ditch bag/backup GPS

C

colobear

New member
I am putting a ditch bag together and would like suggestions for a GPS for the bag. I'm looking for ruggedness, relatively long battery life, ability to take marine cartography, etc. The unit would also serve as a backup if/when my Raymarine C-80 goes black. I'm not wedded to any particular brand nor need it have all the bells and whistles.

Any sugestions?
 
I vote for the Garmin GPS Map 76. Supports cartography,simple Garmin interface,pretty good battery life and not too expensive .
Marc
 
I bought a Uniden Mystic unit. I really can't say it's the best or anything but here is my thinking. It not only will give me my coordinates but it is also a VHF radio with DCS built in. It water proof so if the boat sinks I'll at least be able to call for help and have coordinates. I think the weakest part of the unit is it's mapping software. Personally I don't care about the mapping features as long as I have coordinates so for me it's not a problem. I just wanted an all in one unit incase I actually had to ditch into the water.

MYSTIC.jpg


I think I found it online for less than $300
 
I have the Magellen Meridian, it operates on 12 volts or AA batteries (all items in the ditch bag operate on AA's [GPS, back up VHF, strobe, flashlight] and I carry a dozen or so of AA's there). The Meridian will take SD cards and you can down load from their Blue Seas series, topo or street maps and have good cartography. It is waterproof--a real plus in a ditch bag. (I think that the Garmin also has most or all of these features, except the relitatively in-expensive mapping. I have never been a fan of Garmin's restrictive policy ref use of the software.
 
I used the Lowrance iFinder H2O c when our fuses blew up there in the San Juans over Christmas. The color unit cost $269 and I got the "MapCreate" 6 disk set from which to down load details. Thank goodness I downloaded all the details, because almost nothing was open over the Christmas holidays up there and the iFinder listed just about everything in existance, including deli's, coffee shops, marinas, hardware stores, grocery stores - and included the phone numbers and addresses, so we could call before walking up to the places.

It also had the buoys and hazard markers , and even showed each individual slip in the Bell Harbor Marina and the Friday Harbor Marina and the Cornet Bay Marina!

Other than downloading the details, we never used the instruction manual. It runs pretty intuitively.

I'd advise getting one you can use both on and off the water like this one.

John
 
A "ditch bag" is an abandon ship bag containing essential items you'd need to improve your chances of staying alive/being found if you had to leave the boat in crisis conditions, i.e. sinking quickly, on the rocks in heavy weather, or if you are hanging on to the upside down bow. There are many lists of suggested ditch bag contents online, just search under "abandon ship bag" or "ditch bag". The idea is to have a waterproof/resistant floatable bag where you can just grab it in an emergency and get out the door without having to gather up stuff.
 
It's sure a good idea to get that backup stuff in the "ditch bag" ASAP. Our first cruise with the new TomCat up by Seattle found us with the major electronics' fuses blown when we caught some unexpectedly huge waves over the top. Fortunately, we had a portable VHF and the Lowrance iFinder H2Oc in the ditch bag, so we could go on until we found a place to get new fuses three days later. You never know when you'll need one...

John
 
Yes, Wayne, but we could not find any 2 amp spare fuses!!!!! ...before embarking.
Also, when everything went out we were in storm and there was not time enough to figure out what exactly had gone wrong and it for sure was too wet to dry any of the regular electronics out and refire them, even if we had had the proper fuses.

John
 
Wayne,

Everybody has their own idea about what should go in the bag. For me it is important things for after I no longer have access to the boat.

My list (right now) looks like this:
-portable VHF radio (waterproof)
-portable GPS (waterproof
-compass
-2 flashlights (AA powered)
-signal mirror plus two CD's which make good signal mirrors
-2 handheld SOLAS flares
-2 SOLAS orange smoke canisters
-6 "shotgun shell" type flares with launcher
-6 light sticks
-duct tape
-50' light nylon rope
-100' nylon string
-2 carabiners
-10 ziploc bags (qt and Gal size)
-3 separate containers of waterproof matches
-lighter
-4 small candles
-fire starters (gel or paraffin)
-leatherman tool
-folding lockback knife
-small roll of wire
-fishing kit
-6 small bottles of water
-6 clif bars or equivalent
-glucose tablets
-drugstore eyeglasses (so I can see where I am)
-first aid kit
-aspirin
-prescription meds
-multivitamins
-2 wool/poly balaclavas
-2 pr wool gloves
-2pr poly longjohns
-2 cotton bandanas
-ziploc bag with sponge and hotel size soap
-toilet paper in ziploc bag
-travel toothbrush/toothpaste in ziploc bag
-sunscreen/bug repellent in ziploc bag
-4 emergency spaceblankets
-1 larger spaceblanket red/reflective
-waterproof small scale chart of cruising area in ziploc bag
-copies of basic documents in ziploc bag, i.e. passport, mil ID, DL, etc.
-spare aa batteries
-2 pencils
-small notebook
-6" ruler
-deck of plastic playing cards

I also have strobes, whistles, and lightsticks on 6' string in lifejacket pockets
 
We really have two bags. One is a true "ditch bag" by ARC--it has an extra EPRIB and a bunch of flares, (flare gun and hand held) the air horn etc in it.

The one I carry with me in the dinghy and anywhere off the boat has:
Submersiable VHF
Submersiable GPS
Combo Strobe/flashlight by ARC
at least a dozen AA batteries
Hand bearing compass (hockey puck type)
cigarette lighter
Gerber multipurpose tool
Swiss army knife (large with most of the "tools")
Small Pair Vise Grips
Two space blankets
Bright Red plastic tarp
6 Small hand held launching flares
Duct tape (small roll)--electrical tape
First aid kit (bandaides, polysporin ointment, betadine swabs, telfa pads,
gause pads, triangular bandage, ace bandage 2", adhesive Bonine tabs)

Small air horn
whistle
signal mirror
small pad and pencil
copy of credit card, drivers license, and passport if in foreign country.
Small fishing grear pack--line, couple of hooks and lures.
Dinghy spark plug
Dinghy shear pin x 2, cotter pin x 2
Spark plug wrench for dinghy spark plug

All of the above in a reinforced scrim clear plastic waterproof bag (fold over the top, with a strap to carry--it is about 6" diameter and 12" long.

Both of these are right by the helm and can be grabbed in a second.
We also carry personal EPRIB's and Personal submerciable VHF radios and strobes clipped to jackets or life vests if we are wearing the inflatables.

Bob Austin
 
Joe,

Its a work in progress. My plan is to cram it all into an ACR rapid express ditch bag that can be velcroed to a bulkhead. They have two sizes, small is 19x15x7 w/one outside radio/gps pocket, large is 20x15x10 w/two outside pockets. Both float and are waterproof. I was told by someone whose ideas I value to make a pile of the stuff and then figure how big a bag I need. Lots of compromises will be made and my list will surely change. No point in having it so big we can't lift it hence no mustang survival suits :) :) , no point in being so size conscious it isn't much good. In our waters one will die from hypothermia in such a short time maybe I should just put in a couple of Mustang suits, some flares and forget the rest :). And, seriously, I'll have to give packing order a lot of thought. Where's a good loadmaster when you need one!
 
We have the ARC 2273 Rapid Ditch Express bag. It is not waterproof (described as "water resistant"--much different than water proof)--in that there is no seal at the top--there is closed cell foam in the walls, and it probably would float, unless you put too much heavy stuff in it.. I would consider a kayak type of water proof bag for the times--that is why we have two bags. The clear plastic bag, with scrim is about 20 years old and still is air tight. So I have confidence it will not leak and get water on the items which might be damaged.

I do put the EPRIB in the outside pocket of the radid ditch bag--and we can put a second VHF on the inside.

We look at the chances of a problem being higher in the dinghy than the TC 255--and that is why we take the clear plastic bag with us all of the time. Many of our recent additions (the personal EPIRBS and submersiable VHF) are based on a number of fatal boating accidents which have happened in the last few yars in small boats. The other items are mostly for survival and getting the dinghy back to the boat--or safely to shore. We don't carry a life raft--and never had, except on the long races (Like TransPac) where it was required. The inflatable has been our life raft.
 
The Stearns should work well. Some of the bags I have are Sealine: Baja bags or See bag. The one I use all of the time is quite old--but it the seal looks like the Sealine series. It is clear, but has a fiber scrim embeded in the clear plastic. I don't see any which are exactly like it currently available. But I believe it is a Sealine. We also often carry extra clothes when going on a long dinghy trip or in one of the smaller boats we own and carry these in the dry bags.
 
I enjoyed reviewing this and thought I would bring it back to see if there is any thoughts on what to add to the list. I was also looking for what I should keep in my tow vehicle. I thought there was a thread on that subject. I wonder if it wouldn't be a good idea to keep these two threads accessible.
 
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