Crab,
North Sea crews are regularly decending below MSA in IMC on rig radar approaches, using radars less capable than the ones fitted to SAR machines. And it's legal.
I remember speaking to someone who was dettached from Navy SAR to RAF SAR and like you say, his eyes were opened. He couldn't believe how difficult the RAF made SAR for themselves.
NRDK,
"8 piece mixy blob on the doorstep" didn't you thrash me that way once (or many times) before
