For a cruising sailboat?

Hi Gordon,

There are a number of pros and cons for each, but basically:

Ham radio:
more cruising & safety nets (here in the Pacific, we were able to
monitor 3 or 4 marine ham nets)
free email (http://www.airmail2000.com/index.htm )
gear is less expensive but not "marinized".

Marine SSB:
best for emergencies (the USCG and all merchant vessels monitor the
SSB emergency freq's and GMDSS)
fewer safety & cruising nets (only one that I know of)
email for a small fee ( http://www.sailmail.com/ )
gear is more expensive but is "marinized".

We opted to get an Icom Ham HF radio and my General Class license, that way
I could participate/monitor all the nets. My radio was also able to
transmit on the marine HF emergency & calling frequencies, but because it
was not "FCC Type Certified" for use on those frequencies I could -only- use
it on those frequencies in a true -emergency-.

A couple more bits of advice:

If you can afford it, make sure your marine VHF is DSC capable. All
merchant ships carry GMDSS and DSC radios, and if you hit the "emergency"
button on your DSC VHF it will -definitely- get the attention of every
bridge on every merchant vessel within radio distance of your boat. If you
get DSC, make sure you know how to use it properly.

The effectiveness of even small ham radios and antennas are surprisingly
good at sea and poor inport. As soon as we were more than 200 miles
offshore, our radio reception improved almost 10x. In the harbor, we had a
hard time hearing even the strongest signals.

DO NOT operate a radio without an appropriate license. Getting a ham radio
license has never been easier, and local ham clubs will even prepare you for
your exam for almost nothing. Also make sure you have the appropriate
marine FCC license for your boat and yourself. They are cheap and easy to
get.

And lastly, don't even think about going offshore without a 406 EPIRB.

--
Paul

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