I just logged on to and registered on SK online,and was reading the post on night lighting for kayaking and was
thinking the answer is most kayakers are off the water
before dark. Paddling in a fog is a different story and I have been meaning to research how to make my kayak visible to radar and figurd I'd start here. I would imagine it would involve some metal tape?

I may have answered my own question by finding this site
www.seagrant.umaine.edu/documents/pdf/rareffinal05.pdf
a study on te effectiveness of radar reflector on kayaks

Jano,
Thank you for the great link, well worth taking the time to read if you paddle in waters that are shared with commercial traffic or larger power boats.

A few years back I had brought a Radar reflector back from a boating trade show. This reflector was supposed to be the answer to making kayaks show up on Radar. Before promoting the reflector we contacted the Coast Guard about working with us to do some field testing. The Coast Guard assigned an Auxilliary cutter to take us out to work with our volunteer paddler.

The new product was a flop - we were never able to make it show on the Radar we were using. As long as we were out we took the time to test other commercially available reflectors. Like the study you have linked us to the best reflector was the one with the most angles with height above the water being the greatest influence.

Even the best of the reflectors we tested gave a poor return on calm water when we went to ranges in the 3- 5 mile radius and beyond (this would be a typical range for a commercial boat navigating by Radar in limited visibility). The Radar we were using did give a good return off a single kayak when used in the 1/4 mile range.

On another occation we were preparing to make a late night crossing to a nearby island. A group of us were waiting just off the beach for a ferry to leave the dock so as to not be in his way while he was maneuvering near the dock. Just before leaving the dock the ferry put its searchlight directly on us - my guess is he had made a 1/4 mile sweep with his Radar before getting under way and had detected us.

based on this article what I plan to do is carry several sheets of Reynolds aluminum foil and fashion a kind of Prussian/Viking helmet to wear when paddling in fog. I can probably bake a potato in it later and make a new one when nesessary.

I like Jano's attitude.

I stay very clear of Ferrys even when I am out in my parent's 35 ft sailboat. I don't know anyone who messes with something that big. I would encourage anyone do the same thing - give them way more room/time that you think is necessary.

http://www.ericisgreat.com/tinfoilhats/index.html
this link is for some "stylin" radar reflectors!!

Any return from a reflector on a kayak is likely to be lost in the sea clutter. The efficiency of a reflector, like all radar targets is improved with height, a difficult achievement on a kayak. On calm water a target may be visible at close range (1/4 mile as suggested)but if there is any sea running the radar operator will use the clutter control to suppress the congestion of returns from nearby waves. This congestion usually spreads out to and sometimes beyond 1/4 mile and is caused by the angle of incidence between the radar aerial (scanner) and the face of the wave, the higher the aerial the more sea clutter generally speaking. Therefore it is unlikely that a radar reflector will be of much use to the paddler except on calm water. It also follows that the larger the vessel, the less likely it is to receive a useful echo from your relector. All this leads me to believe that the best course of action in fog is to head for the nearest beach!