Inreach or other beacon for use on ocean?

[DouglasR]

My parents have been spending an increasing amount of time boating off the east coast of Florida around the Fort Lauderdale area in their 23’ rinker over the past couple years and while trying to think of something to get my dad for Christmas it suddenly clicked that I should get him some type of emergency beacon for his boat.

Does anyone have any experience with this?
Obviously my first thought is to get him an inreach but I didn’t know if there was something like an epirb that would be better suited for a marine environment that’s like the standard for this situation?

Thanks for any help.

Also, anyone on here ever done the Bimini crossing?

 

[rwc101]

You can get some that are waterproof and have a strobe light for overboard situations. They can get a little pricey though. https://www.westmarine.com/buy/acr-electronics--globalfix-v4-epirb-category-ii--16289571?recordNum=1

 

[Dsnow9]

There was a thread that talked about the marine version on land and about this but can’t find it right now, any thoughts @wllm1313 ? I would think there are a lot of marine specific options that would be more well suited for the sea.

 

[rwc101]

I will say that ACR makes simpler models as well. You could keep one in a dry bag with a handheld VHF.

 

[DouglasR]

You can get some that are waterproof and have a strobe light for overboard situations. They can get a little pricey though. https://www.westmarine.com/buy/acr-electronics--globalfix-v4-epirb-category-ii--16289571?recordNum=1

I feel like the only thing that really draws me to the epirb over the inreach is the autodeploy option.
And I guess upon further investigation it appears to be more waterproof than the ir.
I would’ve guessed ir’s to be way more waterproof than what they are I guess.

Water Rating Definitions | Garmin

Garmin Water Rating Definitions

www.garmin.com

The ability to message, get weather and have some form of a visual gps display seems pretty handy though.

 

[rwc101]

I feel like the only thing that really draws me to the epirb over the inreach is the autodeploy option.
And I guess upon further investigation it appears to be more waterproof than the ir.
I would’ve guessed ir’s to be way more waterproof than what they are I guess.

Water Rating Definitions | Garmin

Garmin Water Rating Definitions

www.garmin.com

The ability to message, get weather and have some form of a visual gps display seems pretty handy though.

I wouldn't like to rely on a inreach type device for nautical navigation. I did when I used to kayak fish off the coast a little ways, but with a boat I want the high res nautical charts you get off a dedicated marine GPS. The VHF can (and should) be tuned to the NOAA weather radio frequency especially if doing something like the Bimini crossing.

 

[A207X2]

Wife and I each wear our own ACR ResQlink View PLBs whenever we leave the dock. In an emergency you may not be able to type something. With these just flip up the antenna and push the button.

 

[A207X2]

I will say that ACR makes simpler models as well. You could keep one in a dry bag with a handheld VHF.

This is what we do. I also built a canister out of PVC pipe that I put the PLB and VHF radio into when we go scuba diving - in the event that we surface and the dive boat isn’t around.

When I filled out my SAR card with NOAA I added in the comment “Survivor has VHF radio and will be monitoring CH 16”.

 

[A207X2]

My parents have been spending an increasing amount of time boating off the east coast of Florida around the Fort Lauderdale area in their 23’ rinker over the past couple years and while trying to think of something to get my dad for Christmas it suddenly clicked that I should get him some type of emergency beacon for his boat.

Does anyone have any experience with this?
Obviously my first thought is to get him an inreach but I didn’t know if there was something like an epirb that would be better suited for a marine environment that’s like the standard for this situation?

Thanks for any help.

Also, anyone on here ever done the Bimini crossing?

I could rant about this for hours. We live in FL and there have been so many very sad cases where people - even KIDS and firemen - have been lost at sea simply because they didn’t have a PLB or EPIRB. We live on the Gulf side (Ft. Myers) and it is AMAZING how easy it is to get separated from your boat and not be able to get back to it.

I’ve had two personal experiences where a person could not make it back to the boat due to currents. Fortunately in both cases we practiced good discipline and had someone at the helm to be able to go recover them.

One example: We always have a 40’ tag line off the back of the boat with a life jacket tied to it so that when swimmers are in the water they can grab onto it and pull themselves back to the boat. In one occasion we were anchored in about 5’ of water just off of Sanibel Island. Wife said she didn’t need the tag line as she’d just walk to the beach if she couldn’t get back to the boat. What she didn’t take into account was the current grabbing her and pulling her offshore. She couldn’t swim back to the anchored boat, and couldn’t get back to shore. I had to start engine and go get her.

My point is were your parents to accidentally find themselves in the water they may not be able to get back to the boat.

$350 is money well spent. Get them a PLB.

 

[DouglasR]

I could rant about this for hours. We live in FL and there have been so many very sad cases where people - even KIDS and firemen - have been lost at sea simply because they didn’t have a PLB or EPIRB. We live on the Gulf side (Ft. Myers) and it is AMAZING how easy it is to get separated from your boat and not be able to get back to it.

I’ve had two personal experiences where a person could not make it back to the boat due to currents. Fortunately in both cases we practiced good discipline and had someone at the helm to be able to go recover them.

One example: We always have a 40’ tag line off the back of the boat with a life jacket tied to it so that when swimmers are in the water they can grab onto it and pull themselves back to the boat. In one occasion we were anchored in about 5’ of water just off of Sanibel Island. Wife said she didn’t need the tag line as she’d just walk to the beach if she couldn’t get back to the boat. What she didn’t take into account was the current grabbing her and pulling her offshore. She couldn’t swim back to the anchored boat, and couldn’t get back to shore. I had to start engine and go get her.

My point is were your parents to accidentally find themselves in the water they may not be able to get back to the boat.

$350 is money well spent. Get them a PLB.

Thanks for the help!
I ended up going with the exact one you sent the link to based on the battery life and water resistance.
I really thought you could swim with an inreach

Expect a pm from me asking for some fishing tips for the same area within the next year.

Thanks again!
Happy holidays!