RYA RADAR COURSE View Dates
Popular on both sailing and motor boats, Radar is an invaluable aid for pilotage, navigation and for collision avoidance. It is only useful though in the hands of a knowledgeable and experienced operator. This course provides the knowledge for you to then gain the experience.
RYA RADAR COURSE OVERVIEW:
Small craft radar is probably the most versatile of all electronic navigation aids. Over a day of training we can teach you how to adjust the controls, interpret the picture and make use of the set for navigation and for collision avoidance. The course can be delivered to you in two ways;
- In our classroom (Southampton our Dumbarton) using our touchscreen Radar simulators
- On board your boat (mixture of laptop simulator and your live set)
RYA Radar Course at our classroom
Most students join one of our regular classroom courses. The day is a mix of theory and of practical use of our touch screen radar simulators.
RYA Radar Course onboard your vessel
We can run a bespoke course on board your vessel. We will start with your on-board Radar and take you through its functions and tuning. We then switch to a lap top simulator where the Instructor can reproduce scenarios and set bits of coastline, buoys and approaching vessels to appear on the screen as required. We then return to your live radar set for a few more exercises. Onboard courses typically work with 1 or 2 students but can be extended to 3 or 4 on larger vessels that have room on board for two lap top simulators, the Instructor and all of the students.
HOW LONG IS THE RYA RADAR COURSE?
The RYA Radar course takes one-day and typically runs 0915 to 1630
WHAT ARE THE RYA RADAR COURSE PRE REQUISITES?
- No previous radar knowledge is required
- Basic understanding of navigation and collision regulations (Day Skipper level or above).
- This course is aimed at sailors and power boaters of approaching level or Advanced Powerboat or Coastal Skipper Level (or above).
Many students on this course have seen and tried to use a radar set previously but not necessarily experienced a great deal of success.
WHAT IS THE RYA RADAR COURSE CONTENT?
- Basic understanding of Radar, wave propagation and conditions that give rise to abnormal propagation
- Correct use of controls (brilliance, contrast, gain, range, tuning)
- How to measure bearing and range
- Target definition & discrimination
- Spot size, pulse length & beam width
- Target characteristics, size, shape, material
- False Echos
- Shadow sectors & shadow diagram
- Sea clutter and rain clutter
- Radar reflectors, (passive & active)
- Navigation
- Radar Ranging
- Three point fixes
- Fix by EBL and VRM
- Parallel indexing
- Collision Avoidance
- Relative motion
- Auto plotting aids
- The implications of IRPCS rules 5 (look-out), 6 (safe-speed), 7 (risk of collision) and 19 (restricted visibility)
- The practical limitations of small craft radar
- Assessing risk of collision with another vessel
- Assessing the closest point of approach of another vessel and determining whether it will pass ahead or astern
- Plotting and assessing the course and speed of another vessel
WHAT’S INCLUDED IN THE RYA RADAR COURSE?
- Day of shorebased Training
- Use of our PC based Training Simulators
- RYA Radar Student book and plotting sheets
- RYA Radar Course Certificate
- Tea & Coffee
- Free (on street) Parking
WHAT IS THE RYA RADAR COURSE TEACHING RATIO?
The RYA sets the following minimum ratios – one simulator per 3 students and 1 Instructor per 12 students. Chieftain smashes both of those ratios.
- Maximum 8 students
- 1 Simulator per student
While the class does not exceed 8. The class size is typically 3-6,and we will run the course with as few as 2 students .
RYA RADAR OPTIONAL EXTRA
PC Simulator
All students have access to our simulator during the course, however if you would like your own license to run the software on your own PC, you can buy it at the time of booking the course.
As much as we are massive fans of Macs and iPads, the simulator is only available for Windows based PCs, it will work with any version of Windows from Windows XP to Windows 10. The lifetime license to the Lightmaster Radar Simulator is normally £60, however you can buy it from us for £50 at the same time as you book the course.