JumbleDuck
Well-known member
My DSC radio is in the cabin. How well does yours work when rising water has shorted the batteries and the mast has come down with the aerial?
RYA finally suggest that flares should no longer be carried
- Thread starter BlueSkyNick
- Start date
My DSC radio is in the cabin. How well does yours work when rising water has shorted the batteries and the mast has come down with the aerial?
BlueSkyNick
Active member
One of the problems with DSC radios is them being at the chart table - I am about to replace ours with a Standard Horizon which has the RAM in the cockpit including a Distress button.
elton
Well-known member
That's a valid point. My radio is in the cabin, but within easy reach the cockpit; I have a second antenna on the pushpit rail. The batteries are well defended, but will fail no doubt in due course. I still carry flares, but the radio is my first line of defence.
Fire99
Well-known member
Personally I think it's a too simplistic argument to say that flares aren't needed as other means of raising alert will cover all bases. Considering we are yet to feel the effects of reduced coastguard local coverage, I wouldn't be recommending anyone reduce the options of raising alert that they have on board.
I've also found that on the water, if it can happen, it will happen, is a good motto. Any electrical / electronic device can fail and for argument sake, what if your ships radio stops working and then you find that your handheld which appears to be perfect, is receiving but not transmitting? (I had that with a handheld).
Do you now do a radio check on both ships radio and handheld by default? Is there a way of testing a PLB?
Yes you can have a dud flare but they're a well proven and simple tool that can raise awareness to the general public who may not be monitoring any radio / electronic tomfoolery.
For the cost / space they take up, I'd say it's foolhardy to ditch 'em.
I've also found that on the water, if it can happen, it will happen, is a good motto. Any electrical / electronic device can fail and for argument sake, what if your ships radio stops working and then you find that your handheld which appears to be perfect, is receiving but not transmitting? (I had that with a handheld).
Do you now do a radio check on both ships radio and handheld by default? Is there a way of testing a PLB?
Yes you can have a dud flare but they're a well proven and simple tool that can raise awareness to the general public who may not be monitoring any radio / electronic tomfoolery.
For the cost / space they take up, I'd say it's foolhardy to ditch 'em.
Tranona
Well-known member
This myth has been exploded many times in the past. The French do not take any action against UK registered boats which do not have flares on board.
peterb
New member
It's not a good idea to keep flares in the cabin. If the problem is a fire so serious as to require a Mayday call, then the cabin is the last place you want to be. Keep the flares in a cockpit locker.
Seajet
...
For that reason I keep my flares in an old ammo box, but the white anti-col ones are right by the main hatch within easy reach of crew on watch.
prv
Well-known member
...which is a damn silly place to put them unless (as you mentioned) you also have a remote control. It's a hangover from the days when radios were delicate instruments and boats were wet inside, with the chart table the one place you'd do your best to keep dry.
Radios nowadays are robust and waterproof, usually submersible, and the odds are that when you need to talk to somebody you probably also want to be on deck, whether it's steering up the channel to the lock you're asking to open, talking to your friend while sailing along enjoying the sunshine, or calling for help while keeping an eye on your partner in the water.
On Kindred Spirit I mounted the rather basic radio just inside the companionway hatch, so I could reach and use it from the tiller. On Ariam I have a fancier radio, with a remote mic in the cockpit, and actually I'm planning to move it this winter because I've found it still isn't accessible enough.
Don't start me on plotters hidden below decks
Pete
jordanbasset
Well-known member
I wonder what the reaction would be if the RYA campaigned for DSC Radios, Epirbs, laser lights, PLB's, liferafts, handheld waterproof radios etc compulsory what the reaction would be.
alant
Active member
That's why Fishing boats have their radio batteries well above any water level.
nimbusgb
Active member
Dsc radio mounted in cabin, remote ram mic at helm.
Batteries. If the water gets to the level of the terminals ...... It's long, long past the time I would have pressed the red tit.
Carry a waterproof handheld radio as standby.
The AIS aerial is separate to the main antenna, mounted on the pushpit rail and there's a patch cable to connect it to the cabin radio if the mast comes down.
Ocassionally flares may fail to fire or may misfire as well.
Batteries. If the water gets to the level of the terminals ...... It's long, long past the time I would have pressed the red tit.
Carry a waterproof handheld radio as standby.
The AIS aerial is separate to the main antenna, mounted on the pushpit rail and there's a patch cable to connect it to the cabin radio if the mast comes down.
Ocassionally flares may fail to fire or may misfire as well.
maxi77
Active member
It is not uncommon for vessels to founder fast enough to prevent a radio message being sent
capnsensible
Well-known member
I do wonder if all these people who talk about the 'what if' stuff actually have been on a boat.
Flares are great and really useful. Bin them if you want to die un noticed, good luck.
Flares are great and really useful. Bin them if you want to die un noticed, good luck.
Neil_Y
Well-known member
40' yacht just off the lizard, so coastal, new engine but they hadn't renewed hoses. Motoring at dusk ebbing tide taking us west, generator light flickers and in 2-3 mins all electrics failed, water was above alternators and the swell meant it reached batteries. I got a mayday off and then used hand held to communicate first with chopper and the Falmouth lb. A parachute would have got someone's attention had we been a bit slower, and hand held vhfs really don't have much range if it's rough at deck level on a small yacht. Had it been mast down and damaged hull flares or epirb are the only option I think. I have suffered multiple electronics failures in the past so I'm a bit biased in my view.
Storyline
New member
I have often thought of keeping a small 12v battery on a shelf high up in the boat. Something along the lines of the backup battery in a burglar alarm or maybe a motorcycle battery. Two questions - would this have enough juice to power the VHF at 25w and could I just wire it into the electrical circuit so it is constantly getting charged ?
maxi77
Active member
If such a bettery was connected to the main power system it would be pulled down as the main batteries fail, it could probably be charged by a VSR but would need some sort of change over switch or relay to connect it safely to the radio. Another thought though is if you have suffered severe enough flooding to take out your electrics are you going to spend time trying to get an SOS off or will you spend the time ensure an as safe as possible abandon ship.
alant
Active member
I'm sure the French maritime authorities, will be reassured by your claim.
Tranona
Well-known member
Meaning what?
Where is your evidence that they have any concerns. When they asked the French authorities the question, the RYA were assured that they were not interested.
If you have any reliable evidence to the contrary perhaps you would care to share it.
Storyline
New member
I had thought of having it connected to the VHF with a simple switch. Needs thinking about ! Also not sure if it would have enough power for 25w of VHF as in our last boat we only had one house battery (105ah) and if it was a bit run down the radio switched to 1w
prv
Well-known member
I wonder if perhaps the wiring in your old boat was a bit suspect - the battery being merely "a bit run down" shouldn't have affected the radio. My guess would be volt-drop in undersized wiring and/or poor connections.
25watts at 12v is a smidge over 2 amps - obviously that's assuming the radio is 100% efficient which it won't be, so let's make a wild-arsed guess and say 5 amp draw while transmitting. The usual small gel batteries you're thinking of are 20Ah (I carry one as backup although it's just in a locker, not wired up ready). So again assuming you could use all of it, that's four hours of transmission. You can probably knock that down to half for various inefficiencies (although note in this case we're not worried about permanently trashing the battery) leaving two hours of transmit time.
Not exactly precision calculation, but hopefully enough to show that you'd get a useful amount of time from a VHF reserve battery.
For what it's worth, ships (at least the sailing ships I've been on) do indeed carry an emergency battery to run the radios, mounted as high up as possible. I've toyed with the idea of copying this on Ariam, with my 20Ah gel battery wired in, but in reality I'm happy enough with the battery in a locker and some spare wire and fittings to connect it up if required. If things are going to rat**** too fast to do that, it's time for the PLB anyway.
(The main purpose of the spare battery is actually engine starting rather than comms; I bought it because the new engine doesn't have a starting handle like the old one.)
Pete
