Radar mounting on a backstay

[Geoff Nelson]

OK- I have done the research and decided I want to go with a backstay mounted and gimbaled installation for my radar. I have looked at several options and looks like options are Questus, ScanStrut and Waltz. Waltz looks like it just came out of receivership or a sale or something and aside from being 1/2 the price, of the other two, I am not super comfortable with that. Questus is recommended on this board and from Prac Sailor (10 years ago) but has a poor website so can't get much info. Scanstrut is English (ugh! ) but an OceanEquipment rep'd product to make up for it and has a lot of info on the site but I can't find much aside from their marketing info to recommend or differentiate it.

Any ideas/opinions out there?

 

[rwthomas1]

I like the Waltz and the price is right. The Questus is likely a better product but double the cost The Scanstrut is DOUBLE the Questus..... I have a tough time ponying up my hard earned cash for some tubing, a damped mount and some brackets that cost as much as the radar DOME itself! If I can stop the wire from clanging in my mast the radar is staying on the mast. RT

 

[Geoff Nelson]

Pricing

Thanks-

The Scanstrut and the Questus are $20 apart in price with Port Supply/WM at about $1160 and $1180. I have heard good things about the Questus, but no feedback on the SS. I agree they are way overpriced for what they are, but upon further research- the Waltz does NOT include the POLE (for another $340 + $660 for the dome mount) bringing them into the hunt price wise. "Back in production under new management" is unnerving too.

Maybe I am in the wrong business???

Has anyone had any complaints about any of them?

 

[Cory B]

A few years back a guy down the dock from us took his boat up to Barkely sound (potentially very bumpy ride) with a new Questus radar mount. He told me that the radome fell off, and when he called the company to discuss the issue he said they told him "it wasn't designed for rough offshore conditions". Another boat I'm familar with has had leaking issues with the fluid used for the gimballing, but the company has tried to take care of them (I don't recall the manufacturer).

We ended up going with stern pole, as it was the cheapest and easiest install, and I felt a reliable installation. Unfortunately its also the ugliest, but it has worked well for us. Someday I'd like to get it up on the mast.

 

[dustintodd]

Why backstay?

What are the advantages of backstay mounted vs. mast mounted?

 

[mark reed]

Waltz

Geoff,
I installed a Waltz gimballing mount for my radar in 2003. It was a fairly painless installation, one of the easiest boat projects that I've completed by myself. The only issue we have had is hydraulic fluid leaking from the damping mechanism (I think I'm the one Cory alluded to). Our unit was manufactured in Oregon, and the "new management" in Iowa tried to make good on the problem -- we sent the unit to him and he replaced a seal and re-filled the damping mechanism with hydraulic fluid. It leaked out again the next year. At this point, I'm not going to do anything further about it, because it is somewhat of a PITA to remove the mount and radome and there are no apparent problems. The weight of the radome keeps it from swinging very much. We have used the radar in moderate conditions (up to 30 kt winds and 15' seas) during nine passages along the WA coast, without problem. We get a pretty good return from ships at over 10 miles, depending on sea state and other factors.
If I had it to over, I might choose an arch instead (at least double the cost), just to have room to mount other stuff like solar panels. Otherwise I still prefer the backstay to either a pole or mast mount, in terms of aesthetics and ease of installation.
Hope this helps.