Wayne.B wrote:
On Sat, 12 Feb 2011 22:42:13 -0500, L wrote:


Gene wrote:

On Sat, 12 Feb 2011 18:37:04 -0800 (PST), Frogwatch
wrote:



http://enews.earthlink.net/article/u...5-ef95f7b033c7
A sad fishing accident.
Hey, at least it is boating so lets discuss it instead of spoofing.


"...their twin-engine boat's motor went out an hour later..."

Huh?







They took on water. Both were probably submerged.

Perfect reason to have an EPIRB (if you can afford one) or at least a
submersible VHF handheld.

There's something in the news report that doesn't make sense regarding
the twin engines. It's possible that they did have twins but both
failed due to bad fuel, lack of fuel or a clogged filter. You really
need separate tanks and filters to get the full reliability of twin
engines.

A hand held VHF radio has a very short range, especially if being used
in the water. My estimate would a maximum of 3 miles, most likely
less.

EPIRBs are good but have several issues. Cost is coming down but
still in the $600 range. They also require federal registration and
periodic renewal/update. The big issue however is response time. It
will take at least an hour or two before search assets are deployed,
probably longer. That is too long if you're in cold water offshore.

Last but not least are sea conditions and boat handling. Were they
out in unsuitable conditions for the boat? Given the outcome, almost
certainly. There was no mention of boat size so we can only guess.


Good points but an EPIRB can be rented from Boat US, and others I'm sure.