Personal Safety devices

[zulloboy]

Also consider how you will be faring after a relatively short time in the water. You must have suitable robust attachment points for your PLB and/or MOB beacon on the PFD that will hold the antenna clear of the water (as much as that is possible given you are floating at sea level). The effects of cold and wave action will tire you very quickly, and holding any device up will very soon become impossible, as will trying to speak into the VHF repeatedly while waves slop over your face/spray hood. It may be dark, and you will certainly be very shocked, anxious and frightened.
Suck it and see by floating in your PFD with some wave action going - you can do this safely tethered to your moored/anchored boat. You might be very surprised at how the experience changes some of your theoretical considerations. I found it incredibly sobering and humbling. Just trying to get a piece of kit out of the wrong (or indeed the correct) pocket was an eye-opener, then trying to activate things in the dark with gloves on, specs washed away etc etc.

 

[AntarcticPilot]

Also consider how you will be faring after a relatively short time in the water. You must have suitable robust attachment points for your PLB and/or MOB beacon on the PFD that will hold the antenna clear of the water (as much as that is possible given you are floating at sea level). The effects of cold and wave action will tire you very quickly, and holding any device up will very soon become impossible, as will trying to speak while waves slop over your face/spray hood. It may be dark, and you will certainly be very shocked, anxious and frightened.
Suck it and see by floating in your PFD with some wave action going - you can do this safely tethered to your moored/anchored boat. You might be very surprised at how the experience changes some of your theoretical considerations. I found it incredibly sobering and humbling. Just trying to get a piece of kit out of the wrong (or indeed the correct) pocket was an eye-opener, then trying to activate things in the dark with gloves on, specs washed away etc etc.

All good reasons why I'd prefer a device that is automatically actuated, and attached to the front of my lifejacket so it is automatically in a suitable location. The snag seems to be that there are regulatory reasons why PLBs can't be automatic. None of the ones available from the usual suspects seem to have any automatic capability.

 

[Daverw]

Had the same dilemma, SWMBO made the decision, if I was single handed PLB, if she was on board PLB and she would also hit the DSC and get help, so PLB on front pocket of life jacket so with me at all times, as long as life jacket is on of course. The manual activation does seem to be standard but only a flap and button to press, also remember none work underwater as VHF signal won’t.

 

[dolabriform]

I had the same dilemma, and came to the only conclusion I could which is to have both.
The AIS is mounted on the bladder and auto triggers when it inflates, the plb is in the outside pocket of the LJ tethered to it and reachable. I have a Spinlock 5D and they both fit without being bulky.
My wife only has an AIS in her LJ, as she doesn't single hand.

Edit:
I think if you will always have crew, the AIS wins hands down as it guides you to it. Although the PLB will be visible on RADAR, that requires someone on board who knows how to operate and interpret the RADAR.
For a single hander, you might be somewhere with other boats close enough to pick up the AIS DSC, but you may not which is where the PLB comes in. Whichever way I thought about it, I couldn't pick one over the other.

Edit2: strikeout of inaccurate info.

 

[Roberto]

But the boat I just fell off is now unmanned.....

It is worth checking the type of equipment approval: depending on country of licensing, these AIS MOB devices can send:
1. Only ship-to-ship AIS distress alerts: one has to configure his own vessel MMSI on the beacon, the AIS alert will be recognized exclusively by that MMSI, other boats around will not receive the distress.
2. All Ship AIS distress: in that case, the signal will ideally be received by everyone around but you must trust other boats equipment to appropriately show a distress signal on their receiver screens, quite often it just appears like a simple additional ais target with no particular emphasis;
3. Sometimes they send the DSC alert too, this goes to All Ships, but as DSC message not AIS. Most DSC radios would sound an audible alarm. A number of licensing authorities do not allow this DSC beacon alert, as legally the sending station should be able to receive an acknowledgment and stop sending additional messages, which normal beacons cannot do.
Can't remember what is the UK regulatory position on all that.

 

[lustyd]

But the boat I just fell off is now unmanned.....

I didn’t suggest it was useful for you just saying why it’s useful compared to a VHF. As I originally said for your activities I’d go PLB every time.

 

[andsarkit]

Although the PLB will be visible on RADAR, that requires someone on board who knows how to operate and interpret the RADAR.
[/QUOTE]
How is this? I thought PLBs only transmitted on 406MHz and 121.5MHz

 

[dolabriform]

Although the PLB will be visible on RADAR, that requires someone on board who knows how to operate and interpret the RADAR.

How is this? I thought PLBs only transmitted on 406MHz and 121.5MHz
[/QUOTE]

Apologies, my bad, they don't have a SART built in. I was confusing myself with the DF functionality of 121.5 Mhz.
I must not post when I am half asleep ?‍ I've edited my original post, thanks for pointing out my mistake

 

[ctva]

Only if you have it on you, and the DSC hand helds are MASSIVE so realistically you never will have it on you.

No they are not, I have the Icom 92 which is worn on the lifejacket belt when I'm working. Like all kit you wear, soon it becomes part of you and you forget that you have it on.

 

[jwfrary]

At work.

I have a trusty old icom m71 in my lifejacket
A MOB 1 in my life jacket and a PLB in my pouch on the lifejacket.

Interestingly our latest epirb a smart find does have an AIS sart built in so I expect that personal device might not be so far fetched.

I expect an ais sart is 90% if the time going to result in a quicker rescue than a PLB purely because everyone can see it on their equipment, as a pose to a plb which is specialist sar only equipment and reliant on a coast guard relay

 

[Boathook]

No they are not, I have the Icom 92 which is worn on the lifejacket belt when I'm working. Like all kit you wear, soon it becomes part of you and you forget that you have it on.

I looked at carrying my hh vhf on my lifejacket belt but couldn't find a suitable location where I would be able to reach it once the jacket has inflated. Where do you put yours?

 

[jamie N]

My ACR PLB fits very neatly into the 'left sleeve pocket' of my Fladen jacket.

 

[lustyd]

No they are not, I have the Icom 92 which is worn on the lifejacket belt when I'm working. Like all kit you wear, soon it becomes part of you and you forget that you have it on.

I think we have very different ideas of what a compact device looks like. The M92d doesn't look any more compact than the Standard Horizon unit I have which I would never keep on me as it would be in the way. If I had to carry a VHF all the time it would need to be the size of the HX40E

 

[ctva]

I looked at carrying my hh vhf on my lifejacket belt but couldn't find a suitable location where I would be able to reach it once the jacket has inflated. Where do you put yours?

With the ICOM standard belt clip at the kidney area. Still accessible when inflated but out the way.