Personal Locator Beacons

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blair's picture
blair
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Personal Locator Beacons

I am primarily a singlehander, and am considering purchasing one of these EPIRB like PLBs.

West Marine has them, and they are kind of pricey, but I guess you have to ask what your life is worth.

ACR Electronics have a few models from around $280-$440.

Does anyone here have experience with these units, or suggestions?

Thanks

Blair White
2004 C36 MKII # 2169 "Dash"
Pacific Beach, CA

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LCBrandt
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I don't have any experience with personal locater beacons, but they seem like a great idea for single-handers. The technology is changing rapidly, so depending upon your cruising area you might want to research. New AIS-based personal locater devices are coming soon, which would have the advantage of getting you the fastest response from the closest AIS-equipped vessel; but at the disadvantage of having no satellite connection in case no AIS-equipped vessel was nearby.

Do I need to ask whether you wear your PFD at all times, or when in blue water whether you tether on as well?

Larry Brandt
S/V High Flight #2109
Pacific Northwest, PDX-based
2002 C-36 mkII SR/FK M35B
 

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blair
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Larry,

Just got back from WM, and bought one. Hopefully I will never have to use it.

I also bought a new off shore PFD with harness, tether, and jackline.

I plan on wearing the PFD all the time.

Since this is my first sailboat, the only experience I have with blue water is those tablets I drop in my toilet.

Blair White
2004 C36 MKII # 2169 "Dash"
Pacific Beach, CA

FlyMeAway
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Related to this:

West Marine is running a sale on WM-branded offshore automatic inflatables (not hydrostatic, their best non-hydro mechanism).

With or without the harness it is $149. A pretty good deal, if you ask me... Makes it the same price as the coastal (less buoyancy, no harness):

[url]http://www.westmarine.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?produ...

David
s/v Portmanteau
Hull #2133 -- 2003 MKII
Seattle, WA

blair's picture
blair
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David,

Yep, that's the one I bought.

Blair White
2004 C36 MKII # 2169 "Dash"
Pacific Beach, CA

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LCBrandt
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I re-read your post and see that you're describing an automatic inflatable, but not the hydrostatic (i.e., pressure sensing) one. Nevertheless, I hope the following treatise on pull tab inflatables will help someone else.

My original post:
David, if by non-hydrostatic you mean the manual pull tab, allow me to say that that model is - in my opinion - not appropriate for Pacific Northwest waters. A good friend went overboard in the Columbia River about a year ago wearing a full Type-3 non-inflatable PFD, and he was so shocked by the cold water that he said later that if he had been wearing a pull tab inflatable he very likely would not have been able to pull the tab. In our NW waters, cold water shock is now recognized as the most important near term threat for a person overboard. As I tell my students...

"In cold water immersion, what happens in the first three minutes is MOST important...you have to EARN the privilege of dying from hypothermia!"

Larry Brandt
S/V High Flight #2109
Pacific Northwest, PDX-based
2002 C-36 mkII SR/FK M35B
 

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blair
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What is a hydrostatic PFD?
I haven't pulled mine out of the bag yet, but I know that it is supposed to be auto inflate.

Blair White
2004 C36 MKII # 2169 "Dash"
Pacific Beach, CA

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Rockman
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The PLB & EPRIB come in two main types, GPS equiped and not.
Based on several rescues here over summer, where the EPIRB was a GPS model, and the rescue people went straight to the people. They went from activating their beacon, to being back on dry land in one hour.

Based on these results, I know that spending the extra few dollars to get the GPS equiped model is a very important investment.

Cat375 - Rock The Boat - Hull 54
Lake Macquarie - NSW - Australia

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SailorJackson
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[QUOTE=blair;14303]What is a hydrostatic PFD?
I haven't pulled mine out of the bag yet, but I know that it is supposed to be auto inflate.[/QUOTE]

The conventional auto PFD triggers by a little cartridge that dissolves instantly in water. It's cheap, but can trigger with a good splash or even sustained high humidity.

A hydrostatic auto PFD triggers by water pressure. You can leave it in the rain or splash it with water all day long. It needs to go underwater to trigger.

Both have a pull tab for manual backup.

Greg Jackson
SV Jacqui Marie
2004 C36, MKII
tall rig, wing keel,

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LCBrandt
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A hydrostatic PFD, as Greg says, senses water pressure (not water presence) to trigger the inflation. It needs to be submerged about 4 inches.

Larry Brandt
S/V High Flight #2109
Pacific Northwest, PDX-based
2002 C-36 mkII SR/FK M35B
 

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blair
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OK, thanks.

I'm going to pull stuff out of bags today, and see what I actually have.

Hope to have inaugural sail today.

Blair White
2004 C36 MKII # 2169 "Dash"
Pacific Beach, CA

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Phil L
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I have the ACR, as I too do a lot of soloing. One thing I also carry on my body is a submersible VHF. I'm typically within radio signal of somebody. It would be nice to know for sure that someone is coming by hearing it straight from them.

Phil L 
Southern Cross
Channel Islands, CA
C36MKI #400

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blair
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Phil,

Yep, I have the submersible handheld too. Hopefully, with the PFD, PLB, VHF, and Jacklines, I should be OK.

Now I just need to learn how to sail.

Blair White
2004 C36 MKII # 2169 "Dash"
Pacific Beach, CA

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