While bright boat colors and garish outfits sea kayakers wear would seem to make them stand out like a sore thumb on the water, the fact is a kayak more than half a mile away is nearly invisible even on radar.

A couple of weeks ago I ventured to Searsport to sit in on a Maine Association of Sea Kayak Guides and Instructors meeting at the Penobscot Marine Museum where the featured presentation was a report on kayak visibility and radar reflectors.

Research was done during the summer of 2003 and 2004 under sponsorship of the U.S. Coast Guard, Maine Sea Grant, the Gulf of Maine Expedition Institute, and MASKGI. Ten radar reflectors, some commercially available, others home-made, were used in tests done in Bar Harbor, Southwest Harbor, and Boothbay Harbor using Coast Guard vessels and the College of the Atlantic’s research vessel Indigo.

The bottom line? According to “Radar, Reflectors and Sea Kayaks: A Visibility Study,” one conclusion is that ” some form of radar reflector, be it commercially manufactured or homemade, is better than none and bigger radar reflectors produce better returns.” Bigger targets (large, tandem kayaks and tight pods of paddlers) also enhanced the chance of being seen visually and on radar.

One of the most effective reflectors in the test, by the way, was homemade – a 19-inch piece of PVC pipe filled with crushed aluminum foil. Another effective one was a goofy-looking homemade aluminum hat. Not very stylish, but good at its job because of its height from the water. An aluminum-laminated “space blanket worn as a cape also performed well as a reflector,” but it wouldn’t be something you’d wear paddling.

The study also found that radar reflectors mounted as high as possible above water level produced better radar visibility; regardless of whether there was a reflector in use, beginning at half a nautical mile, kayaks produced an obvious radar signal; and kayaks that are perpendicular to radar (not head on) show up better. Also: radar operation (changing the gain and clutter settings) increased the ability to detect kayaks, and motion of the radar platform (the vessel on which it is mounted) can reduce the effectiveness of picking up targets.

Also, the higher a radar antenna is mounted on a vessel so as to avoid such things as life rafts on board, the more effective it is in detecting kayaks. At a mile away a kayak is not “visible” in radar regardless of whether the paddler is using a reflector.

And perhaps the most obvious finding: Radar is only effective when it is being watched. Many working boat skippers are multitasking when on the water and are not spending a lot of time staring at their radar screens. Don’t assume, as a paddler, that the person operating any boat will see you.

The study recommends that paddlers travel in tight groups, plan crossings for narrow channels and known navigation references and to make a securit? call on VHF Channel 16 to advise other boaters of their presence.

For boat operators using radar, the report reminds us that “radar is only as effective as its installation. Obstructions, such as life rafts, placed in front of the radar antenna impede proper radar operations. Settings need to be optimized for a combination of clear returns without filtering out too many real targets. For radar to work at all, it must be monitored, especially in fog. And, not surprisingly, higher-end radar systems mounted at the highest elevation above the waterline produce the best results.

“Effectively setting and reading radar takes proper instruction, practice and time. Our field tests demonstrated that it takes practice to differentiate between noise and an actual target. There is a fine line to setting the radar to minimize noise without filtering out small but legitimate targets.”

Keep this in mind, however. Just because you strap a radar reflector to your head or deck doesn’t guarantee that you’ll be seen. The best strategy a kayaker can adopt while on the water is that of being as defensive as possible. Assume you are invisible. Stay out of the way of larger boats (every boat is larger than you). You can go where they can’t, and most times the scenery is 100 percent better away from boating traffic.

When you’re out with paddling friends, cross channels directly in a tight group. Don’t be hanging around in the middle any more than you’d hang around on the centerline of a highway. Wait for the opportune time to cross and get out of the way.

For more information on the radar visibility study you can contact the Maine Sea Grant Extension, College of the Atlantic, 105 Eden Street, Bar Harbor 04609 or call 288-5015 (ext. 298). Or e-mail Natalie Springuel at nspringuel@coa.edu.

Appalachian Trail film showing

Rod Wiley, who works at Epic Sports in Bangor, has organized a free film showing at the Bangor Library from 6 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Thursday, March 31, in the lecture hall. He will be showing the video, “5 Million Steps: The Appalachian Trail Thru Hikers Story” by Lynne Whelden. This video is a biography/auto biography of an Appalachian Trail hiker’s experience.

Wiley invites walkers, casual hikers, and serious hikers of all ages who would find this video interesting and informative to attend. Wiley has through-hiked the AT. Any questions may be directed to Wiley at Epic Sports in Bangor by calling 941-5670.

Conference on Allagash

The group Citizens to Protect the Allagash, which is “working to restore and defend the wild character of the Allagash Wilderness Waterway,” is holding a conference beginning at 4 p.m. on April 30 at the Buchanan Alumni House, University of Maine in Orono. Invited speakers include: Gov. John Baldacci; Patrick McGowan, commissioner, Maine Department of Conservation; Dean Bennett, Allagash author; Alexandra and Garrett Conover, North Woods Ways; Rep. Ted Koffman; Ken Olson, Allagash Partners; and David Soucy, director, Maine Bureau of Parks and Lands.

According to a notice I received, “Citizens to Protect the Allagash is a diverse coalition of organizations and individuals who have been working together to restore and defend the wild character of the Allagash Wilderness Waterway since 1999. Organizational members include the Natural Resources Council of Maine, The Chewonki Foundation, The Maine Council of Trout Unlimited, The Maine Chapter of the Sierra Club, RESTORE: The North Woods, Maine Audubon, Hurricane Island Outward Bound and Maine PEER.” They have a Web site at www.allagashonline.org.

There will be workshops, discussions, exhibits, and a slide show. For more information contact Leanne Krudner at 761-5616. You can preregister by April 8 at www.allagashonline.org.

Seabird health to be studied

Here’s an opportunity to take a walk on a beach and do something for the environment. Bird Studies Canada and the Downeast Heritage Center have joined with The Seabird Ecological Assessment Network to study the health of seabirds in the Gulf of Maine and Bay of Fundy through Beached Bird Surveys.

These surveys will provide baseline information about bird mortality in this region and will help to identify and monitor mass mortality events such as oil spills.

According to the notice I received, BSC and SEANET are collaborating to establish long-term monitoring throughout the northeastern U.S. and Atlantic Canadian coasts, with funding from Environment Canada’s ECOACTION program, the Gulf of Maine Action Plan Grant and Davis Conservation Foundation, Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation, National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, and NOAA Coastal Services Center.

“This March, the survey is being expanded into northern Maine and the Bay of Fundy shores of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia,” according to a handout from SEANET. “Volunteers are needed to walk a designated stretch of beach once or twice per month in search of dead birds. Volunteers receive a kit including datasheets, a ruler, calipers, latex gloves, and detailed instructions on how to conduct the survey. If possible, volunteers take photographs of specimens they find, for confirmation of identification and for possible use in BSC and SEANET publications. We also encourage those volunteers with bird ID skills to keep track of live birds seen while doing the surveys. A detailed guide including photographs for identifying beached birds will be available for volunteers in Summer 2005.”

There will be training sessions for new volunteers to teach them how to identify and measure any specimens they find, as well as provide tips on general survey protocol. If you’re interested, contact Becky Harris (508) 887-4933, becky.harris@tufts.edu or Becky Whittam (Canada) at (506) 364-5047, becky.whittam@ec.gc.ca.

A session is scheduled for 1-3 p.m., Saturday, March 26, at the Downeast Heritage Center, 39 Union Street, Calais.

Jeff Strout can be reached at 990-8202 or by e-mail at jstrout@bangordailynews.net.