Boat safety equipment
With the recent events that has claimed boaters' lives this year, I am looking at my boat and stepping up the safety gear. This is mores--so to "protect" people that come out with me, as well as myself.
EPIRB: We all know its essential for anyone heading out on the ocean to carry an up to date EPIRB. My question is, can two EPIRBs be registered to one boat? Yes, they come "tested" from factory and have test buttons, but when shit really hits the fan, I would want to activate two EPIRBs, just in case one doesnt work properly. It might cost $250-$300 but most have 10 year life span. Not much when you consider how much we all spend yearly on fishing gear!
Life jackets: alot of people are moving to inflatables. Do you recommend manual or automatic activation? I am considering auto activation, mainly for the benefit of passengers on the boat. When a boat capsizes, a person who can't swim well will be in panic mode and he or she might not remember to "pull the cord"...
Thoughts please?
A fish in the hand is worth 10 in the water!
just dhu it
Posts: 1081
Date Joined: 14/05/09
Safety gear
Ashen. You can never have too much safety gear in the boat. , just dont collect junk that will hinder your survival , i believe theres nothing wrong with two epirbs to the one boat , Remeber to locate them where you can grab easily as they need to go. With you should the boat sink no signal received if they are under water etc The inflating jackets , two lines of thoughts , self inflating when wet are great safety factor if some one falls over board and hits their head and cant activate the pull cord themselves , one issue is if your boat rolls and some people are caught in the cabin , the jackets inflate and cause escape problems , where as manual inflation can be done when its the right time if the person capable etc ,
we in our rescue group are looking at the self inflating that require to be submerged one mt rather than just in water and being wet iMO
nightfish
Posts: 327
Date Joined: 18/10/10
negatives to a self inflating jacket
if the boat flips pinning you under it and the jacket inflates this can trap you under the hull. Having never experienced a boat emergency im not sure how often this happens but it may pay to contact your local sea rescue for their thoughts.
ensuring everybody on the boat is aware of where and how to use jackets and epirbs. this will make an emergency scenario easier. also that everybody is aware of how to use the radio. If you aren't able due to injury then someone must
log on and off always
dodgy
Posts: 4576
Date Joined: 01/02/10
I have the usual epirb
I have the usual epirb mounted inside the boat plus a waterproof ditch bag that stays on the deck. Ditch bag has plb, handheld vhf and my current flares.
I prefer manual inflating life jackets. Have used the auto's and unexpected inflation wasn't real convenient.
Does anyone know where the love of god goes, when the waves turn the minutes to hours?
Ashen
Posts: 1042
Date Joined: 22/03/13
Excellent info
Great info guys! Thanks
Dodgy, grab bag with PLB, handheld vhf and flares is an awesome idea! Will be havin one of those with all those things in them, thats for sure!
. Do you have any foam (or something) in the bag so it floats on water?
A fish in the hand is worth 10 in the water!
quest
Posts: 248
Date Joined: 03/08/15
I was in Coral bay last year
I was in Coral bay last year when the guys went missing, fishing the same day.
That made me think about all the safety gear I have onboard and since then I
lashed out and got a two man life raft, new ergo fit 290n life jackets and a PLB
that fits inside my life jacket on top of the standard stuff. I hope I never have
to use them but when shit hits the fan you wanna have a plan. Being prepared
is the best thing you can be. When things go wrong it usually happens quickly
and don't leave you much time to make plan. Just my 2 cents.
mickconn
Posts: 47
Date Joined: 24/03/13
I went a bit nuts
On top of the required stuff I have 6 manual inflatable jackets,mine has a PLB and handheld VHF in pockets. I have an extra PLB in another jacket. Also bought an SOS marine inflatable 4 man raft have a marine safety pod with flares, water, GPS and some other crap as well as a sat phone in a water proof bag. Probably all way over the top but hey, it makes me feel good.
Dale
Posts: 7930
Date Joined: 13/09/05
I have one of the large safety grab bags from Whitworths, everything stacks away in them nicely, several seperate pockets inside for putting your flares into, I have 2 adult manual inflating PFD's in there, my epirb, sun screen, licenses, spare stuff for the outboard, My phone wallet and keys go in there too. Looks like it will float, haven't actually tried to see if it does.
"Just because you are a Character, Doesn't mean you have Character."
Mr Wolf
little johnny
Posts: 5355
Date Joined: 04/12/11
Missing main thing
Join local sea rescue cost stuff all . Ruff area where fishing at least they have area to look ,if you don't log off. Safety equipment only gives you false sense of security . May not to be able to get to it . Even if it's in reach.
Rob H
Posts: 5795
Date Joined: 18/01/12
Personally, while I have
Personally, while I have inflatable vests onboard I wouldnt have them as my number one floatation.
Just for convenience, and have proper jackets still available.
Sure you can get them checked yearly but that still is not a guarantee that it'll inflate and stay inflated for as long as you need it.
Give a man a mask, and he'll show you his true face...
The older you get the more you realize that no one has a f++king clue what they're doing.
Everyone's just winging it.
gruntre69
Posts: 533
Date Joined: 15/10/16
Answering your question, yes
Answering your question, yes you can have 2 epirbs registered to one boat. I do and have one on the default location and the other is in a floating pelicase along with my current flares. I use this case when diving with nobody top side. I have it attached to a seperate divefloat/flag and run it on an independent reef pick and line. If the boat anchor lets go, I have an independent life line. I also carry a sat phone on the boat but will soon be selling that in favour of a PLB which will attach to my manual inflate vest.
Marine trimmer NOR (available for clears, tops, carpet, upholstery, custom equipment covers)
Ashen
Posts: 1042
Date Joined: 22/03/13
Cheers
Will take note of what everyone has said. I might be a noob fisho but not complete noob boater. Just want to step up on the safety gear and precautions for overall safety. Will join whitfords sea rescue when my boat is back on the water.
Thanks again guys, much appreciated!
A fish in the hand is worth 10 in the water!
Trailcraft570
Posts: 124
Date Joined: 06/11/13
PLB
I carry 2. A PLB on me loaded in the pocket of my PFD (which I wear and not leave sitting in the backrest of the skippers chair) and the EPIRB on the boat. In the event that I go over the side, I just flick the switch on my PLB and all is good (I hope!)
Jackfrost80
Posts: 8140
Date Joined: 07/05/12
Gotta admit that I have been
Gotta admit that I have been a bit lax and have been keeping my jackets and flares in the cuddy cab compartment when I am fishing inshore but I have an EPIRB within easy reach as well as carrying a PLB on my body at all times.
Officially off the Pies bandwagon
Trailcraft570
Posts: 124
Date Joined: 06/11/13
Kill Switch
Very much the same as Jack above. I have a board leg rope attached to me (ankle) and the kill switch clip at all times when solo. Doesn't get in the way. Call up and log on to the relevant SRU and make a habit of calling in every 2 hours or when changing location.
pelagicyachts
Posts: 1322
Date Joined: 23/02/11
We have 2 epirbs, as others
We have 2 epirbs, as others have said - one on the fly in a safety grab bag and the other mounted inside the cabin - we also have an RFD self inflating life raft which has an epirb in it - for people with larger boats these are not as expensive as you think - they come up on gumtree quite often (link below to one)and are great piece of mind when you are half way to the Abrolhos or 20ks west of rotto!
https://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/welshpool/boat-accessories-parts/life-raft-10-man-automatic-inflation/1131139997