If you have radar fitted to your vessel you are required to know how to use it. Radar is one of the most useful safety assets on a small boat, but needs  knowledge and practice with the controls, and awareness of its limitations, to make it useful.

 We deliver the knowledge required for the RYA 1 Day  Radar Course Certificate using the latest RYA approved simulator software, showing both CRT and LCD screen displays.

The Radar Simulator acts exactly like a real marine radar set, but the environment can be fully controlled. All the standard set-up options are provided, giving control over brilliance, gain, range, tuning, sea clutter and rain clutter.  All of the common functions, such as Head-Up or North-Up, EBL, VRM and Guard Zones, has either its own control button, or follows the modern practice ( like Raymarine) of using menus and soft-keys for function selection.  The exercises provide plenty of practice in target plotting, collision avoidance including MARPA, and recognition and control of clutter.

At the end of the course you will have a good working knowledge of radar operations and be able to apply it to collision avoidance and navigation. 

Course contents

The small boat Radar system

• Radar - overview of principles
• Limitations of small craft radar
• Primary controls and adjustments

Understanding the radar picture

• Radar screen presentation
• Sea and Rain clutter controls, interference
• False images – causes and effects
• North Up, Head up & Course up
• Accuracy and inaccuracies of radar
• Relative and True Motion

Use of radar as a navigation and pilotage aid

• Fixes by range and bearing
• Parallel indexing

Radar reflectors

• Radar cross section

• Passive and Active radar reflectors

• Limitations of Reflectors

Collision avoidance

• Case studies - Wahkuna/Vespucci and Ouzo
• IRPCS and application of the Collision Regulations in restricted visibility
• Radar Plotting techniques, and many worked examples and exercises
• Use of Mini Automatic Radar Plotting Aid (MARPA)
• AIS - Automatic Identification System - not part of the RYA syllabus, but we cover it.

You will use a simulator throughout the course to learn the techniques and see the effect of your actions.

This course also meets the training requirements for skippers of licenced workboats fitted with radar.

Please bring plotter and dividers. The RYA Course Handbook and Question & Answer book are provided.

References from yacht clubs are available - RYA Reference

Adlard Coles Book of Electronic Navigation

by Tim Bartlett.  Covers plotters, Radar, GPS

by Robert Avis - good all round book.

You can buy a personal copy of the radar simulator for £60.00, please for details