portable house radio for boat suitable for shipping forecast??

[Iliade]

This is England! Blink and the weather will have changed... I have been at sea (crew, at anchor actually) during an un-forecast hurricane! (Charlie - early 90's) Glassy calm to F10+ in about half an hour.

In truth it is better to learn to read the sky/seaweed/pebble, but loads of good portable radios seem to turn up in the burgeoning charity shop sector.

 

[Dellquay13]

This is England! Blink and the weather will have changed... I have been at sea (crew, at anchor actually) during an un-forecast hurricane! (Charlie - early 90's) Glassy calm to F10+ in about half an hour.

that's the best reason to use your vhf for local navigation and weather broadcasts from the CG, routine every few hours and emergency alerts when necessary

 

[Spirit (of Glenans)]

I've got a "World Radio" from Lidl, with LW, MW, SW and FM, which is great for listening to Radio 4 on LW, particularly while working on the boat, as the reception is quite good on the east coast of Ireland.
It's nice to listen nostalgically to the Shipping Forecast, but I prefer to get sailing weather info from the Coastguard broadcasts, both Irish and UK, and various online weather websites such as Windguru.

 

[Mister E]

This is England! Blink and the weather will have changed... I have been at sea (crew, at anchor actually) during an un-forecast hurricane! (Charlie - early 90's) Glassy calm to F10+ in about half an hour.

In truth it is better to learn to read the sky/seaweed/pebble, but loads of good portable radios seem to turn up in the burgeoning charity shop sector.

We also have weather in Wales and can get radio 4.

 

[Spirit (of Glenans)]

We also have weather in Wales and can get radio 4.

.....and nobody even mentioned Norn Irn ?

 

[MADRIGAL]

I found this question by OP somewhat surprising. Perhaps because I come from a different location/country. (32S) but having an open boat one should be prepared with weather forecast before departure. So only if you will be at sea for a long time will forecast change or be of concern. Yes of course it is good seamanship to have a radio capable of picking up weather warnings. So this would then dictate what kind of radio you carry. Apparently LW by comments which is not used in Oz. In any case there must be lots of old transistor radios floating about which might serve the purpose.
However I would support those who have said far better to go for a VHF hand held or fixed 2 way radio if he is going to spend money. The improvement in safety is just so great. Plus hopefully he can get weather forecast on the VHF set. Plus go for an EPIRB or PLB and a hand held GPS. No point in being a ludite when electronics fro boats give so much more safety at such small cost. ol'will

While I have nostalgic feelings for the BBC Shipping Forecast, I have to echo ol’will’s suggestion of a waterproof handheld VHF. That would get you frequent met forecasts as well as other safety notices, not to mention the ability to communicate. I do have an old, reliable transistor radio with AM/FM/SW,that I keep in a dry bag for listening to the World Service (more nostalgia!) on dinghy camping trips along desolate shores, although the sound of the waves and the wind is what I really want to hear when I go sailing.

 

[lenten]

thanks everyone for replies-----buying a radio from littlesister but interested in suggestions for handheld vhf -----do they have coverage in out of the way locations -----like west coast of scotland

 

[LittleSister]

interested in suggestions for handheld vhf -----do they have coverage in out of the way locations -----like west coast of scotland

Very patchy. Unlike Long Wave (especially) and Medium Wave public broadcasts, marine VHF is more or less 'line of sight' from the transmitter. On the West Coast of Scotland, the limited number of aerials and the mountainous terrain means that inshore you will often find your hand-held VHF of little use. Good to have one, though.

 

[LONG_KEELER]

the sound of the waves and the wind is what I really want to hear when I go sailing.

 

[Jim@sea]

Some radios are better than others. when I lived in darkest France (Brittany) I was 60 miles south of the French Coast and perhaps 120 miles from Jersey.
On the radio in my Nissan Patrol I could quite clearly hear Jersey Radio and get their local forecast.
But my Peugeot car parked next to it had terrible reception and even many French radio signals were unavailable.
Now back in the UK I often tune in to Manx Radio for a local forecast.

 

[LONG_KEELER]

BBC World Service is certainly an eye opener .

Unfortunately, a DAB radio is required for most hours of the day.

 

[Iliade]

I have a DAB and it eats the batteries like they're going out of fashion, whereas my old mum's transistor lasted about twenty years on each set of AAs