EPIRB DSC et al

[admillington]

We cruise around the Solent with a two week trip to the Channel Islands during the Summer. The Boat is a Fairline Targa 40. I have ordered a liferaft but should I order an EPIRB and if so which one - with GPS or without?

A boat that is only 4 months old did not come with a DSC VHF but a standard Shipmate RS8400. The VHF set itself is excellent but the DSC add on is very expensive and large. Do I replace it with another combined one or add a second VHF such as the new Raymarine 54E. Do I really need DSC?



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[Moose]

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[jfm]

Seems odd not to have DSC on 4 month old boat. Are you sure that is the age? Check the HIN, if it's 4 months old it must be something like GBFLN 12345 H303. The last 4 give the age. H is the hull mould date, A is Jan, H is August etc, the first "3" is the mould year ie 2003 and the 03 is the model year.

In your cruise area you hardly need EPIRB. There will be loads of VHF listeners and your mobile phone will work most of the time. Likewise you dont really need DSC, so long as you feel able to transmit a mayday and state your lat long. If you are concerned about safety the money would be better spent on say a radar than on EPIRB/DSC stuff

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[admillington]

It is a 2004 model built late 2003 and delivered to me on the 27th September from Peters plc. Have Radar installed already.

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[admillington]

Thank you - have placed a bid.

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[SteveE]

I thought all new VHF radios installed in the last 9 months or so, had to have DSC? might be wrong, however my new boat had 1 and was not given option of DSC or not?

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[BrendanS]

When you buy a new VHF, has to be DSC enabled (you can add an additional DSC controller at a later date) but not fully DSC.....as I understand it.

Not sure on position on boats supplied with VHF installed. Might be different, and if I get a chance I'll do some digging

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[oceanpro]

Quote 'In your cruise area you hardly need EPIRB. There will be loads of VHF listeners and your mobile phone will work most of the time. Likewise you dont really need DSC, so long as you feel able to transmit a mayday and state your lat long. '

Just a quick question JFM how do you go about deciding whether you will be able to transmit a lat & long in all Mayday situations? I use my mobile to order a pizza and it still lets me down sometimes. Think about it.

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