Because we've had them for years & years downunder; mandatory for "any"
vessel more than 2 NM offshore (with a few exceptions for big bays
impoundments etc)

The good news has always been that they've only had to be the elcheapo
(A$184 say US$136 batt life of 5 yrs) 121.5 MHz which seem to work OK &
I can't think of a time when they haven't been able to find an activated
EPIRB (a few times the owner was no longer attached)

So our latest thing is we all need to get 406 MHz EPIRBS by 2008 which I
accept give better coverage but they're really expensive A$549 US$406.

It seems the only real advantage to coastal boats which the vast
majority of us are, is that people will be instantly ID'd for a false
set off.

Another new rule which has already come into effect is the compulsory
wearing of life jackets in vessels under 4.9 mtrs (16ft) & under certain
circumstances on vessels up to 12 mtrs. Yes even the dinghy rowing to shore.

In the same bundle of new requirements is a new code for fire
extinguishers, again it's probably sensible enough but because my boat
"can" carry about 440 ltrs of diesel I need 2 X 4.5KG (10lbs) dry powder
extinguishers & they're not cheap either. Guess what romantic presents I
got for xmas:-) Now where to put them:-)

Anyway


K

"K. Smith" wrote in message
...
Because we've had them for years & years downunder; mandatory for "any"
vessel more than 2 NM offshore (with a few exceptions for big bays
impoundments etc)

The good news has always been that they've only had to be the elcheapo
(A$184 say US$136 batt life of 5 yrs) 121.5 MHz which seem to work OK & I
can't think of a time when they haven't been able to find an activated
EPIRB (a few times the owner was no longer attached)

So our latest thing is we all need to get 406 MHz EPIRBS by 2008 which I
accept give better coverage but they're really expensive A$549 US$406.

It seems the only real advantage to coastal boats which the vast majority
of us are, is that people will be instantly ID'd for a false set off.

Another new rule which has already come into effect is the compulsory
wearing of life jackets in vessels under 4.9 mtrs (16ft) & under certain
circumstances on vessels up to 12 mtrs. Yes even the dinghy rowing to
shore.

In the same bundle of new requirements is a new code for fire
extinguishers, again it's probably sensible enough but because my boat
"can" carry about 440 ltrs of diesel I need 2 X 4.5KG (10lbs) dry powder
extinguishers & they're not cheap either. Guess what romantic presents I
got for xmas:-) Now where to put them:-)

Anyway


K

Last I knew EPIRBs are compulsory only on "for charter" boats here. Good
idea though for anyone that fishes or cruises off shore. I'd have to check
on the requirements for engine space fire extinquishers. My Navigator has
'em, but something in the back of my head is saying that they are not
mandatory on diesel powered boats. I'd have to check. The Egg Harbor I had
for a while had the "Fire Buddy" system that I never trusted. I always set
it to manual mode.

Eisboch

Eisboch wrote:
"K. Smith" wrote in message
...

Because we've had them for years & years downunder; mandatory for "any"
vessel more than 2 NM offshore (with a few exceptions for big bays
impoundments etc)

The good news has always been that they've only had to be the elcheapo
(A$184 say US$136 batt life of 5 yrs) 121.5 MHz which seem to work OK & I
can't think of a time when they haven't been able to find an activated
EPIRB (a few times the owner was no longer attached)

So our latest thing is we all need to get 406 MHz EPIRBS by 2008 which I
accept give better coverage but they're really expensive A$549 US$406.

It seems the only real advantage to coastal boats which the vast majority
of us are, is that people will be instantly ID'd for a false set off.

Another new rule which has already come into effect is the compulsory
wearing of life jackets in vessels under 4.9 mtrs (16ft) & under certain
circumstances on vessels up to 12 mtrs. Yes even the dinghy rowing to
shore.

In the same bundle of new requirements is a new code for fire
extinguishers, again it's probably sensible enough but because my boat
"can" carry about 440 ltrs of diesel I need 2 X 4.5KG (10lbs) dry powder
extinguishers & they're not cheap either. Guess what romantic presents I
got for xmas:-) Now where to put them:-)

Anyway


K


Last I knew EPIRBs are compulsory only on "for charter" boats here. Good
idea though for anyone that fishes or cruises off shore. I'd have to check
on the requirements for engine space fire extinquishers. My Navigator has
'em, but something in the back of my head is saying that they are not
mandatory on diesel powered boats. I'd have to check. The Egg Harbor I had
for a while had the "Fire Buddy" system that I never trusted. I always set
it to manual mode.

Eisboch



Clearly here they're a bit more prescriptive, but probably got to do
with the costs of searches, we have no coast guard etc & as I've
mentioned before, probably have the biggest coastline of anyone. It's
mostly all but deserted by your standards.

It can be lovely that way but when things go wrong it can very quickly
seem very lonely.

Not wanting to sound selfish but if they made these things compulsory
there the price would crash. So get on with it; you have till 2008 :-)


K

Their only required on commercial and charter boats here in the states.
And they are expensive, in the area of $1000, give or take a few
hundred. They don't make much sense for near shore, but I run 60 to 100
miles off, so I have one, a raft, and an SSB. Death of natural causes
is one of my goals in life.

On 4 Jan 2006 09:13:11 -0800, "Capt John" wrote:

they are expensive, in the area of $1000

=====================================

Yes but they also contain a GPS for precision position reports. It
was not clear to me from Karen's description whether or not the less
expensive Australian units had an internal GPS or not. Without a GPS
position can still be vectored from the satellite reporting system but
it is less accurate.

Capt John wrote:
Their only required on commercial and charter boats here in the states.
And they are expensive, in the area of $1000, give or take a few
hundred. They don't make much sense for near shore, but I run 60 to 100
miles off, so I have one, a raft, and an SSB. Death of natural causes
is one of my goals in life.


A good goal it is too Capt!!! although it's not in life.

Here even boats blown ashore or coastal islands can be in a remote place
so the EPIRBS have been law for at least 15yrs in most states.

I can't explain why they're so expensive there though?? I think yours
transmit a special code or some such however they still seem expensive
compared to our costs. Below is a link to a local chandlers just put in
EPIRBS

K

http://www.whitworths.com.au/main_home.asp

Wayne.B wrote:
On 4 Jan 2006 09:13:11 -0800, "Capt John" wrote:


they are expensive, in the area of $1000


=====================================

Yes but they also contain a GPS for precision position reports. It
was not clear to me from Karen's description whether or not the less
expensive Australian units had an internal GPS or not. Without a GPS
position can still be vectored from the satellite reporting system but
it is less accurate.


No I don't think the cheap ones have a gps but even the A$185 121.5
models are good to say 10 or so miles & the new ones I think much better
maybe down to a mile or so, all beamed from the satellite.

After all a satellite is never going to actually rescue you & in a life
jacket tightly clutching your EPIRB 1 mile or 10 miles is plenty of
accuracy from the satellite. A plane or a boat can home right in on
either device till they run over it. We had the Hobart race mayhem some
years ago & the EPIRBS became an issue because so many had been set off
that the helicopters were having trouble homing onto particular signals.
Apparently the area was still strewn with EPIRB signals days & days
later; which is encouraging given they only claim 48hrs.

I think a real issue seems to be false unidentified alarms, deliberate
or other. Here literally "every" single boat that goes 2 miles offshore
for say 15 yrs has one so there are plenty around, also they're out of
date every 5 yrs & the new battery service is almost as expensive as a
new one, so we all have a box full of old hopefully never used epirbs:-)

The 406 models will ID the device's owner which should miraculously cut
down the accidental set off rate. Apparently you can only register a 406
if you're from the jurisdiction.

K

I took a look at the site you mentioned. Most of the units are
something like units that are, or were, available here, basic units.
Here just about everything is a 406 unit, then their are those with
built in GPS to send out your position along with other information,
those get expensive. You may also have exchange rate advantages when it
comes to importing these units as well. We have a lot of boats here in
the states, and many operators just don't know what their doing, these
kinds of units in everyones hands could cause more problems. They buy
an automatic unit, stick it in the cabin, go out for a joy ride, hit a
wave, and ride around with the thing activated (you would be amazed at
how many boats their are here that never leave the bay, or the dock on
a cloudy day, that have more electronics on then than a 747). Their
have been more than a few times the CG has responded and found the unit
was on land in someones garage or in a boat being trailered.

And you also don't want to give people a false sense of security with
these things, they may push their luck with a too small or poorly built
boat. If you get into trouble, and the EPIRB works, great. But have a
"Plan B" ready, these things can fail. Keep the boat afloat as long as
possible, have tools on hand to do so. Get out a distress call ASAP,
have good life preservers, a raft is a great idea, let people know
where you intend to go before leaving the dock, have good flares, a
hand held VHF in a waterproof case is great to have. Know where all
this equipment is, and keep it in good working order.

My point is, when things go bad, you should know what to do before
hand. Because everyone is going to be looking to you for guidance.

I've been in one of these bad situations before, and got away with it.
I'm a lot smarter now because of it. I don't push my luck like I used
to, and I'm prepared.