Morning Folks:
Keep in mind that I sail on the very cold Great Lakes, and frequently sail solo.
In terms of the "Rambo PFD" I carry: 'waterproof' VHS radio--which is really only water resistant (kept in an actual water proof bag); a three pack of small 'waterproof' Skyblazer flares--each flare contains its own launcher---packed in a double Ziploc; on the outside front of my PFD attached to the PFD's built in lash point a short, blunt tip scuba knife---which also has a hand lanyard; in various pockets: a signaling mirror and an emergency safety whistle; a stainless steel multi-tool; and a laser flare (which is attached to an automatic retractor leash). At the rear of my PFD, I have a battery operated strobe light attached to the PFD's built in lash point. If you have never looked into the laser flare concept, I strongly encourage you to do so. The laser flare is visible over long distances...can be seen both in day or night...and they run for time periods from 15 to 72 hours. According to some sources the laser flare is 8,000 times brighter than a flashlight at 1,000 feet and effective up to 20 miles away, day or night. The medium size version of the laser flare is small enough to put inside your PFD. Regular cost for the laser flare is around $100; however, right now the National Geographic has laser flares on sale. The Rescue Laser Flare that uses 2 N cells is on sale for $54.95 instead of the normal $99.95.
In terms of sea anchors, in my humble opinion they are too expensive and oversized for beachcats. Instead I carry two different sized Drogues (the smaller one goes on my H-16, the larger goes on my H-18) depending upon the boat and/or weather conditions. The smaller drogue I bought from Boat US for around $40. The larger drogue was made by one of my friends who is handy with a commercial sewing machine. In terms of using the drogues (material cost around $50), it is extremely important to make sure that you use nylon line: at least 25% of the load will be captured by the rode alone. Second you must construct a bridle to handle the heavy load---I am not sure how long a dolphin striker would hold up. Third, be sure to allow yourself plenty of rode...the longer the rode the less violent will be the shocks you and the boat experience. Lastly, YOU ABSOLUTELY MUST HAVE A FITTING BETWEEN THE RODE AND THE DROGUE WHICH WILL ALLOW THE DROGUE TO SPIN. In a couple of boat experiments I tried, when the drogue does not have the ability to spin around, it simply kinks up the line until the drogue will not effective catch water any more.
In order to carry my drogue and other safety equipment(flares, paddle, drogue bridle/rode, waterproof light, etc.) which I keep handy on my H-16 boat tramp, when I had my new bias-cut one piece mesh tramp made...I also had them install a mesh "Safety Pod" (Paul's nomenclature) on the bottom of the tramp. I designed the "Safety Pod" to be accessible (via zippered openings) from both the top and the bottom of the boat. The Pod allows me to have a single place to store all of my safety stuff, let's me immediately see if I have forgotten to put anything into it, before I leave the launch area; and keeps me from having to open one or both of my hull ports (which just might be underwater at the time) to facilitate any self-rescue efforts. The "Safety Pod" was not inexpensive to add to the tramp, but if you have ever experienced a situation where you need to use your safety equipment "Right Now" (Been there, done that...way too many times) you may find the investment to install a "Safety Pod" to be a real life saver.
If you would like to see pictures of any of this stuff, let me know and I can post some digital pix.
Paul
