I am looking for a good setup for long range offshore from NorCal.. My bud has made 120 mile overnight runs for tuna. Moss Landing, Half Moon Bay, and San Francisco Bay (Fort Bragg is also a possibility), I am not doing that with your standard foam USCG vest. Getting eaten by a shark while awaiting rescue is a decision I'll have to deal with myself. The boat is in great shape (his True World Marine 28' with $20K in electronic upgrades has about 2080 hours on it with regular maintenance). I know, I helped with the 2000 hour valve adjustment (a PITA on a Yanmar diesel, BTW).

Thanks in advance. I am turning 50 in November and won't jump from a perfectly good airplane (that I don't like to board anyway) so a long range tuna fishing trip is on my bucket list.

Rob

I was a boat captain with 25 years experience in Alaska and the Gulf of Mexico. There are pros and cons to flotation vest. The auto-inflates are cooler than the foam ones but aren't nearly as comfortable to wear. Any kind of flotation will be better than nothing but none of them are very good for extended use in the water.

For the Epirb
To get a signal out, you're going to need power. This means one of the bigger ones. I would never trust one of the cheap, smaller units. They just aren't going to have the range needed

What I would rather have is a good base VHF with tall antenna and a GPS. It's unlikely the boat will sink, losing power is common. This is your most likely scenario and a radio and GPS will save your life. Also, bring a couple gallons of water

If the boat sinks, which is unlikely, survival is going to be really tough without a life raft. There's something called a life float, it's smaller and cheaper but will do the job. It can also keep out the sharks.