New Electronics for an old tug

[daviduphoff]

I have recently purchased a Ranger 18. From what I can tell it has had three previous owners. It was donated to a charity and I purchased it at auction from them. Well, now that's out of the way.

The boat came with some really great electronics. Loran C anyone? It also has a really nice Marine CB circa 1985. The Loran unit is now in my garbage can and the antenna has neatly been cup up into garbage can size pieces with garden lopers. The cassette player is still in as I need music to work by. The Current VHF was removed from the arc when Noah upgraded. Somehow it made it onto my little boat.

Here is what I am thinking. Please keep in mind I plan to use the boat this summer on the Columbia and Willamette Rivers in the Portland area. It may also go to the coast for crabbing. I am looking at a Standard Horizon GX 1700 as it has built in GPS. This would eliminate the need for any other electronics and give me all the safety features of a newer VHF Radio. It would also eliminate clutter in what is already a very small cabin.

Lastly, anyone know of a reason I can't use the existing VHF antenna? It's much newer than the radio.

Thoughts anyone?

Link to Radio info: http://www.standardhorizon.com/indexvs. ... Archived=0

 

[Levitation]

The VHF marine antenna on the boat will work just fine with your new radio.
As far as the GPS in the radio it is good to know where you are. But manually transferring lat/lon numbers onto a paper chart is a bit laborious and will get old, soon.
Certainly you can sail using paper charts. Sailors have done it for hundreds of years. I have flown and sailed with paper for nearly that long 🙂
But a moving map gps is really nice. Garmin, and others, make very good, handheld moving maps for marine use. Paper charts are not particularly cheap, especially if you travel with the boat. As the budget will allow I recommend you get one.
Check Craigslist.

 

[knotflying]

Denny-o is spot on. A handheld GPS will give you great situational awareness without breaking the bank.

 

[Don and Brenda]

As the 2nd radio on my boat I installed the SH 2150 with the AIS, works well. I also use a 3rd radio with the SH hand held which also has the GPS builtin, this was purchased as a unit for out hiking or on the dinghy.

 

[baz]

If you have a laptop (Apple or PC product) why not use a Navigation application along with a GPS dongle for your navigation. I know of many people that use this type of facility for their boats rather than expensive Garmin or other brands. If you have a mobile phone similar applications are available and some of them come equipped with GPS built in such as the Apple iPhone... or even the iPad with GPS built in. Just a thought for saving you some brass. 🙂

 

[daviduphoff]

If you have a laptop (Apple or PC product) why not use a Navigation application along with a GPS dongle for your navigation. I know of many people that use this type of facility for their boats rather than expensive Garmin or other brands. If you have a mobile phone similar applications are available and some of them come equipped with GPS built in such as the Apple iPhone... or even the iPad with GPS built in. Just a thought for saving you some brass. 🙂

I think you hit the nail on the head. This is sort of what I was getting at. I was not clear in my question.

With built in GPS the radio will do most anything that a radio that is tied to something providing it data will do. Also if it's not on the boat no one can steal it. Chance of a VHF radio being stolen - close to zero. I should have asked if anyone saw a benefit to using something to provide the radio data versus using a radio with built in GPS, other than the obvious, one more thing to break in a radio.

I can use my tablet or a laptop for navigation if needed. I also have a handheld GPS in need of an upgrade. I think I would rather upgrade it and not buy something permanently mounted. It looks like most of the handhelds now come with mounts anyway. The newer ones do many more fun things. For a little boat like mine that will never see the open ocean the big benefit I can see to a radio with built in GPS is it is the only thing that has to be turned on if something was to happen to me and my son or wife needed to push the panic button to call for help. I cant even imagine the number of times I have been out in the Columbia or Willamette with nothing on but the radio. I would imagine that the first thing anyone would do in an emergency is use a cell phone but it never hurts to have backup especially for someone not as familiar with the rivers.

 

[Gin]

David, just a quick weigh in on the question of first action to take in an emergency on the Columbia. We recently got an orientation to many aspects of boating on the Columbia by a guy who worked for the Port of Portland for 20 years and was part of their emergency water response program. He's also a licensed captain, and has the sufficient confidence of the Oregon Marine Board to be able to test and award boaters their boater ed cards. Anyway, he advised us that the first thing to do in any emergency on the Willamette or Columbia is not to call on VHF channel 16, but instead to call 911. Which is what the Coast Guard will do, since the local response capabilities (such as Port of Portland's emergency water response system) can get to the area faster than the Coast Guard. His advise: save yourself the middle step and call 911 directly.

I suspect the same advice might apply in many urban areas.

Gini

 

[walldog]

David, just a quick weigh in on the question of first action to take in an emergency on the Columbia. We recently got an orientation to many aspects of boating on the Columbia by a guy who worked for the Port of Portland for 20 years and was part of their emergency water response program. He's also a licensed captain, and has the sufficient confidence of the Oregon Marine Board to be able to test and award boaters their boater ed cards. Anyway, he advised us that the first thing to do in any emergency on the Willamette or Columbia is not to call on VHF channel 16, but instead to call 911. Which is what the Coast Guard will do, since the local response capabilities (such as Port of Portland's emergency water response system) can get to the area faster than the Coast Guard. His advise: save yourself the middle step and call 911 directly.

I suspect the same advice might apply in many urban areas.

Gini

Just to weigh in here and say that cell phone emergency use on the water may vary widely from area to area. The US Coast Guard at South Padre Island and Corpus Christi, Texas...not a small town.... constantly warn boaters about depending on cell phones to summon help. Batteries die and coverage is spotty outside of the city. The Coast Guard advises boaters to have a VHF radio as it is more dependable for rescue. Just be sure of your local options and procedures. We have had many fisherman who had nothing but a cell phone spend nights and days stranded because of no coverage or dead batteries.

 

[Gin]

Excellent point, Herb. I would think that the safe thing to do is to always -- ALWAYS -- have VHF capability for communication. Then, depending on your local area, use cell if it is considered appropriate as a first resort, and you have the signal you need. But I can't imagine ever being without VHF, and the guy who was advising us was definitely not suggesting otherwise.

Gini

 

[Crewdog]

Here's the link for some relevant USCG info:

http://www.navcen.uscg.gov/?pageName=mtBoater

Here's a neat link I found about the US rescues for the SARSAT system; expand the map and see the land rescues in Alaska:

http://www.nesdis.noaa.gov/sarsat_rescues_2013.html

I would also get an EPIRB or PLB to carry with you.

Bill

 

[walldog]

Excellent point, Herb. I would think that the safe thing to do is to always -- ALWAYS -- have VHF capability for communication. Then, depending on your local area, use cell if it is considered appropriate as a first resort, and you have the signal you need. But I can't imagine ever being without VHF, and the guy who was advising us was definitely not suggesting otherwise.

Gini

Thanks for the clarification Gin, I guess the advice to bypass the Coast Guard in an emergency in any location disturbed me.

U.S. Coast Guard CONSUMER FACT SHEET
Office of Navigation Safety and Waterway Services
Washington DC 20593-0001


CELLULAR TELEPHONES ON BOATS

The Coast Guard does not advocate cellular phones as a substitute
for the regular maritime radio distress and safety systems
recognized by the Federal Communications Commission and the
International Radio Regulations -- particularly VHF maritime
radio. However, cellular phones can have a place on board as an
added measure of safety.

CELLULAR PHONE LIMITATIONS IN AN EMERGENCY

o Cellular phones generally cannot provide ship to ship safety
communications or communications with rescue vessels. If you
make a distress call on a cellular phone, only the one party
you call will be able to hear you.

o Most cellular phones are designed for a land-based service.
Their coverage offshore is limited, and may change without
notice.

o Locating a cellular caller is hard to do. If you don't
know precisely where you are, the Coast Guard will have
difficulty finding your location on the water.

Note: In some areas, however, cellular providers have
established a special code (*CG) which, if you are in range, will
connect you directly to a Coast Guard Operations Center. This
service may only work with the carrier to which you have
subscribed.

CELLULAR/VHF MARINE RADIO COMPARISON

Cellular phones do provide the convenience of simple,
easy-to-use, inexpensive, private and generally reliable
telephone service to home, office, automobile or other locations.
Placing a shore-to-ship call to someone with a cellular telephone
is especially convenient. However, you cannot use your cellular
phone outside the United States, and you may need a special
agreement with your carrier to use it outside that carrier's
local service area.

VHF marine radios were designed with safety in mind. If you are
in distress, calls can be received not only by the Coast Guard
but by ships which may be in position to give immediate
assistance. A VHF marine radio also helps ensure that storm
warnings and other urgent marine information broadcasts are
received. The Coast Guard announces these broadcasts on VHF
channel 16. Timely receipt of such information may save your
life. Additionally, your VHF marine radio can be used anywhere
in the United States or around the world.

On VHF radios, however, conversations are not private and
individual boats cannot be assigned a personal phone number. If
you are expecting a call, channel 16 or the marine operator's
working channel must be continually monitored.

SHOULD YOU RELY ON A CELLULAR PHONE EXCLUSIVELY?

Actually there is no comparison between cellular phones and VHF
marine radio. They normally provide different services. The
cellular phone is best used for what it is, an on board telephone
-- a link with shore based telephones. A VHF marine radio is
intended for communication with other ships or marine
installations -- and a powerful ally in time of emergency.

If you have a portable or hand held cellular telephone, by all
means take it aboard. If you are boating very far off shore, a
cellular phone is no substitute for a VHF radio. But, if you are
within cellular range, it may provide an additional means of
communication.

--------------



Fact Sheet # 24
January 1994

Coast Guard Consumer Fact Sheets are not copyrighted. They
may be reproduced in whole or in part without permission.
For further information contact the Coast Guard Consumer
Affairs and Analysis Branch -- 1-800- 368-5647.

� N81N

 

[Gin]

Herb's advice, and the official coast guard stance, is the one to follow everyone. I may have gotten a bum steer from my source. I'm going to check it out further for my personal information. But I would never be without VHF and no one else should be either. Follow the Coast Guard advisory: treat cell phones only as an "added" measure of safety, not a primary one.

Gini

 

[GA-Midnight Cruise]

David, what is your Ranger 18 powered with? Please post more pics when you can. Would love to see pics of her out of the water when you have it on the hard. Very interesting and congrats.