Another exotic is a FLOSCAN system. Dead nuts accurate fuel consumption monitor and accumulator.
It shows gallon per hour and counts consumption with an in line transducer and the monitor installed at the helm. I had one on my Grady. Twinned up and after you tweak it it was accurate to 1 gallon in 223 gallons of the tanks consumed.
I think an EPIRB on Monster Ledge is a bit of an overkill. Its an emergency device and should not be used for anything less than MAYDAY situations. That's not dead batteries or out of fuel situations!
And if you have multiple batteries intelligently use the Battery switch(es). If on "ALL" all of the time the switch is ignorantly misused and does absolutely nothing they are bussed together. All batteries will feed and will die at the same time.
Get good type I PFD's with strobes and whistles on each.
Have a "ditch kit" with quick exit duffle bag of gear ( like submersible handheld VHF, airhorns, whistles, signal mirrors, smoke, aerial Pyrotechnics, etc.). Water proof is good as it can be used as a float when zipped closed.
And Monster Ledge in the Mudhole is a relatively speaking mid range grounds and a day boater destination. Unless you're running crazy hours ( e.g. depart dock 11PM, arrive at grounds at 9pm, etc) you should have company within eyeshot. Invest in good high gain (6dB) antenna way off the water with good clean connections it'll be worth way more than most gadgetry.
That's a couple of suggestions. Know your boat's handling and when it gets hairy we slow it down ( survival + any progress( zig zagging over 12 foot swells)). IT may suck, but we are not pushing the limits of your boat's stability.
If you buddy up with another boat even with other guys going back to different marinas ( shark river vs. Manasquan or SI vs. Keyport)) or inlets it is a great insurance idea. Help is always minutes away even 40 miles offshore day or night.
Hope this helps a bit.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Gerry Zagorski
Some great advice and suggestions above...
VHF, Epirb are minimums and a life raft is strongly suggested and buddy up if you can.
As mentioned above, you also need to calculate your range and use the 1/3rd rule. This rule suggests that your furthest range should be a spot that you'll only burn 1/3rd of your tank to get to, the 2nd 3rd to return home and you'll have 1/3rd in reserve when you come back as a safety margin... The reason for the 1/3 in reserve is because if you're forced to run in seas your fuel consumption is going to go way down and when the tank is low, some of that fuel that's in your tank can't be used because of the way your tank and pick up tube is configured.
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