A subcommittee of the National Boating Safety Advisory Council says the average cost of a Coast Guard search-and-rescue mission when a GPS signal gives the location of the victim is $150,000. That figure jumps to $240,000 without GPS.

Here is a sampling of the hourly costs of operating Coast Guard rescue vessels and aircraft in one 2009 Florida SAR mission.

Platform.........................Hourly cost

41-foot utility boat......... $873

110-foot cutter.............. $1,147

210-foot cutter.............. $1,914

HU-25 jet..................... $5,731

Jayhawk helicopter..... $6,530

C-130 aircraft .............$7,648

See related articles:

- Electronics 2013

- A resolution to require emergency locator beacons

- The push to mandate locator beacons offshore

February 2013 issue