epirb

[photo finish]

Who has one? which one? manual or automatic? i do not have one yet i can not believe that with an item that could save many coast guard man hours that the govt. has not stepped in to make them more affordable..come on $1000 for something that you should have yet hopefully will never use.i think the govt should make them mandatory standard equipment and cut the price to $300. Tim Stamm Photo Finish 1981 33' Bertram FBC

[franklyprice]

Tim, I don't have one but it is on my short list of things to have.In fact I'm looking hard at being legal for charters which would mean an epirb, life raft and (I beieve) suvival suits.To name some. Just think of all the false alarms if every beginner boater had one....Maybe it's not such a bad thing that everybody doesn't have one. Frank Price

[smanni]

tim, I am looking at them now - i am going to have it by May (or whenever my first offshore trip of the year will be) - The one that I have narrowed it down to is most likely the ACR Globalfix model - I have read a lot of great things about it and a lot of die hard offshore fisherman trust it.

[Brian Davin]

I bought the ACR GlobalFix 406 Manual EPIRB last year. The automatic deploys when boat sinks around 13 ft. below the waters surface, or can be manually activated. Didn't seem worth the extra $300 when you can grab it manually if you have to abandon ship. A new website that I recently found with some great pricing has it for $848 shipping from Ohio, so no tax. Try Boatersland.com With a wife and four kids (10 and under) on board normally, I figured it's worth the investment! Brian '90 Bertram 33' FBC Never Say Never Westbrook, CT

[Sean B]

I have an ACR Rapidfix EPIRB. It is a manual-pop only, heard the automatic ones go off by accident too often. Neat thing about this one is it receives GPS coordinates from the chartplotter via a little optical cap that snaps on top. If you ever need it, it sends your last known coordinates to the Satellite as well as transmits the normal air and water beacon signals. Just have do the test cycle every now and then to be sure the GPS is talking to the EPIRB or you'll send the wrong coordinates. But don't worry...I'll never need it anyway...knock on wood. It's a nice thing to know you have on board when you're in the Gulf Stream. I've heard that in my area they'll have a chopper on you in 30 minutes after you pop the switch. I bought mine last summer when we would fish 60 miles offshore east Florida in a single engine boat. I would still buy one for the B33 if I didn't already have one, and have considered installing a second automatic one as a backup, or maybe in a liferaft/ditch bag. It won't seem expensive if you ever need it, and if you ever get into some rough stuff you'll feel better that you have it. Sean Burlingham "Island Time" 1987 Bertram 33 SF Melbourne, FL

[photo finish]

thanks guys for your input. i have found this place http://www.life-raft.com/product.asp?Product_Id=36822 to be the best price i can find for the acr globalfix $975 for auto and $825 for manual..and also west marine told me they would match the price....west marine has it for 1499 listed so i was thinking i would spring for the auto for $150 more but now i am second guessing if they deploy by accident ? Tim Stamm Photo Finish 1981 33' Bertram FBC

[photo finish]

Sean have the dolphin started to run yet? Tim Stamm Photo Finish 1981 33' Bertram FBC

[Sean B]

I've heard spotty reports about dolphin, but mostly cobia as of yet. Weird and colder-than-usual weather here this year. Hope to find out first hand in a week or so. I had 40 lbs of dolphin fillets in my freezer after last summer, and I ran out about a month ago, so its time Sean Burlingham "Island Time" 1987 Bertram 33 SF Melbourne, FL

[photo finish]

let me know when you get a report i am going to go to marathon sometime in may when the run is good.... Tim Stamm Photo Finish 1981 33' Bertram FBC