Mob Rules

In the past, I tended to agree with the old view that towing a dink behind
the mothership was "lubberly," and ill-advised. I still tend to think that
way when a hard dink is involved, but recently purchased a 9 foot Genesis
(Walker Bay) inflatable. With this monster sitting, inflated and assembled,
in our dining room last evening, it suddenly occurred to me how much like a
very large PFD this dinghy is, which has me reconsidering my standard MOB
routine.

At this time my standing MOB Rule is that upon crew going aglub, the first
thing to do is to toss them a horseshoe with floating line attached, keeping
an eye on them (or trying to) while coming about for rescue attempts. Other
than retrieving "Oscar" in the Navy (for non-squids, "Oscar" is a stuffed
manakin made of sailor clothing wearing a PFD, used for Man Overboard
drills) and PFD's or rings tossed overboard, I've not had the misfortune (so
far) of having to actually rescue an actual person.

But this inflatable dink has me rethinking things. By towing the dink when
weather allows, if crew should go overboard the dinghy could be cut loose
immediately. This would provide conscious MOB with a boat to swim towards,
and give rescue crew another marker (though one with more windage) to help
with locating the missing crew. The floating line in the water would also
give the MOB something to grab, and its streaming direction would offer
clues as to the current and rate of drift, assuming it's not being trailed
behind a wind-driven dink.

And, of course, trailing a dinghy in the water in fair weather could become
a handful if the wind picks up.

Any thoughts?

--
Karin
Rawson 30 ketch "Escapade"
aka "Essie"

You might want to think about rigging a drogue that deploys when you
release the dink as the boat may well drift faster than the MOB can
swim. Or, You might experiment with having a really long floating
painter that you can deploy so that it will circle the MOB when you do
a quick stop (like a life sling)...

Have fun,

-- Tom

<tsmwebb@> wrote in message
news:1171330595.806018.201970@p10g2000cwp. o...
> You might want to think about rigging a drogue that deploys when you
> release the dink as the boat may well drift faster than the MOB can
> swim. Or, You might experiment with having a really long floating
> painter that you can deploy so that it will circle the MOB when you do
> a quick stop (like a life sling)...
>
> Have fun,
>
> -- Tom
>

I take it we're talking a REALLY long floating painter -- half a mile's
worth? :-)

On Mon, 12 Feb 2007 18:13:42 -0600, KLC Lewis wrote:

> In the past, I tended to agree with the old view that towing a dink behind
> the mothership was "lubberly," and ill-advised. I still tend to think that
> way when a hard dink is involved, but recently purchased a 9 foot Genesis
> (Walker Bay) inflatable. With this monster sitting, inflated and assembled,
> in our dining room last evening, it suddenly occurred to me how much like a
> very large PFD this dinghy is, which has me reconsidering my standard MOB
> routine.

No thoughts, but a couple Stories:

First, many single-handers will trail a floating line behind them in case
they fall overboard. One guy I knew was trailing iirc 100ft of line when
he fell in. Swimming as fast as he could, he JUST made it to the end of
the line. Now he tows 200 ft... (in open conditions, of course! In a
crowded waterway that line is guaranteed to foul in someone's prop...)

Second, I was running "chaseboat" for some canoeists paddling across the
Strait, and when changing crews we decided to use an inflatable: we'd
trail the inf. back to the canoe, they'd roll into it, we'd pull it up,
and they'd get into Far Cove. Worked OK until the wind came up... One
paddler swore her handprint was imbedded in the stern of Far Cove when she
was fending it off while trying to board, and the whole procedure was
abandoned when a gust of wind picked the dinghy up and dropped it
upside-down on top of the canoe. (we just didn't worry about scratched
gelcoat and got everybody off the canoe at that point)

And that was just 20-25knots in Georgia Strait!

druid

Capt. JG wrote:


> Ladders on the stern are not a good way to recover someone, due to wave/boat
> slam. The boat is a lot more stable on the beam, with less chance of getting
> hit by the boat, the prop, etc.
>
>>B. A ladder's best, next best is a dinghy/liferaft in the water.
>
>
> Nope. Totally disagree off the stern. Off the beam, perhaps, but watch out
> for hand/foot damage from the space between the ladder and the boat.

Capt Sir,

Due respect, but I have boarded the stern of a
dive boat in the open Pacific (8' swells) with a
60lb pack on my back, and holding my dive fins in
one hand.

You are correct that you have to be very careful
not to get bonked on the head. Still, in cold
water if you will get the stern of that boat close
to me and the ladder down, I'll take my chances
instead of waiting for you to rig something else.

(Also, on our Irwin it would be very difficult to
hit someone with the prop unless they were
completely under the boat.)

Of course, the OP is right. You should consider
that falling off the boat is like falling off of a
1000' cliff and treat it with the same respect.

Don W.

"Capt. JG" <jganz@sailnow.invalid> wrote in message
news:12t6j8tg2jtt80e@corp.supernews.com...
> "News f2s" <nomail@jimb.f2s.com> wrote in message
> news:equqei$6p2$1@news.freedom2surf.net...

(lots of good comments snipped, review thread if needed)

My thought with the inflatable in the water, assuming the MOB is able to get
into it, is that it gets them safely out of the water before the mothership
can get itself properly positioned for recovery (inflatable still tethered
to m.s.). In the inflatable, they can regain composure and calm down a bit
(if possible after the big splash). Bringing the m.s. abeam the inflatable,
the MOB is protected from the hard surface of the m.s.'s hull, and they can
"stand on the water," as it were, making recovery easier. In theory, but I
think a theory that is worth consideration. Most people can't levitate
themselves to water level, so having that "step up" advantage could be very
useful.

Capt. JG wrote:

> We don't train people in every possible technique for crew recovery. We do
> train them in the techniques we feel are likely to be useful in the
> conditions at hand. It's kind of like the joking that goes on when there's
> no wind on a warm day at slack, while we're at anchor for lunch. I ask
> students what they would do if someone fell off right now... what technique
> would you use to get them back in the boat. I typically get all sorts of
> answers... use the halyards, break out the Lifesling... you name it. I say
> no to all of it... I tell them to tell the MOB to get back in the damn boat.
> <g>
>

:)

Don Wo