When I bought the Calypso in San Diego in 1986, I recalled the times in the early 1970s when I was ordered to run the destroyer I was on through the sometimes heavy San Diego fogs at speed far in excess of safe. We'd set the bridge radar repeater to a short range in hopes we'd see any smaller vessels before we ran over them. So the first thing I bought for my WOODEN boat was a Davis aluminum radar reflector. It is still there, permanently mounted on the mast. When somebody in a small boat tells you that you have a good radar return without a reflector, OK, but remember ships are often going at higher rates of speed than trawlers and their radars and watch standers may not be tuned up for looking a mere 1/2 mile ahead. You can easily be missed by them. Rich Gano Calypso (GB42 Hull # 295) Panama City area, FL