bitbaltic
Well-Known Member
Apologies for ambiguous phrasing, I meant the cost of battery replacement (currently 120 quid or thereabouts) is cheaper than buying new units based on the link to F4 in your OP (250 quid or whatever) for the McMurdo 220.
Personal Locator Beacon (PLB) recommendations 2021?
- Thread starter MattS
- Start date
bitbaltic
Well-Known Member
this is well worth a read for anyone considering buying a PLB as it applies to much the sort of waters and conditions we all sail in. The guy was helped by having good gear and the right attitude, but he (rightly) attributes his survival to his PLB. Time from ditch to rescue was about 2 hours.
there is also a tremendous amount of excellent real-world advice in the article for anyone looking to survive at sea.
Heading from Wales to Ireland for the start of the 2013 Round Ireland Challenge, Andy Proudfoot, the solo occupant of the 5 metre RIB ‘Merlin’ was ejected into the water 18 miles off St Ann’s Head in the Irish Sea.
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DownWest
Well-Known Member
I chatted to a US guy who hit something in the gulf of mexico some years back. Well pre the current range of beacons. The boat went down in minutes and he was left in his dinghy for a couple of days until a fishing boat from Costa Rica picked him up. Well out of range of VHF, so a PLB might have been useful back then.
Have there been any cases closer to home? AGAIN, Bitbaltic has posted one., while I was slow typing.
Have there been any cases closer to home? AGAIN, Bitbaltic has posted one., while I was slow typing.
Plum
Well-Known Member
I have the OceanSignal RescueME because it is the smallest and has a good battery life. Mine is fitted, using the supplied clip, to the lj inflation tube. Worst case is having to activate it when in the water. Once a lifejacket has inflated and you are in the water it will be very difficult to locate the plb if it is in a waist band pocket. Much better, in my opinion, is to have it mounted on the inflation tube. If not in the water it only takes a second to pull open one side of the lj to reveal the plb. A larger plb may not fit inside the lj cover.
www.solocoastalsailing.co.uk
bitbaltic
Well-Known Member
Fit inside the cover is an issue and depends on the jacket. Our Secumars accommodate the PLB although you have to pack carefully (as you should anyway of course).
couldn’t agree more about mounting on the bladder. This is the nearest thing to ‘presenting itself to you’ you can do fir the PLB (unless folk with more modern jackets which include a PLB pocket can comment).
I originally had all ours in soft cases on the waist belt of the harness but always doubted my ability (let alone that of a guest) to deploy the thing from a starting position underwater with restricted movement. Tied off to some attachment of the bladder, and in away which does not interfere with inflation, is a must I think. As is a buoyancy case.
so if buying a PLB consider the architecture of the jacket (if the OP hasn’t, he should open it up and come up with a method of mounting it, or buy a new jacket too).
MattS
Well-Known Member
Useful thanks - I've got Crewsaver Crewfit 180N Pro + lifejackets (Crewsaver Crewfit+ 180N Pro Lifejacket: Buy the Crewfit Plus 180N Pro Today) - I'll have a look and see what options I've got for attaching a PLB to it!