On Mon, 9 Apr 2007 14:46:10 -0700, "Capt. JG"
wrote:

I remember that story... it really is a judgement call. Assuming you have a
limited amount of money, it seems like it would be better spent on simple
upgrades/fixes like maintaining thru-hulls, replacing rigging. I'm betting a
cost/benefit analysis would show that.

Depends on your circumstances. If the boat is already in decent shape
but there is someone in your family or crew with a cardiac risk, the
defib might make a lot of sense. I knew a guy who died from a heart
attack on his boat while sailing the Chesapeake. He had already had
bypass surgery once and was a prime candidate for future trouble.
Money was not a big concern for him, having quite a few serious
patents to his credit.

If he'd had a defib aboard, and his girl friend knew how to use it,
things might have turned out differently.