West Marine's Buyer's Guide to choosing the right emergency beacon. For more info on beacons, satellite messengers, and safety gear, please visit www.westmarine.com
I would want a Cat I (auto distress send) for smaller boats like mine. In a disaster, I may not get to EPIRB to activate it. I’d feel much better knowing that help is on the way if my boat swamps and I’m afloat without getting to it to manually activate it. I got the Cat I EPIRB. I chose not to get a PLB, as they have disadvantages for Water rescue, and I am ok with GPS and weapons on land.
