bendyone
Well-Known Member
I am buying a boat that has a EPIRB ( 18 month old) fitted. As my sailing is very much limited to sort coastal trips is it worth keeping or is it something that can be sold?
EPIRB
- Thread starter bendyone
- Start date
Elessar
Well-Known Member
I'm sure someone will swap it for some flares, and then you'd be much better off.
(off to get a cup of tea, sit back and wait......)
(off to get a cup of tea, sit back and wait......)
bbg
Well-Known Member
Just out of curiosity, why would you want to get rid of a free piece of safety equipment?
jhr
Well-Known Member
A year or two back, a catamaran inverted in the Solent. No problem, you'd think? Wrong: no-one knew about it for (?) twelve hours, probably because it happened in the dark, and nobody saw them. Nobody died, as I recall, but someone could easily have sucumbed to hypothermia.
If they'd had an EPIRB they'd have been ashore in half an hour. Personally, I'd hang on to it...............
fireball
Well-Known Member
Because it isn't cost effective?
An Epribs likely role in coastal waters is easily matched by DSC VHF and if you can get a few hundred quid for it then you could replace the lifejackets or put towards a liferaft?
We've got a manual EPRIB, but needs money spending on it to be able to register it - not worth the hassle for the sailing we do ...
An Epribs likely role in coastal waters is easily matched by DSC VHF and if you can get a few hundred quid for it then you could replace the lifejackets or put towards a liferaft?
We've got a manual EPRIB, but needs money spending on it to be able to register it - not worth the hassle for the sailing we do ...
fireball
Well-Known Member
Depends if the Eprib is auto fire or not ... and if you've got a cat don't you plan for the unlikely event of being upsidedown? A flare or two would've helped!!
cmedsailor
Well-Known Member
Fireball it's really up to you , but keep in mind that EPIRB is portable whereas a VHF (not the handheld with its limited abilities) needs aerial and electricity.
fireball
Well-Known Member
As you said - it is up to me ... TBH, if all you do is day sail then chance of a catestrofic failure that results in not being able to do one or more of the list below is highly unlikely
1) DSC Alert
2) Fixed VHF Call (either masthead, pushpit or spare antenna)
3) Fire flares
4) HH VHF Call
5) Use Mobile Phone
6) Jump into Liferaft (yup - got one now!)
So- let's go through the "catestrophic failures" ...
1) Get seriously holed by a) hitting something (I'll know about it pdq and be able to do something immeadiately) or b) something hitting me - again, I'll know about it - and probably before it happens
2) Mast falls down - use VHF on pushpit antenna
3) Keel falls off and capsise - flares, HH VHF, Phone, Liferaft ... not in that order - although that is the one time an automatic epirb would come into its own.
Chances of 1 are reasonable - plenty of rubbish floating around - and some of them have engines!!
Chance of 2 again - reasonable - no reason to put 100% faith in the rigging
Chance of 3 - highly unlikely although not impossible - production boat, been inspected no signs of movement.
TBH, if all you do is day sail then chance of a catestrofic failure that results in not being able to do one or more of the list below is highly unlikely1) DSC Alert
2) Fixed VHF Call (either masthead, pushpit or spare antenna)
3) Fire flares
4) HH VHF Call
5) Use Mobile Phone
6) Jump into Liferaft (yup - got one now!)
So- let's go through the "catestrophic failures" ...
1) Get seriously holed by a) hitting something (I'll know about it pdq and be able to do something immeadiately) or b) something hitting me - again, I'll know about it - and probably before it happens
2) Mast falls down - use VHF on pushpit antenna
3) Keel falls off and capsise - flares, HH VHF, Phone, Liferaft ... not in that order - although that is the one time an automatic epirb would come into its own.
Chances of 1 are reasonable - plenty of rubbish floating around - and some of them have engines!!
Chance of 2 again - reasonable - no reason to put 100% faith in the rigging
Chance of 3 - highly unlikely although not impossible - production boat, been inspected no signs of movement.
bbg
Well-Known Member
OK - but if you bought a boat that had an EPIRB, would you actually take the positive step of getting rid of it?
jhr
Well-Known Member
I think it all happened so fast - as the sloth said when he was mugged by a gang of tortoises - that there was no time even for grab bags, flares or what have you. My point is that there could be circumstances where an EPIRB could save lives, even in sheltered waters, and as has already been said, if one has come with the boat, you might as well hang on to it
Agreed that it would only have helped in that case if it was auto-fire.
Elessar
Well-Known Member
Fire's the one that scares me and barring the keel falling off is the only one that would get me in the water in a hurry.
So you've lost all your electrics, and you've forgotten to recharge the hand held. Auto epirb won't help but they're very easy to set off manually.
You don't have to be benefiting from the auto bit to benefit from an epirb.
fireball
Well-Known Member
but - one of the things I would expect with a turtled cat is that it would be difficult to get back into the accom to get emergency kit - so some form of getting to it from underneath (or additional spares) would be in order ... although possibly not on a cruising cat in coastal waters as I wouldn't feel they could turn over in anything like what I would be out in.
jhr
Well-Known Member
I agree. I think the problem was that they were on a delivery trip, so unfamiliarity reigned.......
fireball
Well-Known Member
Hmm - fire, yes ... forgot to mention that one ...
One of the upgrades we did was a fixed DSC VHF with remote handset (got the SH GX1100 & RH for £180) ... best bluddy upgrade we've done I think - DSC alert can be triggered from the cockpit ... and unless it was the battery that caught fire it would be the first thing to fire off in case of fire...
Do need to get a replacement HH battery though ...
and - depending on where you are of course - it is quite likely you'll be in mobile phone coverage (not ideal, but still comms option open to you)
As to the question of taking positive step to get rid of an Epirb .... well - we have one, but the battery is questionable and wouldn't be cost effective to replace. I cannot register it as the HEX code and MMSI number are not shown on the unit and I'd need to pay to have it re-programmed - and it is a manual one, in a box which would be kept in a locker (with the liferaft) ...
Really - I do believe you should sort your safety equipment to suit the sailing you are doing, so if one bit of kit is surplus to requirements, but you're lacking elsewhere (and the funds to resolve that lack) then there is no reason not to consider trading one bit of kit for another.
One of the upgrades we did was a fixed DSC VHF with remote handset (got the SH GX1100 & RH for £180) ... best bluddy upgrade we've done I think - DSC alert can be triggered from the cockpit ... and unless it was the battery that caught fire it would be the first thing to fire off in case of fire...
Do need to get a replacement HH battery though ...
and - depending on where you are of course - it is quite likely you'll be in mobile phone coverage (not ideal, but still comms option open to you)
As to the question of taking positive step to get rid of an Epirb .... well - we have one, but the battery is questionable and wouldn't be cost effective to replace. I cannot register it as the HEX code and MMSI number are not shown on the unit and I'd need to pay to have it re-programmed - and it is a manual one, in a box which would be kept in a locker (with the liferaft) ...
Really - I do believe you should sort your safety equipment to suit the sailing you are doing, so if one bit of kit is surplus to requirements, but you're lacking elsewhere (and the funds to resolve that lack) then there is no reason not to consider trading one bit of kit for another.
fireball
Well-Known Member
that's the huge danger with delivery trips .... you don't know the kit - or what it will take ...
I have capsised a cat ... but it was a small one with twin trapeze ... and still required assistance to get it up ... capsised dinghies 0000's of times - never a problem - what that says to me is I would quite happily take a monohull dinghy out in conditions I wouldn't consider taking a cat in, but if I was to take a cat I'd make sure I had the right kit to sort it myself or raise help ...
I have capsised a cat ... but it was a small one with twin trapeze ... and still required assistance to get it up ... capsised dinghies 0000's of times - never a problem - what that says to me is I would quite happily take a monohull dinghy out in conditions I wouldn't consider taking a cat in, but if I was to take a cat I'd make sure I had the right kit to sort it myself or raise help ...
bendyone
Well-Known Member
My thoughts exactly, which is why I asked the question
fireball
Well-Known Member
so - what are you missing in terms of safety kit? Would it be worth trading the Eprib in for it?
bendyone
Well-Known Member
I've got all the normal bit and pieces, but would like to have radar.
fireball
Well-Known Member
radar is going to set back a fair bit - say £1k - and a second hand Eprib what? ~£200?
I suppose you could get a secondhand radar - plenty going on Ebay for £500 ish ... so selling the Epirb could cover 50% of your cost...
Not sure I'd sell an Epirb for a radar though ... radar is supposed to help you not get into trouble - not get you out of it when it all goes tits up!
I suppose you could get a secondhand radar - plenty going on Ebay for £500 ish ... so selling the Epirb could cover 50% of your cost...
Not sure I'd sell an Epirb for a radar though ... radar is supposed to help you not get into trouble - not get you out of it when it all goes tits up!
nct1
Well-Known Member
If you look at disaster scenarios generally we know two things
1. They are typically unexpected and unforseen
2. Those that come off best are those that have several fall back positions.
We can argue till we are pink in the face, and we do regularly on this forum about the merits of any single piece of safety equipment, each has it's merits, each has it's weak points, but overall if you have multiple fall backs you are going to be better off. One of the disadvantages of EPIRB's is at the moment, the cost, well you are lucky in that respect.
In a rapid capsize / sinking scenario (think keel loss, being hit by rapid large commercial vessel to name but 2) whilst you are in the water, how much money would you actually pay at that point for an auto-release EPIRB as a banker whilst you then attempt to use any other means that is (if at all) still available to you.
Good luck, whatever you decide to do.
1. They are typically unexpected and unforseen
2. Those that come off best are those that have several fall back positions.
We can argue till we are pink in the face, and we do regularly on this forum
about the merits of any single piece of safety equipment, each has it's merits, each has it's weak points, but overall if you have multiple fall backs you are going to be better off. One of the disadvantages of EPIRB's is at the moment, the cost, well you are lucky in that respect.In a rapid capsize / sinking scenario (think keel loss, being hit by rapid large commercial vessel to name but 2) whilst you are in the water, how much money would you actually pay at that point for an auto-release EPIRB as a banker whilst you then attempt to use any other means that is (if at all) still available to you.
Good luck, whatever you decide to do.
