The Radar's Point Of View

Amen, Ted! One thing I have come to realize when showing a radar display to someone who has never seen one is this: either you "get it" or you don't. I have had quite a few people (passengers on excursion boats, new deckhands and even engineers on towboats) who look at that screen and have no earthly idea what it is they are seeing, and even after it is explained to some, it is just a bunch of green lines on a black surface. I was 14 years old the first time I saw a radar display (on the DELTA QUEEN), and while I have learned some more about radar and tricks with it, and what it will and will not do, I had an understanding of it then that is close to what I know now after 34 years of staring at these wonderful machines. I wouldn't want to run a boat without one. it is the single most relied upon and important aid to navigation there is, in my book.

Ted et al: The question that I have, is what are the radar's limitations? Can it "see" wood and or fiberglass boats?? What with my smokestacks engines and boilers I am satisfied that they can see me, but what about Shipyard Sam in his Weaver yaw when he's sneakin off the third shift to visit home from here at the shipyard?? What with Clifford gone now, we'd have a time replacin' him...Cap'n Walnut.

Don't worry about Shipyard Sam in his yawl. On the rivers, unlike at sea, the gain is turned up pretty high, and the range is usually 1.5 miles or less. Fiberglass and wooden boats show up pretty well on radars on the rivers, as does drift, duck blinds, etc. You'd be surprised what shows up best...birds, ducks and geese! I often jokingly say that the Coast Guard should put feathers on buoys to make them a better radar target.

When radar techs and manufacturers' reps meet at trade shows, the manufacturers' reps are always showing off how far away a target can be picked up (in terms of many miles). When the inland radar techs get there, they ask the reps "how CLOSE can it pick something up?" which is what a river pilot is interested in. When you're caught in fog, you would like it to show a buoy 25 feet from your boat, if possible. That's a sign of a good radar, and it is asking a lot.

Just a guess Cap, but are we looking at the GNO Bridge and a tow or a ship is heading up beneath it?

Frank , good guess but .....................

Frank ,
Good guess but no its not of the GNO bridges but of the Huey P. Long bridge and Upper Twelve Mile Point in the lower porton of the radar's monitor and the Avondale Shipyard on the right side of the monotor . Good guess though !

Frank X. Prudent;19436 wrote: Just a guess Cap, but are we looking at the GNO Bridge and a tow or a ship is heading up beneath it?

Thanks, Cap! I tried, and I knew for sure it wasn't Rabbit Hash Harbor. 😉

My favorite thing to do on the DQ was pilothouse tours, and the pilots were good about leaving the radar and GPS on. But I never made the mistake of thinking I could really explain the radar! I would point it out, and because we were always at familiar landings, I could show buoys, bridges, etc., that pilots had shown me before. And if a towboat came through, or was moving at the landing, that was rather obvious. But more than that? Ask the pilot! However, as I also would tell the passengers: all the fancy tools in the world won't replace the meticulous attention to detail and experience of a good old-fashioned river pilot. I have been so blessed to call some my friends.

Mary did an excellent job of 'splaining the radar and the GPS, as well as other "stuff" in the pilothouse. On one tour there was a tow going past us, and the radar showed it plainly. Very neat stuff, but, as she always points out, it's only as good as the talented, experienced folks at the sticks and in the house are.
Miss y'all! Have a happy Thanksgiving!
S'
David D.

OK, That explains it! This very green tree hugger would always wonder why the Delta Queen radar, s...ing all kinds of big time kilowatts from her generators, was still swinging when we were stuck in port. I got it now, used to p... me off ROYALLY at the time...

So Mary you were the culprit...? I always blamed it on somebody too lazy to flip the OFF switch...!

Rabbit Hash Harbor Radar

For safety sake, as long as a pilothouse is manned and equipped with that wonderful machine, the radar set should be turned on and operating with the thin sweep line painting a picture of all that it encompasses. That's my take, and I, too, love to caress a lovely tree.

As we speak, I can look over my left shoulder and get a clear picture of the Rabbit Hash Harbor and all the surrounding neighborhood. Tonight is a dark and windy night, but I can see that no intruders (or loose barges) are slipping up on the shipyard. Who can see the returns caused by a 20 mph upstream blow? What sharp eyes can detect my Weaver Skiff bobbing like a cork below the General Store?

That indentation in the shore line at the upper right-hand corner of the picture is the mouth of Middle Creek, mile 504.4, on the left descending bank of the beautiful Ohio River.

The radar can also be used to detect an oncoming weather frontal system and determine the direction and speed of an approaching storm, and whether it will hit, or miss, the viewer's location. Rabbit Hash radar can also see airplanes in the vicinity of the CVG airport as small dots that skip across the screen and suddenly disappear as quickly as they appeared. Who knows why?

Pic #1: A quiet RH harbor. Not a critter a'stir.
Pic # 2: Down-bound tow at a distance of .379 nm and a relative bearing of 14.7 degrees.

Bruno, you had better believe, I did not touch ANYTHING up in that pilothouse! If the radar was not on when I got there, I didn't turn it on! But it sure was great to see a towboat coming when it was time to explain the radar.
Once I was up there in Louisville, and saw the Belle of Louisville headed our way. What to do? I knew she would blow her whistle, but I wasn't going to touch ours! Just then, the phone rang. It was Captain Finley Fraser. He said, "Mary, you go ahead and blow that whistle." Fortunately, I'd watched that excellent "whistle blower" many times, and knew just how to get a good sound (not as good as he could!). The folks gathered for that tour saw me literally jump up and down, it was so much fun!

Mary,

I remember a time in Paducah (back in 2006) when you were "navigating" on radar and you did just fine! Didn't kill a soul! Although, weren't a tow and a bridge in peril? Or, was that me?

Travis

Mary,
I believe that was the time we were onboard the BOL, as I remember someone saying it was you blowin' the whistle. Mighty fine, too---and I was AND AM green with envy! I've blown the whistle on many a steam locomotive, and some small steam launches, but the DQ's is the holy grail!
S'
David D.

Travis, that was you! I got those barges through the riverfront just fine--though it was due to Captain Greg Menke standing right next to me!! And David, you're right--a bunch of DQ folks were on the Belle that day.
And I believe we've hijacked Captain Ted's thread!!

Mary: I can certainly appreciate your glee at having blown that big Lunkenheimer, but, perhaps, a distant second to it is to salute the QUEEN from my little steam launch and to have her return it in kind...with her officers scurrying out on the wing bridge to take pictures of little MISSIE. I'd love to see one of their pictures! And, BOY, have we ever run off with Cap'n Ted's thread! Cap'n Walnut.

I'll say. Makes me waana not spend so much time posting on a subject.

Arrr matey, a hijackin' we will goe!!
A Happy Thanksgiving to all too!
🙂
David

On the other hand cap'n, this is the most posting that has happened on the forum for a while, so that might make up for the piratery! And your subject IS most interesting to many of us. Since we are going into winter, maybe you can post some examples of weather showing up on the screen?
S'
David D.

Also, they do a bang up job of picking up swarms of low flying May flies on the Upper. Not that one could do anything about it. Are you guys really taking pictures of your radar?

Kind of like computers. You're afraid to turn it off as it may not turn on again. However, back in the olden days, we didn't run the DQ radar in daylight, unless there was fog. Towboats routinely run them all the time as it gives a clear picture of the location of the tow and its relationship to the river. I really doubt that they use that much energy, though.

Nobody has mentioned that to find today's postage-stamp-sized navigation light targets in daytime a pilot absolutely needs a radar. They are cleverly painted green to match the summer foliage and red to blend with the forest in the fall.
When pilots were expected to see them they were marked by big white "X"es or were billboard-sized diamonds. Eliminating all of that white-painted wood saved the USCG lighthouse service upwards of twelve dollars a year, maybe more. 😉

I remember back in the early 80's when I was a mate and got to steer, unoffically of course, all my time was at night due to the fact that the company had no interest in creating any pilots from within at that time. There were pilots such as Capt. Palmore that let me steer and mentored me and then there were pilots that just had enough faith in me above Baton Rouge that they would let me steer so they could nap all night as they had been up all day and evening. Of course I relied heavily on the Radar and remember thinking of how much it was like a video game with 500+ lives in my hands. I have to say I enjoyed that about as much as anything I have ever done. And I would like to say thank you to Capt. Lexie Palmore as she was the only one that ever let me steer down through the "Battle Zone",under her watchful eye of course, between NOLA and BR where the real "work" is.

As I recall, the crossing dayboards were pretty large, but the passing boards were just in the 'why bother' category. For pilots who cover the same territory time after time, they are little more than a gentle hint. I found binoculars to be one of the greatest aids to navigation. I came along a little too late for the big white X's. When did they cease to exist? As a sign painter, I know that a sign that looks really big up close can shrink to nothing out on a highway, or river. If you are unfamiliar with a stretch of river, you would like dayboards the size of a Walmart, and lights the size of an airport beacon. At which point in time you wouldn't need a radar.