VHF Radio

Does anyone have a suggestion for a good handheld water resistant (submersible) radio. I am planning to do more sailing on Lake Michigan solo this summer and want to have a radio for when I take longer trips away from the public beach.

West Marine has this low cost unit:
Standard Horizon

Can't say enough good things about Standard Horizon. I literally drove over one with my car, and it still transmitted and received (display was toast). I sent it in for repair, they replaced it and didn't charge me (I sent a letter explaining exactly what I had stupidly done, that's probably hanging on a wall in their offices now).

Anyway, I prefer the HX471S model, much smaller size (fits nicely in PFD pocket) and lots of features, but you can't go wrong with any of them.

The floating models are also worth consideration.

ICOM has some good ones too, I think they're supposed to have the longest battery life (do a google search, I know there are articles about this out there).

I spent a night capsized once. I never go on a boat without my radio now. Never, ever, ever.

Mike

I like Standard Horizon, too - used to be a Uniden guy, but the HX471S has made me a fan. Pricey, but I have found it to be worth it.

ICOM M35 (USA model designation may be different)

But its the waterproof, floating version. All the X40 teams use them and they are really the best.

And remember its no good to have a waterproof radio that sinks like a rock...

Hi TEH. I just recently got a Cobra Marine HH 330. Works really well. Floats and ive given it my best shot at trying to drown it in the tramp pocket. Good price too. The next model up you can blue tooth it to your phone which is pretty cool too. You can make phone calls using the radio as a Handset while your phone is somewhere dry.

The ones we use on the rescue boats at our club seem to give us a bit of trouble but i cant remember the brand.

Anyone doing any sailing alone really has to have one. So easy to throw on the boat.

I can't remember the name but I carry a west marine brand clipped to my inflatable when sailing my big boat solo. Cost like 70 bucks. Got it 2 years ago, never really used it though I test it time to time. I usually sail my blade on a narrow intracoastal waterway so I don't carry it. Never had to use it.

I picked up a Standard HX850S and its a great radio. Lots of power (6w) and waterproof. Its a bit bulky but I like it because it also has GPS and DSC functions. I figured if I was getting a radio for extended sailing or distance racing, it was probably a good idea to have the DSC. I haven't had to use it but I am glad it is there. I just put the lanyard around my neck and stuff it inside my rash guard and it stays put and out of the way.

SH makes the 851 model (http://www.westmarine.com/webapp/wc...&subdeptNum=10251&classNum=10253) which has waypoint functions as well so you have VHF and a minimal function GPS.

I am with Macca. I really like the ICom radios. The m34 is on sale at WM for $129 and the M36 ($199) has noise canceling capabilities. Both float and are waterproof.

Thanks for all the suggestions.

Given my low expected usage, I don't want to spend a ton. But then again, I want the thing to work when I need it to.

Floating is nice, but... I'm sure there are several citizens along the Florida coast who are to this day enjoying their unexpected gift from the sea. Tybee sailors have donated floating VHFs and GPS units to Poseidon every couple of years. I remember spending an hour setting up a brand new GPS for the Key Team one year, only to have it vanish from the boat sometime during the leg to Cocoa.

Our radio lives in a mesh sleeve that Dennis built that secures to the boom - audible during starts and accessible in the event of capsize or retirement from a race.

I like that setup, but my biggest concern is that I take a swim and the boat gets away from me. I intend to have this radio in my vest.

Reasonable thinking; in our case, we race in fleets with RC boats on station. If I were offshore point-to-point racing (especially uni), it would be critical to have the radio on my person.

I have both an Icom and Standard handheld VHF. The Icom is the main unit I carry - no complaints - over 1000 miles of coastal distance racing with no malfunctions. The Standard was my old radio - Its now my backup. No complaints other than the volume knob got a bit stiff (I did not used to be religious rinsing / maintaining it).

I stuff the radio in the pocket of my PFD and wear a rash guard on top.

Beware waterproof VHF radio bags. Field tests by the Great Texas race safety officer indicates they can significantly reduce range.

A handheld VHF is an excellent safety device when distance racing. Coast guard masts in Texas are very tall and can pick up handhelds from a long way off (and triangulate the signal). Boat to boat is of course limited by the low transmitter power and elevation off the water - but still useful if someone parts company with the boat...if you carry it on your person.

Chris.

I've got the Icom IC-M32. Lots of use and salt water submersion (no bag) and still going strong since day one. You can't kill it. What makes it nice is no knobs and, the button lock feature while the volume is still active. It resides in one of two places, either inside a pocket in the vest (when not actively needed) or using the belt clip to mount to my shoulder strap, right next to my ear (law enforcement style). In a blow you can hear it from there, easily mike it, and keep your hands free. It is also tethered to the vest.

I've been biting my tongue in regards to putting a VHF on the boat (vs. on your person), because I didn't want to hijack the thread (original intent was to discuss brands/models)...

BUT, a radio is completely useless if you can't get to it, either because the boat is capsized, or floating away from you.

Tie it to your PFD, and either put it into a pocket (if it will fit), or stick it in the front, between your chest and the PFD zipper. Tying it on is important, because of Murphy's Law. Don't tie it on, and you're bound to drop it.

Mike

My intent was to put it in the PFD pocket. Thus size is important as well. May have to work something else out if I don't want to pay that much.

http://www.nrsweb.com/shop/product.asp?pfid=1825

Tom: Sorry for the hijack but I've been thinking about solo sailing and the thought of getting separated from the boat creeps me out. So, my latest thought is to attach one of these to the tramp with the other end attached to my harness. The last time I got separated from the boat it capsized immediately and I really don't think there is much danger of being dragged to death. NRS also has a variety of jackets with more and bigger pockets, all with survival in mind.

No problem. I am trying how to figure out how best to stay safe. The radio came first to mind. That lead to other concerns about how they'd find me, etc.

I did a little fast swimming after the boat this last summer and I thought if this happens when I am on one of my distance sails, and I can't catch the boat, I could bob around for quite some time.

Didn't you also look at a teather of some sort?

There is a tether in the NRS catalog, but I have no real solution. I'm just going to buy the throw rope/bag, a max. flotation vest and worry about the details later.

Oh, some leg straps. I found out on my last misadventure that having my vest constantly riding up under my chin is no good.

Pete,

I don't know. I always have at lease a sheet or line in my hand and the tiller 95% of the time. When I've capsized, it is more of a problem of not letting go of the tiller. BTW, I have given up on using vectran line for trap setup. I needed an engineer explain to me that it is so non-stretch such that it breaks down with tight moving turns and without any real warning. Nothing more of a PIA than a surprise snap on the trap!!

Dyneema now on for this application.

That remaining 5% is a bitch!

Yeah, I can only remember two times in the last two years that I didn't have a hand on the boat after a capsize and only one of those did the boat float so far that I was swimming as fast as I could to catch it. It was enough to say if this happens a mile or so off shore, it could be interesting.

My favorite was getting pitched off the 20 at full stride downwind - had a hand on the tiller and the sheet, both got ripped from my hands almost immediately. There was no swimming to it, even after it capsized - only hope was crew getting it righted and coming back to me.

Same thing happened to me last summer. Threw myself off the boat gybing too fast. Held onto the tiller extension a little too long and broke the crossbar free from the tiller arm. By the time the boat slowed down it was 150 ft away. Joy had to get the kite down, and sail back to me with independent rudders. The whole time I was saying to myself... where is that chase boat?

I've got one of those small ICOM ones, which I put in a waterproof bag and stuff it inside my PFD. Never had a problem hearing/talking into it, although the range is not very far since it's a handheld model.

Being in the waterproof bag makes pretty much anything float, too, so if you chose a handheld that isn't positively bouyant, just put it in a bag!

On the distance, most 5W models say 5 mile range I think. Is that realistic? I would think that would be OK for me. Usually there are lots of boats/sail boats out in the boat lane off shore that I could hail.

5 miles is "best case". VHF is line of sight. Range depends on a lot of things besides power and probably the biggest is height off the water.

At the Hobie 16 NAs in the Nevada desert, there was a small hill between the host hotel and the main part of the lake where the boats were. No radio reception. Even if you went to the top of the hill, it was difficult to hear each other even though we were only 3 miles away.

After getting pitched off my own boat and swimming home here on my lake, through alligator infested waters, at sunset, for an hour, I decided I would use a stainless steel carabiner available at Home Depot for about $5, to clip on the mainsheet through one of the leg straps of my harness, when sailing alone.

I have not yet had to test it, see if it would help me recover my boat alone, or if it would just drag me until I drown. I've managed to stay on my boat and keep it upright.

But I don't go out alone at sunset when it's blowing 20 any more...


One thing is certain, you will not be able to swim fast enough to catch your boat, even if it's on it's side, while wearing booties and a PFD.
;^)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eGEBzwDPLbE

I'll never get near Heaven, the best I can hope for is to die at sea!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y8q4uZCv8Kc&feature=related

I was hoping for a little more sense of security here. If you know Michigan's west coast, there are lots of sand dunes just off the water and they can be pretty high. Ship (or bobbing person) to shore does not sound likely. At least I would have some ship to ship communication.

+1

Rely on self rescue.

I'm convinced solo sailing a beach cat can be as safe as taking a shower. It's just that we usually sail in a social setting so the self rescue procedure has not been well thought out.

The best location for the caribeaner would likely be one that if dragged, would keep your face somewhere near the surface (think being dragged by parachute on your back), but that would likely get all tangled up if you were using the mainsheet.

How about a "kill switch" concept? You could run a line from your harness to a snap shackle on the lower mainsheet block. Fall off and the snap shackle opens, releasing the mainsheet entirely.

This would at least slow/stop the boat and could be used in concert with something to keep you somehow attached to the boat...

This.

Watching your boat sail away by itself is an interesting experience. During training the day before the start of the F16 Euro last year I decided to trap downwind to see how it felt in the conditions there. I turned downwind, cleated the main, set the spi up, clipped the trap hook to my harness, grabbed the spi sheet in one hand and the tiller in the other and pushed my butt overboard.

Well, the trap hook was not clipped properly and I executed a perfect backflip into the water. I let go the tiller extension (I've broken 3 of those already so I know you have to release the darn thing or it breaks) and kept the spi sheet in hand to stay in contact with the boat. Except that sheeting the spi made the boat bear off and it kept going and going dragging me behind it. After a while I was tired of drinking the whole Como lake by my nose so I let go the sheet hoping to see the boat round up and capsize.

Well, the darn thing continued to sail downwind, the now flapping spi and sheeted main in perfect balance, quickly sailing away from me.

I was surrounded by 3 ribs in hailing distance and I was quickly picked up and dropped on my trampoline. The boat had traveled quite a distance and the rib driver had to punch it to catch up!

Since then I'm always thinking twice before trapping downwind solo because I know the boat will sail away by itself... I love the idea of a VHF on your person, you never know when something stupid is going to happen to you.

If I've learned anything sailing these boats the last two years it's "stupid happens."

I think upwind and downwind present two cases here. Going upwind and falling off you can get the boat to slow, capsize, or round up by being tethered or having the sheets release. Going downwind, different story. In my case the crew was locked in trapping off the back, and couldn't get to the tiller. The boat turned downwind, depowered, and eventually capsized due his weight on the trap. By then it was a significant distance from me, and once on its side it kept moving. I've since taken to being hooked in to the trap even when I'm on deck driving downwind, at the very least it helps me feel more stable and less likely to pitch off.

The other thing I've experienced is having the crew's trap break, dropping him off the boat. The wind and swells were up, and my ability to get close enough to him to get him back on the boat was limited. This is the case where the throw bag that keeps being pictured would be good to have on board - you only need to get close enough to toss a line.

I'm not sure how that bag was intended to be deployed. It was designed for kayakers. That same supplier has something like a throwable flotation device and attached line.

My intent is to secure the bag to the tramp, attach the free end to my harness and rely on my weight to pull the line out (if separated from the boat). In that case I suppose it would have to be packed, something like a parachute.

Any kayakers reading this thread?

Coming from someone who dives as well as sails, being stranded in the ocean is a definite concern, one of a diver’s worst fears. Just saw this the other day and thought it was a very neat device. A bit pricy, but it's very small, has built in strobes, GPS, DCS, VHF, waterproof on the surface, water proof shut to 425 feet, and can attach it to your PFD. Still new, so I don’t know anyone that has one, but I will be buying one before my next ocean dive. http://www.alertdiver.com/nautilus_lifeline

Tom:

Would you like me to move my end of this to another thread? We're getting pretty far afield from VHF.

No, its all good. If I had to rename the thread, I'd call it something like Safe Offshore Uni Sailing. I'm considering all the options put on the table and find humor in the "boat getting away from me" stories. I just started with VHF because that's the first option I considered.

On the line bag thingy - looks like the throw bag you can get from West Marine (theirs rated tops in Practical Sailor awhile ago). You hold onto the end of the line and heave the bag at the COB. The line floats, the whole thing can repacked, would also work the way you're looking at the other one (looks almost identical).

West Marine throw bag

On the radios - I tend use the Icom ones. Currently I use the IC-M72. I got that one because it has a little more power and is waterproof to a higher standard. I got this one when I mistakenly thought my IC-M88 had gone bad. It turned out to be the battery pack. I had considered the floating ones but found them to be to bulky to fit easily into my life jacket pocket. I figure the ways things go on a cat or a tri that even if the radio floats I wont be able to find it once I turn around. I usually hook the strap to life jacket anyway. Anyway, I find those radios to be reliable and tough.

I'm very impressed with my standard horizon , wondered if it was wirth paying more for icom , but using the sh has proved to be a better radio , our club use icoms and when I take my sh out on rescue duty , it can be heard when icoms become unitelligble which was a pleasant suprise to me , also dropped the sh in water launching rib , didnt notice till too late (had started a race ) , on return 3 hours later found it , still under water , still workung - no probs , had it checked out , no probs .

This looks lie a great device.

When I dive, especially in the ocean, the boat boat driver would just kinda follow our bubbles. Just kidding.
We always had the float with dive flag attached tethered to us, (quick release of course), and they followed that.

But this does look like an awesome device, for alot of sports.