[Rhodes22-list] Electronics

Mon Mar 31 17:25:07 EDT 2008

Three years ago an experienced delivery Captain and his young crew perished
in the Neuse River while delivering a new 35' boat to the Miami boat show.
The Coast Guard station at Cherry Point was only 5 miles away, but all they
had on board was a hand-held VHF.  The investigation afterwards revealed the
Coast Guard could not hear the weaker signal from their hand-held VHF to pin
point their location.  Had they a fixed mount VHF with a (higher) mast
mounted antenna, they might be alive today.

Tom, I would rethink that built-in antenna.  

PT

-----Original Message-----
From: rhodes22-list-bounces at rhodes22.org
[mailto:rhodes22-list-bounces at rhodes22.org] On Behalf Of Mary Lou Troy
Sent: Monday, March 31, 2008 5:02 PM
To: The Rhodes 22 mail list
Subject: Re: [Rhodes22-list] Electronics

Tom,
I am one of the people that disagrees with Stan and Lee on the VHF. 
It may depend somewhat on your situation. We sail on the Chesapeake 
where there are a lot of other boaters. If some issues a Mayday, a 
Pan-pan or Securite call they do that over VHF. If you need to issue 
a Mayday and you call the Coast Guard on your cell phone they will 
hear you but other boaters in the area (who may be much closer than 
the CG) will not. You may not need to deal with bridges or commercial 
shipping. We do and I find it easier to call a bridge tender on VHF. 
You can call them on the phone but you need to have a separate number 
for each bridge. You generally cannot contact the bridge of a 
commerical vessel by cell but you can with VHF. A handheld will work. 
We used one for years before adding the masthead antenna because we 
liked the added range - particularly for picking up messages from 
other people with handhelds. And as Lee said you can use it for 
weather forecasts. That said if we are on the Bay on a busy weekend, 
the radio is usually off unless we need it. There is just too much traffic.

We use a transom mount type fishfinder for depth (not permanently 
mounted) and a bulkhead compass mounted on a board in the 
companionway. We seem to have have an unreasonable aversion to 
cutting holes in the boat.

Best,
Mary Lou
1991 R22 Fretless
Rock Hall, MD

At 02:26 PM 3/31/2008, you wrote:

>Tom,
>
>I might want to take you up on sailing the Big Assawoman.  The invitation
is
>also open for Kent Island if you want to get some Rhodes sailing before
your
>boat arrives.
>
>Lost of people will disagree, but I'd take Stan's advice on the VHF.  I
have
>a cheap handheld and only use it for weather forecasts.  Once I used it to
>call the Coast Guard and they told me to call back on my cell phone.
>
>Regarding your questions, I posted this about a year ago:
>
>"I had Stan install a Plastismo Contest 101 in my portside bulkhead.  West
>Marine's list price is $215, but they'll normally match any Internet price
>you can find.  I think they sold it to me for about $135 to $140.  I like
it
>because it's two-sided so you can read it from inside the cabin.  I often
>lock the tiller and go below to lay down on the settee, not that I'm lazy
or
>anything.  It's nice to be able to see the compass to ensure you don't go
>off course.
>
>Stan and others will tell you that a depth finder (fish finder) isn't
>necessary because your centerboard and rudder will tell you when it gets
too
>shallow.  This is proof that even Stan isn't right all the time.  Ask Rose.
>I use my fish finder all the time.  Even if you don't damage your
>centerboard and rudder by dragging them on the bottom, you'll certainly
>knock the bottom paint off of them.  I like to sail close to shore, and
it's
>nice to know when it starts getting shallow.  I had Stan install a
>Humminbird Matrix 17 with the temperature/speed accessory on the starboard
>side bulkhead.  It was about $100.  You'll need transducer paint to keep
the
>speed wheel turning, and even then it's nowhere nearly as accurate as a
GPS.
>It will let you know if you're speeding up or slowing down to help you trim
>your sails.  (Tom:  Don't get a speedwheel.  Even with transducer paint it
>will get marine growth in no time at all.)
>
>It cost more to install the instruments than to purchase them, but Stan's
>crew did an excellent job.  I'm way overpaid and totally inept, so it would
>have cost me much more to do it myself.
>
>I haven't ventured far from the marina and normally try to get in before
>dark, so I thought a GPS would be more of a toy than something I really
>needed, but I would definitely recommend at least getting a cheap handheld
>for safety.  I use mine to check my speed more than anything else.  I have
a
>Garmin C276, but it mostly depends on how much money you want to spend.
>Paper charts are still easier to read.  I absolutely recommend that you do
>not purchase a Magellan GPS.  I had nothing but nightmares with that
company
>(except that nightmares stop when you wake up).
>
>Good luck with your choices!"
>
>Lee
>1986 Rhodes22  At Ease
>Kent Island, MD
>
>___________________________________________________________________________
______________
>
> >From Tom:
>
>Hi guys,
>
>I thought I had a name picked out ("Mischief II") for the 1999 R22 that
Stan
>is recycling for me even as I write.  But since the hull will be navy and
>since I'm "forever in Blue Jeans" that are baggy and worn at the knees, my
>wife suggested "Rag Bag" or "Blue Jeans".  It will be one of the three.
>Stan has me talked out of a mast antenna and a cockpit-mounted VHF, since
>GPS and cell phones work great for communicating these days.
>
>At any rate, since I'll be sailing mostly in the Big Assawoman Bay (BAB),
>which is extremely shallow in spots and tends to shoal a bit, I'm still
>inclined to go with a depth gauge.  And I'm also inclined to install a
>wall-mounted compass in the cockpit area.  Does anyone have any thoughts on
>brands to look for / stay away from?
>
>Thanks.
>
>Tom Bickerstaff ("Bick")
>
>P.S. I should be "up and running" by the end of June, so if anybody finds
>him/herself near Ocean City, MD and wants to check out the BAB, just let me
>know.
>--
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>
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>
>
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