[travler37]

So i think anyone that has researched EPIRB's knows they are registered to a specific boat.

What happens if you do not change the registration when you change boats?And use it.Or your going on a short bluewater crossing on a boat that does not have one so you bring the one off your boat and USE IT...

Any sea lawers out there care to comment?Or SAR that have had this happen?

Thank You
Mark

 

[Boasun]

You should and can re-register you EPIRB if you shift it to another boat. It is easy to do and you should do so.

 

[travler37]

You should and can re-register you EPIRB if you shift it to another boat. It is easy to do and you should do so.

I understand that you should....
But say your going for 9 DAY SAIL AND YOU FIND OUT THE CAPTAIN DOESNT HAVE ONE.You go over 5 docks to your boat and grab yours.Throw the lines and go.No time or onboard comp to change it.Is there a penalty for using it?Assumes you let your registered contact number know what was going on....


By the way does it cost money to change it?I never had one.

My Questions
Mark

 

[CrazyRu]

it takes 5 minutes online time to change EPIRB registration
Emergency Beacon Registration Redirection Welcome Page

 

[travler37]

it takes 5 minutes online time to change EPIRB registration
Emergency Beacon Registration Redirection Welcome Page

Yup,
Sounds good.No i do not remember my password.No i do not have access to a comp or phone to change it.......Grabbed it off my boat and took it on another boat!

Now back to the question...What happens if i use it on someone elses boat?Does anybody know?
My question
Mark

 

[travler37]

Ok,
Now this is not just a "Question".it might save my ass.I am going somewhere around here.

Iraq - Google Maps

I have ben offered one to take with me.But cant register it.It is currantly registered.Will be surprized if i can get it in-country but if i end up in the wrong place might come in handy

So,
Are there any laws that any know of for setting one off if it is off the registered boat?
Thoughts
Mark

 

[Boasun]

Check to see why you can't register it? Has it been registered under another's name? It was to my understanding that you can re-register them. The company's that I have worked for told me that they did re-registered them when they moved them to another vessel.

You should be able to do so... Give it another try, and if you can get a person at NOAA on the line, so they can help you through the process.

 

[travler37]

Check to see why you can't register it? Has it been registered under another's name? It was to my understanding that you can re-register them. The company's that I have worked for told me that they did re-registered them when they moved them to another vessel.

You should be able to do so... Give it another try, and if you can get a person at NOAA on the line, so they can help you through the process.

Click on the link and expand it,,
My boat is a truck...And i am in the OH **** zone.

I dont have a boat...so can not register it.This is something we have ben talking about in case i am taken.My thoughts are the legal problems if i have to use it and it is registered to him.Also the public database ties...Will his name show up in the news? There is not MOMEY switch we are given in-country.

So back to the question,
If you do not change the registry and use it..What are the legal problems?What happens?
Anyone know?

Thoughts
Mark

 

[artbyjody]

Traveler - get a PLB not a EPIRB. a PLB you register to yourself a EPIRB goes to the boat. A PLB you register one time and you take it wherever with no consequences.

Its also smaller than a EPIRB and looks less of a terroist threat than a EPIRB so easier to check into airports and the likes.

But to answer one of your questions - at minimum for having a non-properly, registered EPIRB that goes off friviously - its a 10K minimum fine. If it goes off while you are on another vessel - you probably will not get fined - just never located becuase it is tied to a boat name and description. So if say you have a EPIRB (I didn't read the whole thread) registered for use on a Catalina 27 and you are on a Benny 47 when it goes off - they probably will skip you by unless they geo locate and see distress if they look that far.

Got to put yourself in their shoes - EPIRBS being boat designated and why they are mucho more expensive than PLBs, is because there is more info about the boat due to the registration... So they are going to look for best match - and considering a EPIRB is designed to float and most likely in most cases become detached from the boat that sinks or is in distress... you can follow the thinking...

 

[travler37]

Traveler - get a PLB not a EPIRB. a PLB you register to yourself a EPIRB goes to the boat. A PLB you register one time and you take it wherever with no consequences.

Its also smaller than a EPIRB and looks less of a terroist threat than a EPIRB so easier to check into airports and the likes.

But to answer one of your questions - at minimum for having a non-properly, registered EPIRB that goes off friviously - its a 10K minimum fine. If it goes off while you are on another vessel - you probably will not get fined - just never located becuase it is tied to a boat name and description. So if say you have a EPIRB (I didn't read the whole thread) registered for use on a Catalina 27 and you are on a Benny 47 when it goes off - they probably will skip you by unless they geo locate and see distress if they look that far.

Got to put yourself in their shoes - EPIRBS being boat designated and why they are mucho more expensive than PLBs, is because there is more info about the boat due to the registration... So they are going to look for best match - and considering a EPIRB is designed to float and most likely in most cases become detached from the boat that sinks or is in distress... you can follow the thinking...

I can definatly follow that thinking,
Thank you for the "FINE" info.Where i'm going Plb might be the answer.Still thinking rapid responce there might respond to EPIRB better.Will cheak more with that side of the sandbox...

So back to the thread...
You take your EPIRB and take it to another boat for a weeekend...

Now the fine is? if it goes off.As in the idiot captain was over his head and set it off.Then you pay?Asking......

As for my sit...Actually think i will decline as i do not know how far back he will be published if i do push th switch....

Thank You
Mark

 

[sailingdog]

Travlr37-

The response to an EPIRB or a PLB is basically the same. The only major differences are:

A PLB is registered to a person, an EPIRB to a specific boat
A PLB has a shorter run time, 24 hours IIRC, vs. 48 hours for an EPIRB
A PLB generally needs to be held clear of the water to work properly, an EPIRB will float and work just fine
A PLB doesn't usually have an integrated strobe, the EPIRB does.

As for taking the EPIRB off of a boat and using it on another boat without changing the registration info—it is a really bad idea.

For one, the registration information has contact information in it that is often called when the EPIRB goes off. If the person answering the contact information doesn't realize what's going on, they may call the SAR effort off before it even gets started... imagine... they get a call at 4:00 am. They're asked about the boat, and they reply, "It's sitting at the dock, I was on it last night, and everything was fine." What do you think is going to happen with the SAR efforts... nothing.... they're shut down.

Second, the EPIRB registration has a vessel description. If you borrowed the EPIRB from a blue Tartan 37, and you're now on a 65' red Swan... they're going to be looking for the wrong boat.

Third, the vessel description also says how many people generally are on board... and if you've borrowed it from a 37' boat with a crew of two, and you're on a 65' boat with a crew of seven, they might not have the capacity to rescue everybody aboard.

Fourth, they may try contacting the boat in distress using the MMSI, or via name. Since you're not on the boat in the registration, the name and the MMSI will be wrong.

Finally, it may be taken as creating a false distress call, since the boat that the EPIRB is registered to isn't actually in distress more likely than not when you trigger it.

 

[Omatako]

OK, so maybe I'm going to be worng again but here goes.

Firstly, I agree that swapping an EPIRB from boat to boat is a bad idea and I acknowledge that it takes very little effort, especially in the US where it can be done on-line, to change the details of the EPIRB. But . . . .

I thought the SAR people always called the contacts on the registered list to advise them of the apparent emergency.

If this is so and the EPIRB you're borrowing belongs to you (your boat, your list of contacts) then it stands to reason that your family will get the initial call.

So, having said that, is it also not likely that if you family knew the situation they would be able to advise the SAR that the boat is different but that the emergency is probably real? The number of people on board is moot because that will change every time the boat leaves it's berth (at least it will on mine ) and AFAIK that is not a piece of data recorded against the EPIRB.

So if the chips were down and the choice was to leave without an EPIRB or to leave with one that had the wrong details, I may take mine with me, having first advised my "contacts" of the detail changes. What I would do is task my "contacts" with updating the EPRIB details in my absence as soon as possible.

In NZ, the details of an EPIRB can't be changed on-line and AFAIK the office that does change it works office hours so the chance of the dilemma happening here is probably greater than in the US.

 

[catamount]

How far in advance has this trip been planned? I wouldn't crew on a 9-day bluewater voyage without first having found out how well-found the boat was sufficiently far in advance that I would have time to re-register my EPIRB (if it came to that). Do people really go on trips like this (trips that would warrant bringing an EPIRB with them) at the spur of the moment?

 

[travler37]

Public and comps..

Thank you all for the info,
Bought his Dink off him for $1.Changed registration and registered It to the dink.If i have to push the momey switch this keeps him out of it...

Thank you All
MARK

 

[sailingdog]

Generally not a real bright idea to have an EPIRB registered to a dinghy, since the dinghy has very few distinguishing characteristics and doesn't describe the big boat, or how many people would be on the big boat.

The EPIRB registration is supposed to describe the boat in question, as well as how many people it can carry. Registering the EPIRB to the dinghy means that instead of looking for the 40' sailboat, which you may be on when it is damaged.... they're looking for a small dinghy and may overlook the bigger boat initially as the description doesn't match.

If you have to pull the tab on the EPIRB, I registering it to a dinghy doesn't earn you a Darwin.

Thank you all for the info,
Bought his Dink off him for $1.Changed registration and registered It to the dink.If i have to push the momey switch this keeps him out of it...

Thank you All
MARK

 

[catamount]

Thank you all for the info,
Bought his Dink off him for $1.Changed registration and registered It to the dink.If i have to push the momey switch this keeps him out of it...

I don't understand why you couldn't register your EPRIB to his boat for the duration of the voyage, assuming you have enough advance notice to submit the registration before you leave. Once you get back, just re-register the EPIRB to your boat. It's no big deal; I've done it several times.

 

[travler37]

Generally not a real bright idea to have an EPIRB registered to a dinghy, since the dinghy has very few distinguishing characteristics and doesn't describe the big boat, or how many people would be on the big boat.

The EPIRB registration is supposed to describe the boat in question, as well as how many people it can carry. Registering the EPIRB to the dinghy means that instead of looking for the 40' sailboat, which you may be on when it is damaged.... they're looking for a small dinghy and may overlook the bigger boat initially as the description doesn't match.

If you have to pull the tab on the EPIRB, I registering it to a dinghy doesn't earn you a Darwin.

Dog,
Read post #6 and click on link..expand it and you will see where i am going and why i want this NOT CONNECTED TO PREVIOUS OWNER..but it will work here.

Thank you
Mark

 

[travler37]

I don't understand why you couldn't register your EPRIB to his boat for the duration of the voyage, assuming you have enough advance notice to submit the registration before you leave. Once you get back, just re-register the EPIRB to your boat. It's no big deal; I've done it several times.

Read post #6,
Expand link...Look where this is and think do you want this connected to YOU if it is found by the wrong side? It is going in my buggout bag.When driving comes out of the truck with me.If i have no support then i SCREAM MOMMY..and conserve amo because we do no carry weapons

Mark

 

[sailingdog]

Mark—

You'd be better off with a PLB... They're a lot smaller and easier to hide.

 

[goboatingnow]

Take the EPIRP with you and get on with it , yes you should re-register but the SAR peolpe will respond. You may get a talking to, but if you need to be recused then that is the last thing on your mind.

Let your EPIRB contact person know what you are doing that alls.