Marine radar uses radio waves to detect objects around your vessel – such as land, buoys, other boats and shipping traffic – to help you navigate safely in poor visibility, at night or in busy waterways.

A radar can be useful on smaller boats that operate in coastal waters, busy shipping areas reduced visibility, but it is most valuable for vessels that cruise regularly or in variable conditions.

Compact dome radars, such as those in the Garmin GMR and Raymarine Quantum ranges, have made marine radar more accessible for smaller boats and yachts, with low power draw and straightforward integration with existing chartplotters.

Most modern marine radar systems are designed to integrate with compatible chartplotters, allowing radar images to be overlaid on charts for improved situational awareness.

Boat radar is usually mounted on a mast, radar pole or arch to provide an unobstructed view around the vessel and improve detection range. We stock a full range of radar mounting brackets.

Dome radars (also called radomes) are enclosed units well suited to yachts and smaller powerboats. They are compact, lower maintenance and effective at ranges up to around 24 nautical miles.

Open array radars use an exposed rotating antenna, offering greater range and target discrimination, and are typically found on larger vessels. For most sailors and yacht owners, a dome radar will be more than sufficient.

If you want to track other ships or see live vessel positions online, you need a vessel-tracking app such as MarineTraffic or VesselFinder, not a physical radar unit. The radars on this page are hardware installed on your boat or yacht to detect objects around you.