Safety Gear

[INDULGENCE]

During a recent discussion with the local Coastal Patrol I was asked about the location on my boat of the safety gear and could I get it in an emergency.

My safety gear is stowed up front behind a closed door to keep it safe from untrustworthy people that may need to borrow it.

Its all there EPIRBs extinguisher and flares, how I would get the jackets that are in a net fitted to the ceiling, I dont know.

Overturn at night and try a find the torch that is the forward cabinet
Is this something you have given any thought to?
Safety or theft what is more important?

Wally

[Scott nthQld]

Bit of both really, you don't want your safety gear in a position where it could get stolen when the boat is unattanded, but you want it in an easy access place for when shit does hit the fan.

Bit of a hard ask I know, but a compromise would be to lock up are remove everything from the boat when its unattended and only bring it out in plain view when you are actually on the water. Pain in the ass yes, but this would be the only way to get the best of both worlds.

[Hell Boy]

i have thought about this myself, as i keep all my safety gear in a bag, so i can take it home with me to it doesn't get nicked. and off course its easy to just chuck the bag up the front inside the cabin so its out of the way when i head out for a fish.

but when you think about it, what's the point of having all this safety gear, eprib, lifejackets etc if it isn't in easy reach.

i just made new rules for the boat last week, that everyone on board has to wear an inflatable pfd when on the move and having it on hand while fishing. (it's not hard to hang them on the back of the chairs while fishing) i'm still in the process of finding the best for my eprib, so if the boat did get into trouble the water activated gps would be in a position to send out a signal.

accidents happen so fast most of the time that if you not prepared that when it finally does happen you panic and everyone on board will suffer from the ill prepared skipper's actions.

[Sabre]

We keep our jackets in a "easy to grab" position in the cockpit, and all the other safety gear is in a bag in the cockpit also, which contains polystyrene floats so if the worse does happen, hopefully the bag and jackets will be floating if the boat goes over or worse still - down.......

[Dicko]

, so if the boat did get into trouble the water activated gps would be in a position to send out a signal.



I'm pretty sure the water activation on most epirbs is only active once it's removed from the holder. (other wise it would go off when just getting wet in an open boat).

Check the specs of what you have, from what I understand, don't rely on it go off in the holder. (unless it's one of the float free types).

[Hell Boy]

I'm pretty sure the water activation on most epirbs is only active once it's removed from the holder. (other wise it would go off when just getting wet in an open boat).

Check the specs of what you have, from what I understand, don't rely on it go off in the holder. (unless it's one of the float free types).

i just checked on the GME 403G 406mhz eprib and your right about it not activating until removed, never though of that, i just assumed it when of when it was completely in the water. thanks

[ozscott]

If they get past the 2 german shepherd's at home then they can have my safety gear...and on the water its in a floating grab bag (GPS EPIRB, flares etc) slung over the back of my drivers chair so it would tend to be thrown out and float if overturned or I can grab it very quickly if I had chance.
Cheers

[BILLY THE KID]

i just checked on the GME 403G 406mhz eprib and your right about it not activating until removed, never though of that, i just assumed it when of when it was completely in the water. thanks


This is what amazes me with alot of boats going offshore etc . All the safety gear etc is stowed so it doesnt slid around the place in the swell etc ???


Dont know if this would work but ..... Would a length of say 2mtr of rope tied to the EPIRB and the other to a crab pot type float work . Store it in the side well or similar so if the boat goes belly up or sinks it will float out ???

[Travesso]

I keep all my flares, epirb etc in a large sealed bucket with a lid. I remove it from the boat every time I come home and lock it in the shed. A bit of a pain but I was not going to leave a $450 epirb sitting in the cradle an accessible location for some scumbag thief to take it. It also keeps my flares dry.

The bucket doesnt get in the way on the deck and if heaven forbid the boat sunk it would simply be sitting there on the surface floating awaiting use.