ChrisF

x2 on the boat club. If you're new to boating, it's a great way to get experience on many different types of boats. I can almost guarentee you that how ever you think you'll use your boat, the reality will be entirely different. Logging some sea time with the club boats will give you and your family a chance to try different things and figure out what works for you. You could save yourself a lot of time and money by not getting into the wrong boat because what you thought you wanted wasn't what you really need. Having said all that, once you do figure out what you want and you find yourself wanting to get out on the water as much as possible, you'll probably decide the boat club is a bit of pain. It may depend on the club, but I found club membership required a lot of advance planning. The club I was in required 2 or 3 weeks advance notice to get out on the weekend. So it's not like you could just wake up on a Saturday, check the weather, and head out for the day if the weather was good.

Great shots. Thanks for sharing.

3500 GPH Rule? I've not heard of that before. Please elaborate.

Holey crap! Seriously? That seems a little excessive. For OUPV requirements, the CG makes a distinction between "Inland" (close to shore) and "Near-costal" (out to 100 nm). They define their own boundary line between the two, which varies in distance from shore by region, but in my area on the West coast of Florida, "Near-costal" waters are generally about 12 nm out. I don't recall if they have a different catagory for "way the heck off shore", but I suspect at that point you get out of the world of recreational boating and into the Masters License and the 200 nm line that Welder mentioned previously. Where ever the line is, it just surprises me that the recreational boating community hasn't developed some set of generally accepted practices for the extra gear and procedures that are prudent for venturing offshore. What's appropriate for different distances and situations seems to be largely based on tribal knowledge and the individual captain's tolerance for risk, and is learned over time based on trial and error. Trouble is, without some general guidelines to go by, inexperienced captains may be putting themselves and their passengers at higher risk than they understand as they push the limits of their own experience.

Well, never actually. Most of my trips are within 25 miles of shore, with some out to 30 a couple times per year. For me, I'm thinking the rent option is a good way to go for those few trips where I'm potentially out of VHF range. So maybe a good rule of thumb is out to 25 miles (generally within VHF range for a fixed-mount) no EPRIB required. Beyond 25 miles, rent or buy an EPRIB or get a PLB. As was mentioned previously, a PLB would definitely add an extra margin of safety for inshore (within 25 miles) trips for situations where the fix-mount VHF wasn't working.

Ok. So what would be your minimum equipment for a 50-mile near-shore trip? Again, assuming a boat and sea conditions appropriate for the trip.

Yep. I've not tested it, but I'd be surprised to get more than 2 or 3 miles from the handheld if you're in the water. The range for DSC might be better since it's a digital burst vs. voice transmission. Either way, it's probably not good. That's why I said I'd hope to raise a nearby boat or at least communicate with a resuce plane using the handheld vs. trying to reach shore. Agree on the PLB. It's just a matter of time and money...

Wow! That looks like quite a project. Will be interested to see how it goes. Keep us posted.

I was wondering if there is an accepted distance from land that constitutes "offshore". We all have our opinions on what we feel safe doing and I've read plenty of threads where people say they would never go offshore without one or more of the following: life jackets (shouldn't leave the dock w/o those...) a VHF twins a HH backup VHF an SSB radio a PLB an EPIRB a life raft a SAT phone a sea anchor For me personally, I've got twins and two VHF radios (one fixed mount and a waterproof handheld, both with GPS-enabled DSC). Of course I always let someone know where I'm going and about when I expect to be back. With that setup, I'm comfortable out to 30 miles, though 90% of my boating is within 20 nautical miles of shore. My thinking is that's generally within VHF range of shore for my fixed-mount and if I end up in the drink without getting off a mayday or have some type of electrical failure, I could likely raise a nearby boat or a rescue plane on the handheld. I know it's always better to have more safety equipment than less, but assuming safe sea conditions for the boat, is there a point beyond which generally accepted practice says you should have additional equipment (e.g. EPIRB, life raft, etc.)? What would be your priorities for a 50 mile trip? How about 100 miles?

x2 on the video work. Nicely done!

I went through a bunch of LED lights until I made the following changes: 1) Be careful not to torque down the mounting screws too tightly. It's very easy put a crack in the plastic housing that will let water in and short out your light. 2) Don't use crimp connectors on the wires. Water can get into the crimp, and run through the wire, and short out your lights. I now sodder the wires together, cover with shrink wrap tubing, and then seal with some electrical tape. This seems to do a much better job of keeping the water out. 3) Stop buying lights from West Marine. They're crap. I've had very good luck with Optronics. They're more expensive, but they seem to last longer. I've been running on the same set of lights for over 3 years now with no issues.

Much better. Thanks.

I'm not really a fan of the new color scheme.

You know, I searched all over the SIM site and somehow managed to miss that page. Thanks for reposting the link so others can benefit.

Hotspot posted a link to them in this post back in April of last year, but the link apparently doesn't work anymore. I think Andy of Shipyard Island Marine (SIM) used to have a link on his site as well, but I don't see it up there anymore. Not sure if there's a backstory behind all that or what... Either way, the intstructions are great and fortunately for me, I downloaded a copy, so if you're interested PM me your e-mail address and I'll send them. Hotspot or Andy, please just let me know if you object.