Epirb

[coljolys]

I am planning a trip down the intercoastal from lake champlain to florida and then to the bahamas I think I should purchase an EPIRB what are the differances personal? a? b?why wide price diff? need some advice

[labatt]

I'm currently doing the trip from Champlain to FL, although it looks like we're getting off the ICW moving forward and taking offshore jumps. On Friday we head out from Beaufort NC to Charleston SC. I'd be more than happy to share anything about our trip with you if you'd like. We started at Willsboro Bay on Lake Champlain, and will be continuing on to FL, the Bahamas, and then I don't know where.

Are you wondering what the difference is between PLB's and EPIRB's? Check out this link for a description of EPIRB's and PLB's: EMERGENCY BEACONS

[coljolys]

thank you for the info. I guess a plb although less expense, especially after feb 2009, wont cut the mustard. I have also seen recently a gps locator wich reqires a yearly subscription any one know anything about these.I also check ed out your blog, I have run accross it before, great work! I will be heading out myself in the spring will be watching your progress where did you step your mast? where do you plan to spend hurricane season?

[camaraderie]

Coljolys...the subscription thing is probably the SPOT locator which is really cool for family and friends to follow along...but nothing like a real EPIRB for safety.
I think you are smart to get an EPIRB for any offshore jumps and for the Bahamas.
Welcome aboard.

[goboatingnow]

In practice , Theres very little difference between small boat EPIRBs and PLB's The main difference become more noticable for SOLAS speced EPRIBs or big ship EPIRBS. in practice a non-float free EPIRB and a PLB are very similar. I have a ACR PLB and a ACR EPIRB, eitehr is a good investment.

I guess a plb although less expense, especially after feb 2009, wont cut the mustard

I'm not aware that any modern PLB use the 121Mhz freq, there all 406, in fact I dont think PLB's ever used it. The aircraft ones did but not PLBs. You comment is really valid in regards to modern PLB ( ie anything in th last couple of years)

[JiffyLube]

If you don't need an EPIRB all the time, you can rent one from BoatUS. I rented one for a trip from San Francisco to San Diego, and the cost was $125.00 for a month. BoatUS will ship the EPIRB to any address you want, and you ship it back to them in the same box...it comes with a BoatUS return address label. Shipping was fast and easy.

[floatsome]

There was an excellent thread here a couple of weeks ago discussing the relative merits of EPIRB vs SPOT from all angles. They are complementary, in my view. EPIRB is part of the official international GMDSS emergency system.

[sailingdog]

Renting an EPIRB is a possible solution, but shipping it back from a foreign country can be an issue... A friend was trying to rent one for a delivery of a boat from Fairhaven to Halifax, and there was no reasonable way to ship it back to BoatUS from Canada due to customs and such. Also, the battery in an EPIRB is sometimes classified as hazardous materials.

The main differences between an EPIRB and a PLB are:

Run time: An EPIRB will generally run 48 hours, a PLB 24.

Registration: An EPIRB is registered to a specific vessel and has a description of the vessel, including make, model, size, color, normal complement of crew, etc. A PLB is registered to an individual.

Operation: An EPIRB will work even if in the water, and generally are designed to float. A PLB often has to be held out of the water for it to function properly.

Strobe: An EPIRB has a strobe built-into the unit, which can make being spotted at night much simpler. A PLB does not.

My recommendation is to get a GPIRB, which is an EPIRB with an integrated GPS. This is far superior to one that is connected to a GPS externally. The reason for this is that the GPIRB will update the GPS location information as it continues to broadcast, a regular EPIRB will not—it will generally just broadcast the last known GPS coordinates. If you had the boat's GPS off at the time of abandoning ship, the EPIRB may not have any location information to broadcast at all—where a GPIRB will generally get GPS information within a few minutes of being activated and transmit it as soon as it has it.

[JiffyLube]

Interesting, I didn't know that.

Originally Posted by sailingdog

Renting an EPIRB is a possible solution, but shipping it back from a foreign country can be an issue... A friend was trying to rent one for a delivery of a boat from Fairhaven to Halifax, and there was no reasonable way to ship it back to BoatUS from Canada due to customs and such. Also, the battery in an EPIRB is sometimes classified as hazardous materials.

The main differences between an EPIRB and a PLB are:

Run time: An EPIRB will generally run 48 hours, a PLB 24.

Registration: An EPIRB is registered to a specific vessel and has a description of the vessel, including make, model, size, color, normal complement of crew, etc. A PLB is registered to an individual.

Operation: An EPIRB will work even if in the water, and generally are designed to float. A PLB often has to be held out of the water for it to function properly.

Strobe: An EPIRB has a strobe built-into the unit, which can make being spotted at night much simpler. A PLB does not.

My recommendation is to get a GPIRB, which is an EPIRB with an integrated GPS. This is far superior to one that is connected to a GPS externally. The reason for this is that the GPIRB will update the GPS location information as it continues to broadcast, a regular EPIRB will not—it will generally just broadcast the last known GPS coordinates. If you had the boat's GPS off at the time of abandoning ship, the EPIRB may not have any location information to broadcast at all—where a GPIRB will generally get GPS information within a few minutes of being activated and transmit it as soon as it has it.

[zz4gta]

Great info, thank you.