Personnal EPIRB/PLB

[Cheeky Girl]

Hi

Does anyone have any recommendations as to which PLB to get.

AND are there any bargains to be had at SBS as am heading down next weekend.

Thanks for any advice.

Regards

Graham

 

[Graham376]

I don't think there's any difference in performance between the makes and choice is most likely down price, ease of use, does it float? and can the owner change batteries?.

 

[KellysEye]

The whole point when sailing is not to go overboard. The harness should have one long and one short tether which is used on deck so you can't go over the guard rails the long one is to put around the mast when reefing or vice versa, plus a U-bolt in the cockpit and jackstays. We clipped on in bad weathers and always at night tthus didn't need a PLB but we did have EPIRB.

 

[[70521]]

The whole point when sailing is not to go overboard. The harness should have one long and one short tether which is used on deck so you can't go over the guard rails the long one is to put around the mast when reefing or vice versa, plus a U-bolt in the cockpit and jackstays. We clipped on in bad weathers and always at night tthus didn't need a PLB but we did have EPIRB.

True but accidents happen.

Let's say you are 50 miles offshore and break a leg well out of VHF range, or are having a pee off the back of the boat at 0340 and fell in while the crew were snoring in their bunks. How do you summon help?

I saw Duncan Wells's demonstration at the SBS and was impressed with the PLB that alerted the mothership.

 

[Strikeliner]

Trouble is the PLB that you saw wasn't a PLB at all. It was a Personal AIS Beacon with a range of around 5 nautical miles.
There are no leisure craft that have the ability to receive PLB signals.
It is very important to understand the difference in technologies. Personal AIS for localised search. EPIRB/PLB for global search.

 

[Kukri]

Trouble is the PLB that you saw wasn't a PLB at all. It was a Personal AIS Beacon with a range of around 5 nautical miles.
There are no leisure craft that have the ability to receive PLB signals.
It is very important to understand the difference in technologies. Personal AIS for localised search. EPIRB/PLB for global search.

Very important point. The personal AIS beacon should be set up in conjunction with the yacht’s AIS system or it is worthless.

I suggest:

If you single hand your boat or if you crew for other people or do delivery work - PLB

If you are sailing with a crew on your own boat - AIS beacon which alerts the boat’s AIS system. These can be fitted into life jackets (good ones, anyway) so it makes sense to fit the boat with a set of life jackets which each have a personal AIS beacon fitted.

 

[zoidberg]

Have a look at the range of devices on display on the HMCG stand - especially the tiny one, which is small enough to be secured A: on your lifejacket or B: on a cord around your neck. That's the best I've seen.

They're on sale in Ocean Hall....

 

[KellysEye]

>Let's say you are 50 miles offshore and break a leg well out of VHF range, or are having a pee off the back of the boat at 0340 and fell in while the crew were snoring in their bunks. How do you summon help?

Uttter madness every boat has a toilet.

 

[DJE]

Trouble is the PLB that you saw wasn't a PLB at all. It was a Personal AIS Beacon with a range of around 5 nautical miles.
There are no leisure craft that have the ability to receive PLB signals.
It is very important to understand the difference in technologies. Personal AIS for localised search. EPIRB/PLB for global search.

And some will issue a VHF DSC call too.

 

[bbg]

True but accidents happen.

Let's say you are 50 miles offshore and break a leg well out of VHF range, or are having a pee off the back of the boat at 0340 and fell in while the crew were snoring in their bunks. How do you summon help?

I saw Duncan Wells's demonstration at the SBS and was impressed with the PLB that alerted the mothership.

Pee in the cockpit. Wash it out with a bucket of water. No point in risking your life for a quick pee.

 

[westhinder]

I have been hoping that by the time the battery in my PLB expires, a personal device that combines satellite and AIS capabilities would be on the market, but time is running out and it does not appear to be forthcoming. What is stopping the manufacturers?

 

[MikeCC]

a personal device that combines satellite and AIS capabilities ... What is stopping the manufacturers?

Nothing technically. Size considerations - each part needs a battery big enough to fulfil runtime requirement. Certification - needs to have a standard which probably comes down to ITU producing technical spec. No idea if that exists. Then getting device approval to meet that standard. Look how long it took to get VHF and AIS transponder on same device.

 

[duncan99210]

There’s a German company that did produce a prototype combined AIS and PLB but they couldn’t get type approval for it. The major problem is the activation method: a PLB, under current regulations has to be manually activated whereas an AIS beacon can be automatic. Their prototype was fully automatic and therefore non compliant.
Getting changes to the agreed specifications is a long process as it has to be agreed by all members of the ITU: that takes time.... In the meantime we carry two gadgets on our life jackets: AiS/DSC beacons and a PLB. Two fag packets as opposed to one.

 

[Walther]

The whole point when sailing is not to go overboard. The harness should have one long and one short tether which is used on deck so you can't go over the guard rails the long one is to put around the mast when reefing or vice versa, plus a U-bolt in the cockpit and jackstays. We clipped on in bad weathers and always at night tthus didn't need a PLB but we did have EPIRB.

Yes, but ... so what?

A PLB is neither designed nor intended for man overboard applications. As others have already said, a personal AIS transmitter is infinitely more valuable in such situations.

A PLB is best thought of as a ‘poor man’s EBIRB’, to summon assistance when in distress.

If you can afford an EPIRB, buy one; but better yet, buy a PLB as well (nothing convinces an RCC that a satellite-relayed distress signal is genuine like two or more simultaneously coming from the same location ... and that means no time is lost in verification calls prior to dispatching help. Redundancy in emergency signalling kit is very desirable).