Jupiter Sunsation

Old EPIRB beacons phased out
By Willie Howard | Monday, February 2, 2009, 07:55 PM


For boaters who run across the Atlantic to the Bahamas or regularly venture more than 10 miles offshore, an Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon (EPIRB) should be standard safety equipment along with a life raft.

Old EPIRBs using the 121 MHz radio frequency, however, are no longer useful.

The Coast Guard stopped monitoring the old-frequency EPIRBs on Feb. 1.

Newer 406 MHz are the standard for offshore distress calling, according to BoatU.S.

“They have better accuracy, fewer false alerts and greater reliability,” said David Carter, Boat.U.S. EPIRP program manager.

The starting price for a 406 MHz EPIRB is about $500, according to BoatU.S. The boating organization also rents EPIRBs for about $40 a week.

For more information on the BoatU.S. EPIRB rental program, call (888) 663-7472 or go to www.BoatUS.com/foundation/epirb.

NASCAT

JS- I know this is an old thread but was curious if you owned an EPIRB yourself and if so would you recommend the one you own?
What make and model?

I'm specifically interested in one that automatically broadcasts the GPS coordinates upon activation.

Your thoughts?

Jupiter Sunsation

I have never actually owned an EPIRB, West Marine used to rent them when they first came out. I wouldn't go to the Bahamas without one, but we either went with FPC or if solo would rent one from West Marine. I prefer the ones that send out the coordinates in addition to the ping but I'm pretty sure they all do that now. They all trigger now when they get wet I believe.

NASCAT

I noticed that Boat US offers a rental program. Since this will be my first boat trip to the Bahamas, I'm thinking Rent vs the $400 investment.

Does Stu or anyone on the FPC runs carry a life raft?
Maybe not necessary for a run to Bimini, we are planning to boat all the way to Compass Cay, Exumas

302Sport

We always carry both on the boats, they take up very little space and you will not even notice they are on board. Purchase a life raft like this one from Eastern Aero Marine, very compact and light weight:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/EAM-Eastern-...FYPbhJ&vxp=mtr

Jupiter Sunsation

No idea what Stu carries but usually with 8-10 boats going there will be a few EPIRBS and I never considered a raft when so many other boats are going over at the same time/close proximity. Your boat will be a blast in Bimini and you really will enjoy the run to the Exumas too!

NASCAT

There will only be 2 or 3 boats for this trip. We are boating straight to Nassau (Atlantis) for the night, then on to Compass Cay. Same route on the return so no Bimini this trip.

Thanks for your input.

NASCAT

[QUOTE=302Sport;4509493]We always carry both on the boats, they take up very little space and you will not even notice they are on board. Purchase a life raft like this one from Eastern Aero Marine, very compact and light weight:

[url]http://www.ebay.com/itm/EAM

That purchase would be a bit risky w/o a re-cert but I'll check out their site. Most of the 4 man rafts are quite large weighing 75lbs or more. That particular raft seems to be packaged significantly smaller.

302Sport

The rafts we carry in the planes can run anywhere from $30K -$100k, but are much, much lighter, and packaged better than the marine stuff. You can buy them really cheap when they are out of date, obsolete or somebody ends up with spares because they sold an airplane etc... But, what I am getting at is that even though they are out of date, and need a re-cert according to the FAA, they still function fine for many, many years.

On the flip side, the marine stuff is much cheaper to purchase and re-cert, but is a lot bulkier/heavier.

We take the risk with expired aviation stuff....