Do you feel an Epirb is necessary for 30 to 40 miles offshore. Are they worth the money. I am not going to the middle grounds. Input and thoughts are welcome

Absolutely yes! especially if you dive in the winter. If you and you crew end up in the drink you can die of exposure in less than an hour or two depending on how your dressed.

Ive seen logs and appliances floating offshore. Imagine what could happen to your boat and how quick it could go down of you hit something like that at speed.


I want to say I got one with built in GPS for 300.00 a year ago.
It is the same as this except built in GPS.
http://www.anchorexpress.com/product_detail.cfm?pid=8035

If I ever own a Offshore fishing boat an EPIRB will deffinatly be installed...

Hey Richt,

I found one at west Marine for 600.00 which looked the same as that one but With Gps. Is that a good deal or not?

Give me your money and I will invest it in marine products for you.

Lets wait till my motor is complete with all the hidden costs your buddy adds on first:whistle::moon:

Somehow I am sure that this is gonna cost "ME" some money :o

Hey Richt,

I found one at west Marine for 600.00 which looked the same as that one but With Gps. Is that a good deal or not?

They must have gone up in the last year but in looking around the internet for a few minutes I found a few places where you could get the ACR AquaFix 406 w/built in GPS for around $450.00
There is also an outfit called the epirb store on ebay that will probably sell you that one for around 430.00 but you have to call them.

There is also a guy on here who used to sell Marine electronics at really good prices but not sure if he still does.
I think his screen name is speardivertampa?? Chris Hill

Why you! Your not responsible!

I know, I was just kiddin

Lee called me today again. He goes from Having my boat rigged in one day to , hes very behind and wount be done till next Friday. Wow, very impressive

I have to get my props tomorrow, I will try to lean on him a bit

Speaking of props, ask him if that 16 pitch prop is the right pitch or not.

I take one with me on every boat I am on. It takes up way less space that a pair of jeans in my waterproof backpack, why wouldn't you have one if you are going further offshore than you could swim back? Especially during the cold months!

Never leave home without it!

best insuarance I hope I never have to use (erib)

Do you feel an Epirb is necessary for 30 to 40 miles offshore. Are they worth the money. I am not going to the middle grounds. Input and thoughts are welcome

We were diving about 10 miles offshore a few years ago in about a two foot sea, and the boat we were on capsized while Wendy and I were on the bottom scuba diving!! Long story short, the boat had fiberglass stringers so it was unsinkable (we didn't know that while floating around), and I stood up on the hull waving two orange life vests at over 20 boats that went by, some very large boats, and some came very close, and I am sure they saw us. After about six hours of watching the sun get lower and lower on the horizon, we got a full dose of what it feels like to be lost at sea. Never imagined just how thirsty you can get. Finally, someone almost ran over us heading in, and stopped, called seatow and we were great!! Went straight to West Marine, bought the McMurdy Waterproof Epirb w/GPS. I learned my lesson the hard way - hope no one else has to - go get an Epirb and handheld VHF and spare batteries, and a bottled water, put them in a floating overboard bag, and never get on board anything that floats without that bag!!

I've been doing some research on this recently as I have been considering buying a PLB (personal locator beacon) which is simply an EPIRB registered to a person instead of a boat. The one that you want to get is made by ACR and is the ResQFix 406 PLB with GPS which is going to retail for ~$650. The one issue I have heard with PLB's is that they best transmit when held above the water as opposed to Type II's which transmit fine while floating. That might present a problem in high seas, or could lead to fatigue pretty quick having to have your arm stretched out holding up the PLB. In fact the Coast Guard equipped a number of their personnel with these ACR PLB's but mounted them on helmets so that they would be above the surface when someone was in the drink. I have also read that the battery life is not as great as the Type II's, but one assumes that rescue personnel would be on you with a GPS equipped PLB prior to the battery going dead. A PLB would also work on land if you get lost, or have an emergency in the wilderness.

Correction - fiberglass over foam stringers...

Do you feel an Epirb is necessary for 30 to 40 miles offshore. Are they worth the money. I am not going to the middle grounds. Input and thoughts are welcome

Absolutely!!!

I know people who would have died without one.

Make absolutely sure you get the latest one with the updated 406 signal beacon and GPS encoding.

No doubt!!! Went out a few years ago on a Boston Whaler in the winter and the hull delaminated and had a hole as big as your head. If not a Whaler it sinks and we are smimming . He did not have a EPIRB so when I got home I purchased aa CatI and registered it to myself. I go on no boat without it !!!!

Jim, Absolutely..I'm shoppin too and THIS advice is some I've gotten from many with much more experience on the water than I. The old freq. is less effective I've been told.
The real decision is a smaller one in a water proof bag or one attched/mounted and automatically deployed and activated on the boat when it gets wet or manually activated..

Any thoughts on this guys?


IT PAYS TO SHOP!


Absolutely!!!

I know people who would have died without one.

Make absolutely sure you get the latest one with the updated 406 signal beacon and GPS encoding.

I don't own a boat so I wanted a PLB that was waterproof and one that I could take with me anywhere. I ended up getting the McMurdo FastFind Plus (http://www.mcmurdo.co.uk/products/product.html?product_type=2&product_sector=5&product=7).
I also picked up the dive canister rated for 300 feet or something like that. Dago on here also makes dive canisters for the same type of rating. The canister has a slot cut into it that allows your tank strap to slip right through and snugs up against your BC, you never even know it's there until you need it.

After getting it and registering it I found out that you can update the registration information online prior to any trip. That way when that first burst of information hits them they'll have a good idea of where you're at and what you were most likely doing. Good info for them to start organizing a search party.

After our experience, we learned you do not want an epirb fixed to the boat. What if the boat sinks? The PLB is best choice, and best placed in a bright yellow, floating overboard bag, so it is easy to find if it becomes trapped in the boat, and you must dive under the overturned boat to look for it... place your keys and wallet in the bag so you can drive home when you finally make it back to land! These yellow bags are sold at West Marine...

Here are some ideas thoughts I went through when I bought mine.

South East coast of Florida, or anywhere lots of current is a very common situation= Get a GPIRB with built in GPS to keep updating your position as time goes by, and the current drags you along.

Anywhere else you can a save alot of money buying a 406 EPIRB that isnterfaces with your boats existing GPS. It transmits the GPS location of the last place it was, when the boat sunk or when removed from the boats GPS connection. This works very well as the CG can home in on other freqs/beacons which the EPIRB transmits as they get close to the area. As long as your not in 3 knots of current, this type of EPIRB is perfect and about $500 cheaper than a fully blown GPIRB.
At least that's how I figured it.

I think the following is correct.
Full sized boat mounted EPIRBS and GPIRBs transmit 24 hrs.
PLBs transmit 12 hours.

Full sized EPIRBs and GPIRBs have a better record for locking in on satelites and getting the emergency signel transmitted.
PLBs had a terrible record when they were new, for getting the signal transmitted, but I would guess they are now much better. I'd research it a little before just buying one.
Heavy seas tests the abilty of a mini GPS ability to lock onto satelites and get the position transmitted. On land they work great.
ACR had the best record, by far, for a long time. As far as getting the signal transmitted reliably in real world test situations. But I would think by now(2008) they all should be very reliable at this. I would still get a ACR myself.
This is the ionfo I gathered about 6-7 years ago when i bought mine. It could all be old info that is completely false about new units. I have not researched any of this since I bought mine. When I bought mine the personal beacons were very very new and GPIRBS were relativly new also.
I bought a ACR Globalfix GPIRB. The batteries are extremely expensive and I need new one again right now.

EPIRBs that interface with your boats GPS units are great IF your boat still has power. With Florida's summer and winter storms that's a big if. Great info though Grin and thanks for sharing the information you gathered.

hmmmmmmmm... dont the boat mounted deploy automatically? How often do you have to replace batteries?

I've heard that after tests the GPS integrated EPIRBs don't send a signal out very well in heavy seas. Anyone else heard this?

I read this from a few reviews and that the standard 406 EPIRBs work just as well as the GPS integrated just not as exact of a location.

What have you guys heard?

Wow, Alot of info makes it hard to choose which one would actually be better!:corkysm60:

The first question I ask when someone invites me out on a boat...........Do you have a Cat-1 or Cat-2 406 EPIRB? If the answer is no, I DON"T GO! If you can afford an offshore boat, you can damm sure afford a $600.00 EPIRB. The cheapest life insurance you will ever buy IMHO. I know several fisherman who are alive today because they had an EPIRB when they really needed one.

Emphatically YES!!!

Ask yourself......What is the value of an EPIRB in the event you have 30 seconds to abandon ship at 35 miles offshore in a 10ft swell??? You probably won't even have time to do a Mayday..... Just my 2 cents....

I also went with the ACR global fix.

EPIRBs are for pussies!








Yes...I've had a few. :D

I went to west marine today and asked four different associates about the epirbs and got no info. WOW What a Shitty group of associates. Not one with the knowledge to help customers.

I also went with the ACR global fix.

What did it run ya Pat?

Around $800
http://handltackle.com/store/index.php?cPath=19_4
I figured this was a purchase like spearguns or TP, the cheap stuff will probably work but it will take longer, cause emotional distress and be messier. Seriously it takes up the same amount of space as a pair of jeans so unless you are backpacking/camping too I don't know why you would want a small one.

I take one with me on every boat I am on.

Me too.

I take one with me on every boat I am on. It takes up way less space that a pair of jeans in my waterproof backpack, why wouldn't you have one if you are going further offshore than you could swim back? Especially during the cold months!


I agree Pat. If you do not own your own boat but you frequently go out with others...............you should definitely buy your own EPIRB and take it with you. Even if the boat you go on a boat that already has one, it never hurts to have a backup available. If there are two 406khz EPIRBS going off (offshore) close to each other, the Coast Guard is going to send a chopper for sure.

If you are diving in cold water (70 degrees or less) the average person is not going to last more than a few hours without exposure protection. It generally takes a couple hours (or more) for the Coast Guard to get the EPIRB hit, verify the location, make a few contact calls to the registered owner, prep the chopper, fly to the EPIRB location, and then search for survivors. Believe me, if you find yourself in an emergency situation, you'll be damm glad you had that EPIRB.

If you are diving in cold water (70 degrees or less) the average person is not going to last more than a few hours without exposure protection. It generally takes a couple hours (or more) for the Coast Guard to get the EPIRB hit....

In the winter here my girlfriend is often reassured about my safety by the fact that we don't go far offshore, sometimes only 2-3 miles from the coast. One day we were on a boat that was taking on water (alot) through the thru hull (at the water line) that the self bailing deck drains out of, a simple loose hose clamp had allowed the hose to come loose from the thru hull. It was not however easily accessible and water was coming close to covering the batteries, which were low in the bilge. The pump itself fouled on scales and bilge grease and was not helping as much as we would have liked.

The kicker is that although we were 3 miles from the beach and in calm seas, I doubt very much I could have made the swim in the 58* water if we had to abandon ship quickly and I couldn't get to a hood and wetsuit. As it were fist we all got our exposure protection readily accessible and two of us diagnosed and fixed the problem while a third was on the radio. A 1.5" tapered cork, some 5200, and a flathead screw driver was all we needed. The fun part was disconnecting the batteries and removing them from the bilge to get to the thru hull, eggs in one basket kinda moment. I learned alot about important features of boat design from that incident. If that had been offshore at all or we were fishing.... or we didn't have something to adequately plug the thru hull and a flat head...........

Anyway, cold water makes even a day in the bay potentially hazardous.

I went to west marine today and asked four different associates about the epirbs and got no info. WOW What a Shitty group of associates. Not one with the knowledge to help customers.

Spent the money for a 2 engine, 2 separate gas tank boat, so 600-800 for a EPIRB was a no brainier, got the ACR with GPS with the large yellow bag for the hopefully never needed emergency situation. Divehard if you are taking about the store in Crystal River I agree 100%

ditto..sometimes helpful as hell but their overall knowledge lacks

Hey Terry, i Was talking about the west marine in tampa. The one in C.R. Hasnt been that bad YET!

The first question I ask when someone invites me out on a boat...........Do you have a Cat-1 or Cat-2 406 EPIRB? If the answer is no, I DON"T GO! If you can afford an offshore boat, you can damm sure afford a $600.00 EPIRB. The cheapest life insurance you will ever buy IMHO. I know several fisherman who are alive today because they had an EPIRB when they really needed one.

What Kevin said. & he used to make his living on a boat. Get it, register it, maintain it. It is NOT an option.

whats the difference between Cat1 and Cat2? What does it mean?