MOB System Heads Up

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Rick486

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Oct 1, 2007
1,865
Boston Whaler Super Sport Pt. Judith
Hi all:
Well, I had a very unpleasant surprise today that I thought you might benefit from, particularly if you have one of the packaged, throw-able life rings on your stern rail. I will not mention the brand name as I believe there are multiple companies supplying these devices. Also, my issue was in no way the fault of the supplier.
I have owned two of these systems on different boats over about 20 years. Fortunately, I was never in an emergency requiring deployment of the system. The container on my present system had deteriorated over 12 years so that it was an eyesore. I discovered that I could purchase a new container without the entire system, and did so. Today I planned to swap the flotation device from the old to the new container. What a surprise! The flotation device was firmly stuck in the container and I was unable to pull it out. I finally simply cut the old container apart and rescued the flotation. Had this been an emergency on the water I could never have deployed the device! It had never occurred to me over all these years that the system needed maintenance in order to remain serviceable in an emergency. I'll bet the instructions said so, but I never looked.
So from now on I will maintain the system in the spring, and in mid season. The maintenance will simply consist of pulling the flotation up and out of the container to ensure that it is not frozen in. I will also lubricate the flotation with a bit of dry lubricant.
A word to the wise......
Rick
 
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Scott T-Bird

Scott T-Bird

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Oct 26, 2008
6,220
Catalina 320 Barnegat, NJ
Also be aware that polypropylene rope can degrade pretty drastically when exposed to UV light. Be careful how it is exposed and inspect it carefully and frequently! I had one assembly where the rope went very bad and would have been useless before I realized it and threw it away.
 
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D

dlochner

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Jan 11, 2014
12,439
Sabre 362 113 Fair Haven, NY
Scott T-Bird said:
Also be aware that polypropylene rope can degrade pretty drastically when exposed to UV light. Be careful how it is exposed and inspect it carefully and frequently! I had one assembly where the rope went very bad and would have been useless before I realized it and threw it away.
Click to expand
A couple of years ago I replaced the cheap poly line with ⅜" floating dinghy tow line. A much more substantial line.
 
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jon hansen

jon hansen

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May 25, 2012
4,338
john alden caravelle 42 sturgeon bay, wis
i use a M.O.M. gets serviced and certified every two years.
have not had to ever used. thankfully. hope to never have to deploy
 
Parsons

Parsons

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Jul 12, 2011
1,165
Leopard 40 Jupiter, Florida
When we bought our latest boat several years ago, the Admiral and I spent an overcast afternoon exploring, including going through all the safety stuff and laying it out. When we got back to the throwable / attached PFD on the stern rail, and laid it out on the dock, we were shocked to find that the bitter-end was not attached to anything on the boat, but just laid in the bottom of the bag. I guess the PO didn't read the instructions, and thankfully never had a reason to deploy the thing for the 20 years they owned the boat! Anyhow, we throw it out every so often to make sure we know how long the line is, and how to do a skiing turn - good practice.
 
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Justin_NSA

Justin_NSA

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Jul 7, 2004
8,472
Hunter 30T Cheney, KS
Rick486 said:
Great tip. Very good PS article, and right on.
Click to expand
I enjoy their articles. I had a subscription when I used to own a Mac but I dropped it. It had a lot of content I didn't need for my basic boat. After we got the Hunter, I resubscribed. I can relate more more now with the articles.
 
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JamesG161

JamesG161

SBO Weather and Forecasting Forum Jim & John
Feb 14, 2014
7,728
Hunter 430 Waveland, MS
Justin_NSA said:
I had a subscription[To Practical Sailers] when I used to own a Mac but I dropped it. It had a lot of content I didn't need for my basic boat.
Click to expand
:plus::plus:

Thus the best site for Practical Sailers Owners is... [drum roll]

Sailboat Owners Forums

We have many Practical people, plus some Jokers, that could write many Articles too.;)

Tips and Tricks!
Jim...
 
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D

dlochner

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Jan 11, 2014
12,439
Sabre 362 113 Fair Haven, NY
Things you don't want to think when someone is in the drink:

"Gee, guess I should have had that M.O.M. serviced."

"How was I supposed to know that polypropylene line degrades in UV? Sorry honey."

"Tell me why we didn't buy that life raft again?"

:facepalm:
 
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thinwater

thinwater

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Mar 26, 2011
3,634
Corsair F-24 MK I Deale, MD
The lesson is that EVERY piece of safety equipment on the boat needs to be inspected, tested, and trained with.
  • How many of you have ever hoisted a person aboard using a Lifesling? (That is me in the above photo, being hoisted by my much-smaller daughter)?
  • Do you pull it out annually? The Lifesling line on my new-to-me F-24 was tangled, the sling was in the sleeve upside down, and the line was not attached to the boat).
  • Does the crew understand that it is not throwable, but rather that it is towed to the victim?
And the same is true of every other system. For example, most MOB buttons must be held down for 5-10 seconds before they work. This is to prevent false alarms, but during a resent Clipper MOB, the crew didn't know and the spot was not marked (fortunately they maintained eye contact).

Can they put a PFD on in the water, in waves?

If there are immersion suits, have they trained with them? Not just in writing, becasue something may be stowed incorrectly.

Know how you gear works by TESTING and TRAINING.
 
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L

LloydB

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Jan 15, 2006
907
Macgregor 22 Silverton
"i use a M.O.M. gets serviced and certified every two years.
have not had to ever used. thankfully. hope to never have to deploy "
is there a rule against using full words the first time an acronym is used in a thread ? NM
 
D

dlochner

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Jan 11, 2014
12,439
Sabre 362 113 Fair Haven, NY
LloydB said:
"i use a M.O.M. gets serviced and certified every two years.
have not had to ever used. thankfully. hope to never have to deploy "
is there a rule against using full words the first time an acronym is used in a thread ? NM
Click to expand
M.O.M = Man Overboard Module which is a brand name for a specific man-overboard-module manufactured and sold by Switlik.
 
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jon hansen

jon hansen

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May 25, 2012
4,338
john alden caravelle 42 sturgeon bay, wis

Switlik - Man Overboard Modules (MOM)

Be prepare. Mount the MOM 8 or CORD on your sailboat's siderails, and store the small Techfloat anywhere.
www.switlik.com www.switlik.com

i just googled M.O.M. sailboat and this popped up

safety first.

i have the M.O.M. 8-a. i qualifies for offshore racing.
1611963241747.png



right on the unit, it's called a M.O.M.
 
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LloydB

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Jan 15, 2006
907
Macgregor 22 Silverton
Well I tried M.O.M. with 'brand 'boat 'lifesaver 'safety & 'service never did "sailboat" but got creeped out at service and decided to come back and complain. What do they use on power boats?
 
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