It's important to remember that not all units are made the same or do the same thing. If you are going to buy either an EPIRB or a PLB just remember to make sure that it's GPS enabled. A non-GPS unit will locate you to an area of about a square mile... that's good, and better than nothing, but a mile is still a lot of territory to cover, especially at night.
A GPS enabled unit will accurately locate you to an area of about the size of a football field. Much better and it increases your probability of early detection. In an emergency, that can be the difference of dying of hypothermia or living. It's that simple.
Although there are tons of really good, really expensive units on the market, I happen to like the ACR brand. At the risk of sounding like an advertisement, you can find a really nice unit that will do everything you want it to do here:
http://www.getfeetwet.com/products/S...74NH_ZACR.aspx
At $209 it's affordable and for lakes or near offshore (where most of us do our boating) it's a good unit for the price. Certainly better than nothing, and much less than $500-1000 for a lot of the other units.
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1987 V20 w/1987 150HP Yamaha on a Shoreland'r Trailer
1978 16.5 Airslot w/1996 120HP Force on a Four Winns trailer
1996 V21 w/1993 200HP Mercury on a Shoreline Trailer
All towed by a 5.7L Hemi Durango.
If God didn't have a purpose for us we wouldn't be here, so
Live simply, Love generously, Care deeply, Speak kindly.
(Leave the rest to God)
Silence, in the face of evil, is itself evil. Not to speak is to speak, not to act is to act. God will not hold us guiltless.