PFD'S There are six Type I PFD's (Personal Floatation Device) and four Type II PFD's on board. There are also three automatic inflatable SoSpender Vests with harnesses, and double tethers for each. and four standard harnesses with single tethers on board.

MAN OVERBOARD SYSTEMS There are a Lifesling Overboard Rescue System, a RescueSling Inflatable Overboard Rescue System, and a Man Overboard System on board. The Man Overboard System consists of a Type IV horseshoe buoy, a man overboard pole and an automatic floating strobe light combination unit.

E.P.I.R.B'S There is a Kannad E.P.I.R.B. (Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon) fixed-type unit on board. The E.P.I.R.B was new in December, 2003. When we wanted to get the battery replaced in this unit, we could not send the unit to Westpac Marine Services in Tacoma, the US authorized dealer, because the battery is considered hazardous material, and could not be shipped. It had to be hand delivered. We had the Kannad E.P.I.R.B. unit tested in Houston at Trionics, L.L.C. to see if the unit was still functional. The unit tested great, but they could not guarentee the battery would last the required 48 hours. Since we were concerned about having a functional E.P.I.R.B., we decided to purchase a new E.P.I.R.B. The good news was West Marine was having a sale on the ACR GlobalFix iPro E.P.I.R.B. We purchased the unit after verifying we could send the unit to the manufacturer to have the battery replaced when required.

SPOT For Christmas, in 2008 we were given a present of the SPOT GPS satellite messanger. This is a clever device. It is sometimes referred to as a poor man's E.P.I.R.B. We did our initial activation of the SPOT in July of 2009. When we are under way, on a passage, we activate the SPOT twice a day, and it sends out a preprogrammed email saying that all is well, and and pin pointing our location on a Google Map. When we are at anchor or in a marina we activate the SPOT once a week, or so. There is a link set up on the DREAM AWAY web page titled Where Is DREAM AWAY. This link allows you to keep track of our location.

CO2 ALARM In October of 2004, we had three SAFE-T-ALERT carbon monoxide (CO) alarms installed on the boat. One unit is in the aft cabin, the second in the main cabin, and the third is installed in the mid-cabin. These units are wired directly to the house battery.

SMOKE ALARMS In the survey that was performed on DREAM AWAY in April 2009 it was recommended that smoke alarms be installed. I purchased two units designed especially for boats, or RV's. I installed one in the Galley , and the other in the Garage.

FIRE EXTINGUISHERS There is an automatic Kidde FyreWatch automatic extinguishing system in the engine room. This system uses the new FE-241 extinguishing agent. There are four FireMaster USCG approved fire extinguishers aboard DREAM AWAY. A 1-A:10-B:C unit is located in the master stateroom, a B:C 1 unit is located in the garage, a B:C 1 unit is located at the companionway just outside the galley, and a B:C 1 unit is located in the mid-cabin.

LINE LAUNCHER In July of 2004, we purchased a Mossberg 590 Line Launcher to keep on board. I had read many articles concerning large ships coming to the rescue of small boats in bad weather, out in the ocean. The reoccurring problem was getting the small lines from the small boat up on the deck of the large ship. This seemed nearly impossible, unless you had a line launcher of some type.

PEPPER SPRAY We decided that we should also have a safe deterrint in case someone decided to get on our boat. For this, we chose Fox Five point Three Pepper Spray. We purchased two of the canisters in May 2009. One of the canisters is installed in the Galley The other is in the safety drawer, which is in the Garage, and close to the companionway.

EMERGENCY STEERING In March of 2007, a new emergency tiller was purchased and installed. This new tiller was as long as could be accommadated in the aft cabin. In January of 2012 a new Aqua Meter Compass was purchased for the aft cabin. This compass will be used as the steering compass, if the emergency tiller has to be used.

PAD EYES To help with night watches, and bad weather watches, when harnesses and tethers are required equipment, I installed four pad eyes in cockpit. This enables the watch person to clip onto a pad eye before leaving the safety of the cabin.

LIFE RAFT In November of 2003, a Winslow Super-Light Offshore Plus 6-person life raft was installed. This unit comes in Winslow's Pelican Pac. The life raft is vacuumed packed, so it requires service every three years rather than the one year required for other units. This link, packing list will give you an idea of the complete unit. Inside the vacuumed life raft are spare sets of glasses, medicines, and copies of our latest passports. One of the options mentioned, which we purchased, is the PUR Survivor manual water maker. A very handy item, if you are forced into the Life raft. When in port, you can take the life raft out of the wheeled pelican case, and use the pelican case as a waterproof, wheeled cart for toting laundry or groceries.

ABANDON SHIP In the case of an emergency, when it might be necessary to get into the life raft, there are several additional items that should be taken along. These are the ditch bag, the E.P.I.R.B.'s, the flare box., the SPOT, the Globalstar GSP 1600 satellite phone, and the Iridium 9505 satellite phone.

DITCH BAG The ditch bag is in the main cabin, on the port side, forward bulkhead, next to the navigation station. Our ditch bag is a Pelican 1550 case that contains mostly water packets, MRE's (Meal, Ready-To-Eat), a rescue kite, fishing gear and many small personal items.

FLARE BOX We have on board a flare box. in an orange Pelican 1400 case. The case contains all of our visual distress signals. We have hand held flares, parachute flares, a flare pistol, water dye, and a orange boater distress flag. All of our hand held flares and parachute flares are SOLAS approved. This approval rating is much higher than the USCG ratings.

BOLT CUTTERS We have on board a 36 inch pair of bolt cutters and a 26 inch pair of wire cutters. These two cutters have many uses, but the principal reason I obtained these cutters was to cut away rigging in the case of a dis-masting. It is important to get the issue under control, and a hack saw takes too much time. Both of these cutters are located in the garage hanging under the work bench for easy access.

AFT SECURITY PANEL In the aft cabin, at the base of the bed, I installed a circuit breaker panel. This panel I call my Aft Security Panel, and it is just below the aft A/C controls. It has a couple of breakers for mundane uses. There is a breaker to turn on the ICOM M802 SSB radio, and the 12 VDC utility panel. The main purpose of the panel is in case of a boarding at night and we are in the aft cabin. We can turn on the main mast spreader lights, the mizzen mast spreader lights, the aft VHF radio, and the anchor light. The aft VHF radio has a PA system integrated into it, and the speaker is on the mizzen mast. With the aft VHF radio we can alert boats close, or hopefully chase off the intruders. The Stecktronics anchor light has some nice features listed below.

The most important feature is number 5. We can turn on a strobe SOS signal. At night this will be seen from a long way off, and hope someone will come and help with any intruders.

A note about the International Rules. The International Rules were formalized in the Convention on the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea, 1972, and became effective on July 15, 1977 in the United States. The Rules (commonly called 72 COLREGS) are part of the Convention, and vessels flying the flags of states ratifying the treaty are bound to the Rules. The United States has ratified this treaty and all United States flag vessels must adhere to these Rules where applicable.

Option 5 above is a strobe light flashing the SOS Signal. Rule 36, Signals To Attract Attention, International, states the use of a strobe light shall be avoided. Rule 36, Signals To Attract Attention, Inland, does not disallow the use of a strobe light. Rule 37, Distress Signals, states: When a vessel is in distress and requires assistance she shall use or exhibit the signals described in Annex IV to these Regulations. The distress signals for inland waters are the same as those for international waters with the following additional signal described: A high intensity white light flashing at regular intervals from 50 to 70 times per minute. ANNEX IV 33 CFR 87 Distress Signals, International and Inland, Paragraph 87.1 (d) a signal made by radiotelegraphy or by any other signaling method consisting of the group . . .– – –. . . (SOS) in the Morse Code; What this tells me, if I am in trouble or distress, in International or Inland waters, flashing an SOS is legal.