Jack,
You might want to read the post from earlier this month on the same topic:
[URL]http://www.c36ia.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1045&highlight=radar[/URL]
I found it by using the search function in the blue bar along the top of the page. Hope this helps.

Jack - the post Tom referred to was mine and after doing a lot of looking here and other forums I've decided to mast mount my radome. The idea of radiation exposure (while slight) bothers me and I wanted to keep my transom clear for other items like a wind generator or solar array. I don't recall anyone saying that they experienced chafe on their Jib's with a mast mount. My concern was the difficulty getting it up the mast without stepping it but with Toms suggestion of using a ladder I don't think that will be an issue. I also like his location and mount (see picture in his post) as I believe it will clear the jib better when tacking and the ring will protect the sail if not. MainSail also helped with some wiring suggestions that I think will get me to a functional system. There were a lot of great ideas in that thread so it may help you as well.

Hopefully, the radar you have purchased was an 18 inch radar, 2 kw radar. It would be a shame to have missed all the discussion on the forum here about wasting money by over-buying a 4 kw radar. Also, the larger the radome up on the mast, the more abrasion there will be, so keeping to the 18 inch is your best choice.

The photo below shows the patch I had sewn on my 135 genny. Several years after installing the radar a slight abrasion was appearing, so I had the loft install the patch. If you look very carefully at the photo you'll see a dark swath appearing that even is partly outside the patch; this is not abrasion - but algae...because we are Pacific Northwest sailors.

Please do NOT install a metal ring around your radome under the belief that it will lessen abrasion. It won't; it will only focus it. The best installation is a simple one...the radome only. Just let the sail slide smoothly across that fiberglass radome. At most, some year you may have to put a small patch up there.

[QUOTE=LCBrandt;7855]Hopefully, the radar you have purchased was an 18 inch radar, 2 kw radar. It would be a shame to have missed all the discussion on the forum here about wasting money by over-buying a 4 kw radar. Also, the larger the radome up on the mast, the more abrasion there will be, so keeping to the 18 inch is your best choice.

The photo below shows the patch I had sewn on my 135 genny. Several years after installing the radar a slight abrasion was appearing, so I had the loft install the patch. If you look very carefully at the photo you'll see a dark swath appearing that even is partly outside the patch; this is not abrasion - but algae...because we are Pacific Northwest sailors.

Please do NOT install a metal ring around your radome under the belief that it will lessen abrasion. It won't; it will only focus it. The best installation is a simple one...the radome only. Just let the sail slide smoothly across that fiberglass radome. At most, some year you may have to put a small patch up there.[/QUOTE]

[B]Domes -[/B] The Garmin GRM-18 HD is an 18" 4kw dome with a 5 degree beam. Works quite well for weather and can go out to 36nm vs. the 24nm of most other 18" domes. You'll NEVER see to 24 or 36nm on the water but up high weather can be seen.. The GMR 18 also costs less than most other brands and has handily out perfromed my last two Raymarine products and my last Furuno. The new Furuno UHD is very nice but also very $$$$$$...

[B]Chafe -[/B] Non issue for me. Never had any noticeable chafe on the head sails with mast mounted domes. The KEY is to NOT pull your sail across during a tack. Let the WIND tack your sail for you. Once beyond the dome then feel free to sheet in.. You'll get a LOT more chafe from your spreaders and standing rigging when close hauled than the 2 seconds it brushes across the dome.. The newer domes have much smoother exteriors with no sharp edges like some of the older stuff had..

[B]Metal Guards -[/B] Useless as tits on a bull, unless of course you want that real "salty" look.....:)

Jack,
With all due respect to Larry (and I mean ALL due respect!), I disagree with his approach of using an Edson or similar mount for a mast-mounted radar. The Edson and similar mounts are made of cast aluminum (I believe). I have seen several broken and cracked radar mounts made of cast aluminum. Edson makes some GREAT products, but I don't believe this is one of them. I've not been on a boat when a radar mount has broken, so I can only guess as to why it broke. Sloppy tack? Stuck halyard? High winds and sloppy sail handling? Careless crane operators? I looked long and hard at different mounts before choosing the Kato mount for Julandra, and I was very glad I did. Yes, there is a metal guard built into it, and yes, it is not really needed as Maine Sail points out, but.... The Kato SS mount is VERY strong and smooth. I have literally hung on it and it didn't budge. It's design makes it very hard for sails and halyards to get stuck "behind" it. In the 10+ years I had it on Julandra, the 150 genoa never got stuck. On my current boat, a C400 with an Edson radar mount, the mount was bent to port 3.5 degrees by the PO. I never asked how or why. I corrected the heading/bend electronically, but I plan to change to a Kato mount soon. Hope this helps.