Need your opinions for VHF

My sailing trips sometimes is in the double digits across open water and a lot of times it's solo. In my best whisper voice *I've never owned a handheld VHF*.

Before you think this guy has never seen trouble before: I'm willing to bet a dollars to doughnuts that I been lucky to have more experience in offshore(0-100nm) vessels (running vessels up to 60') than most people. I'm completely humble when I say, I quit counting days when I passed 1,500 days with a 10 hour min per day.

I've seen the good and the bad and I realize I'm pushing my luck not carrying one when I'm sailing. With the warmer months coming, it brings me to my question.

What VHF is best for Hobie sailors? I'm planning on carrying it on my PFD. So what i'm looking for is something that is waterproof, dependable, and what would really be nice, something that isn't too bulky. I want something that will transmit at least 10nm.

I've used Standard Horizon VHF's for many years and I really like their product. Here's one I'm looking at:

http://www.standardhorizon.com/indexVS.cfm?cmd=DisplayProducts&ProdCatID=85&encProdID=CE54753DAEF82FF5498D5C3153D6E29B&DivisionID=3&isArchived=0

Anybody know anything about it? I like the fact that it floats with an automatic strobe. What's your favorite? Got any insights to where I can get the best bang for my buck? Any and all info is appreciated. And it's not an invitation to blast me on how stupid/careless I am, I realize that. Unless it's humorous... I'll take that!

I always carry a VHF handheld and imho they suck! I haved owned Standard Horizon, Cobra, Icom they are very short in range radios I only carry it in hopes that the coast gaurd will hear me if I am in need. We try to talk between boats with them and they work maybe 50% of the time and forget about talking to someone on the beach. We test them before we go out to make sure we are all on channel 68 and the volume is on high and still once we get out on the water we are rarely able to communicate boat to boat. If you are buying something for emergencys I would buy a PLB they have one coming out this year from ARC thats under $300 its in the west marine sailing catalog. This PLB is what the guys racing in the GT300 are buying http://www.westmarine.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?catalogId=10001&storeId=11151&partNumber=11046612&cid=2011Sail Sorry to go off topic but out of all the VHF radios if I had to pick one I would go with the Icom we have had the best luck with those and thats what I still carry hopefully it will save my ass if needed but I plan on buying that PLB this season.

_________________
Floyd
00 Tiger
http://www.HobieFleet33.com
10 Mile Surfside, Texas
Join us on our Facebook group: Surfside Sailing

How much distance are you talking about? My hand held transmits 3miles easily.

_________________
Bodhisatfa

Ours work line of site on a good day.

_________________
Floyd
00 Tiger
http://www.HobieFleet33.com
10 Mile Surfside, Texas
Join us on our Facebook group: Surfside Sailing

Is that not good enough?

_________________
Bodhisatfa

Thanks guys. I remember the ones that I've used was a pos. I guess I'm asking too much. I liked that gps spotter but I would rather send a pan pan pan message than an assumed mayday. Does it work like an epirb?

In regards to sightline, I think you can see around 8 miles over open water. I know you can start to see a moderately tall bridge 12 miles while standing on a flybridge. Is eight miles too much for a handheld?

Think of being in the middle of Albemarle Sound, NC. There's some marinas that monitor 16 on the edges. The closest Coast Guard station is Air Station Elizabeth City. I guessing I would be sending a weak signal on a handheld. My cell phone is Mil Spec (waterproof) but tower reception is weak. And if I drop it in 12 feet of water, it's pointless. Here I'm wondering of communicating between 10 miles, makes me respect those two French guys, that crossed the Atlantic on a H18, even more!

Little Wing I guess you didnt catch the end where it says on a good day. I would really like to find a VHF that works better myself. I have had 3 and I lost the first one a nice Standard Horizon because I was in need of some asistance and could not reach the other boat that I was sailing with so I took it off and clipped it to the tramp about 15 minutes I was flipped off my boat no one could reach me (radio was lost) so the coast gaurd was called out. My second one was a Cobra then one of my buddys dismasted I took off on a new guys H16 to go help and the new guy forgot to put in his drain plugs again no one could reach me on the VHF so another cat came to check on us he had an Icom and everyone could hear him just fine even on the beach so I returned the Cobra and bough an Icom. So as I said before line of site on a good day not so much on a bad day. The Icoms seem to work ok. You really dont want the coast gaurd called out unless it a true emergency so if you have a radio and people cannot reach you on it they panic and call the coast gaurd so its kinda a double edge sword. Spot tracker is another option because you can map one of the buttons to send out a message of your choosing either by email or text I think. But its $150 + $99 a year so the PLB seems better to me.

_________________
Floyd
00 Tiger
http://www.HobieFleet33.com
10 Mile Surfside, Texas
Join us on our Facebook group: Surfside Sailing

Good to know. Amen on the Coast Guard comment. My family comes from a long line of Coast Guardsmen. I would never hear the end of it. "You had them to go through the trouble of sending a helo to you because you turtled your boat!" I would tow swim it before I called the Coast Guard. Once I paddled five miles because the wind fell out during a shift. And would do it again.

I think you have the problem solved. Broken down to 8.25 a month, it is reasonable. Until technology evolves.

We are close to the Coast Gaurd station so they just sent a boat out and I didnt turtle I was throw off by a wave that was so strong it broached me because I was sailing in a North wind like a dumb ass so the big wave in combination with the fact one rudder was broken and my daggers were up and the wind blowing straigh at my jib I could not out steer the power of the wave it pulled my nose around and broached me then the wind used my tramp like a sail and blew my boat on the opposite side of the sandbar and was pushing it away so fast I had to swim to shore the CG got my boat but one hull was trashed. I dont sail offshore in north winds anymore! Are you going with the spot tracker or plb?

_________________
Floyd
00 Tiger
http://www.HobieFleet33.com
10 Mile Surfside, Texas
Join us on our Facebook group: Surfside Sailing

Nice thing about opinions, everybody has one -
- A radio at sea, no matter how close to shore, is never a bad thing. Cracks me up: people will spend thousands or hundreds of thousands on a boat, but you would have to stick them with a red hot poker to get them to spend more than $19.99 per PFD.

- There is nothing more useless than a radio you can not use; that means it has to be on your person. In small boats, the kinds of accidents which are most likely are MOBs and "instant" sinkings - if it's not on your PFD, which should be on your body, no point. This means, you should buy one of the more recent "smaller" units - they fit in a PFD Pocket nicely. Three flares and a tethered knife fit nicely in the other pocket (i love to kayak and sail at night on the FL inter-coastal).

- I have always bought ICOM which was the most expensive and I thought the best. Fancy when I went to do a radio check on an older, nearly never used handheld and it didn't function. Just received my Uniden MHS75 for $119 from Amazon yesterday. Rated highest water proofing of the hand helds available AND it has separate squelch and volume controls - Thank you Baby Jesus! Oh, I can wear it on person, not in a plastic bag you can never hear through, get it wet and throw it away on an annual basis and still come out ahead $$ (not green, but definitely safe).

- Handhelds are definitely limited in range (leave yours on the high 5-watt setting, so when you need it, you are putting out full power without having to change), especially if you are transmitting just above the surface of the water, but remember two things: (1) if range is limited to say 5 miles, are you really in that many remote places, where there are no other boats within 5 miles? (2) the coastguard is not using the same the $120 radio at ground level to receive your distress signal, they hear signals nobody else hears.

- The other key to making a radio useful, is being able to describe your position. Do you know where you are and can you describe it? Practice describing your position in your head occasionally - the GPS went overboard, the "clump of mangroves" does not really narrow it down. But saying you were headed south from the Boynton Inlet for about 1/2 hour at roughly 6 knots, and now you can see a radio tower at 2 o'clock gives them a place to start looking.

- One persons "luck at sea" is usually directly proportional to their luck at preparation. Cheers, Kevin.

_________________
Lived aboard 30' S-2 Center Cockpit for 13 years (Milwaukee WI / Corpus Cristi TX / Miami Beach FL) about 12 years ago. Don't miss the maintenance, but miss the sailing - Just purchased Used Hobie-Bravo - WOW!

Good call on the MHS75, Kevin! I just looked it up on Amazon. At $119, it sounds like you got the MHS75AC version with both AC (wall plug) and DC (cigarette lighter) chargers. If you don't need to charge your handheld at home, you can get the cheaper MHS75 with only the DC (cigarette lighter) charger for $80.

_________________
-Roland
Sailing vintage Hobie Cats in West Africa.

I'm looking for a VHF as well, and just checked out the MHS75. While I was there, I noticed the MHS125, which floats, includes a strobe, and has an AC adapter. Does anyone know if those are the only differences? Both have a max output of 5 watts, so I assume they both have the same range.

_________________
Todd
H21 SC

I would assume they are similar. The model I purchased also comes with an AC adapter - the primary charge for these are DC and I believe the SKU had AC in it. The floating radios are significantly larger, in order to trap enough air in them to float. My opinion is go with the smallest you can afford and always wear it - same with buying an expensive PFD ($80-120 for kayaking or using in the BRAVO) - they are designed to wear sitting with your legs out i front of you - comfortable and fairly cool - I always wear it.

FL is a pretty busy place, but on my two hour maiden sail in my new-used Bravo last night, there were four incidents reported by the coastguard (asking for assistance) (1) an overdue solo sailor (2) a 42' vessel who's epirb went off, but would not answer via radio (3) a Vessel which was floundering and the CG was requesting assistance in locating and finally (4) a Buoy which was loose off shore.

Buy small radios and wear them likely jewelry - only Bling I know that can save your life. Now stepping off soap box - 13 years of living aboard a 30' sailboat - I've seen a lot of stupid and tragic things. Good news is most of my learning was from others' mistakes Cheers, Kevin.

_________________
Lived aboard 30' S-2 Center Cockpit for 13 years (Milwaukee WI / Corpus Cristi TX / Miami Beach FL) about 12 years ago. Don't miss the maintenance, but miss the sailing - Just purchased Used Hobie-Bravo - WOW!

Go with the uniden, but remember it is not a replacement for not checking the plugs in your boat, as well as inexperience in big wind and waves, perhaps a cell phone in a waterproof case is in order, can be found at most white water outfitters.

_________________
Bodhisatfa

If your reading this deciding on best communications, PLEASE disregard this post. I'm in unusual circumstances/experience, concerning local knowledge, and just answering replies.



Yep. As a sailor living aboard for 13 years, did you make it up the ICW? It's notable for being one of the hardest places to cross. Once the sail goes in the water, black mesh tramp, and dark hulls, I'm hard to see. In my case, there is duck hunting laws in some counties that shooting hours stop well before dusk. It comes from the days of no cell phones, vhf, etc. If the party did not come home by 4:30, others would go looking for them. In my area, your taught self sufficiency at an early age. I was dropped off alone in a canoe by my father in open water, at eight years old, and told, "figure out how to get home". I am just trying to figure out what is best for me.



If your asking me, I am a 100 ton licensed captain. I was taught at an early age to estimate speed and navigate by a compass/watch. I'm covered there. I just sail for fun and get away for a while.


I don't know if it would work for me. I can for see this scenario play out. Coming up on a tack, in heavy wind, I roll the boat around extended on the trap. As I swing in, coming of the wire, the radio gets caught spinning up on the trapeze. If I get one, I'll probably keep it secured.


Yes, sir. I do. It's a Mil Spec cell phone and I keep it in this:
http://www.basspro.com/XPS-Lightweight-Dry-Bags/product/101836/-1652006
It's pretty nice. I can roll up things to keep dry and snap it to the trampoline lacings. But again, service is bad for any phone. Up until they switched from analog to digital, my favorite phone on boats, with a battery, was a bag phone. I would go into thrift stores and search garage specials to collect them. The salt air would fry 'em. I miss my bag phone.


I'm leaning towards the spot tracker. It would probably work for me. People already know I'm gone. This would show 'em where to find me (bread crumb trail and pressing the ok button). I would like to visit a store that carries them. I'm an eye to eye communicator. I'm on the fence because I can't figure out the fees/options.

Thanks for the feedback guys! It's making the decision process so much easier!