside.  I didn't really understand the need for something like this actually inside a dashboard so I wrote a post about it on the Navigator Owner club.  

Interesting to find out that fiberglass boats do not natively reflect radar because the radar beams pass directly through fiberglass.  So, in the past some people would install a reflector in order to be "seen" better by radar equipment (of other boats).  

Some of my research suggests that Canada had an old regulation that required a reflector installed on fiberglass cruisers.  Since my boat came from Canada in a past life, I figure this is why the reflector was installed.  They put it under the dash to keep it out of sight (they are pretty ugly hanging off the back of a boat).

Due to more current technology such as AIS and higher-grade low-end radar, it's my guess the regulation was removed.  I also did some additional research and discovered there is a huge debate about the effect of these radar reflectors.  Some say they work, others say not-so-much and advise people to install an active electronic radar emitter.

On my boat, I am not so concerned because there are other big things installed on the boat.  For instance, the refrigerator is a HUGE box of metal that is above the waterline.  If I had a sailboat with a refer below the waterline, I'd be more concerned.  But at this point I am not concerned about it.