Commercial MOB poles are ripffs price-wise, so I've decided to make one of my own. I came across the instructions below on the Web, and they look straightforward except for the reference to a wooden dowel and 2 thumb screw bolts. Can anyone tell me for what these three items are used? The website where I got the instructions did not respond. The instructions and parts list follow: Build your own Crew Overboard Pole (aka MOB pole) for less. As you may know; a crew overboard pole is used to mark the position of crew members that have been thrown from your boat ehther by accident or by force. In the course of wave action it can become difficult at best to locate a person in the water as they will typically be lower than the tops of waves. This pole once deployed, gives you or persons on your boat a easily seen reference point of where the now boatless crew member should be floating with a life jacket. The function of this pole is to stand taller than the tops of those waves enabelling you to return to their exact location. Parts List for Crew overboard marking pole: 1 x 10' ¾" PVC Pipe 2 x ¾" PVC caps 1 x ½" Wooden dowel apx 2' in length 2 x ¼" bolts w/thumb secrws 10 x 2oz lead egg sinkers 1 x section of reflective tape apx 2' in length 2 x Shrimp net floats
Building A Crew Overboard Pole
- Thread starter Mr Lucky16746
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I don't know either
I am not sure what the thumb screws are for either. I might add that a bright colored flag on top would help, and I think I am going to build one and put one of the little flashing lights like you clip to a life jacket on it.
I am not sure what the thumb screws are for either. I might add that a bright colored flag on top would help, and I think I am going to build one and put one of the little flashing lights like you clip to a life jacket on it.
Probably one above and one below the ballast
I don't see any need to cap the pipe. But a flag would be nice. Crab pot buoys should also serve. The ballast below the float must exceed the weight of the pipe above the float.
I don't see any need to cap the pipe. But a flag would be nice. Crab pot buoys should also serve. The ballast below the float must exceed the weight of the pipe above the float.
Got Rid of Mine
Two summers ago I spent some time on the water with a couple of people doing crew overboard drills. One of the things we found is that the pole took too long to deploy to be useful. Even though we knew we were going to be chucking it off the stern, it still took a good 10 seconds to get it overboard. If you have a GPS or chartplotter, you can mark the spot a look faster by hitting a button. (BTW, this is one of the first things everyone should learn about their GPS, in my view). In the meantime, instead of throwing a pole with low buoyancy, you could be throwing a Lifeline type device, a line in a bag, life ring or other object which could actually help the person in the water. My bet is that 95% or more of the MOB poles you see on the back of boats have never touched the water, and that the boat owner would have to think about how it was attached to the transom, taking the cap off the flag at the top, worry about getting tangled in the backstay and not falling overboard himself, before getting it into the water. Just my opinion, but has anyone out there actually ever used an MOB pole, seen one used, or practiced with their own?
Two summers ago I spent some time on the water with a couple of people doing crew overboard drills. One of the things we found is that the pole took too long to deploy to be useful. Even though we knew we were going to be chucking it off the stern, it still took a good 10 seconds to get it overboard. If you have a GPS or chartplotter, you can mark the spot a look faster by hitting a button. (BTW, this is one of the first things everyone should learn about their GPS, in my view). In the meantime, instead of throwing a pole with low buoyancy, you could be throwing a Lifeline type device, a line in a bag, life ring or other object which could actually help the person in the water. My bet is that 95% or more of the MOB poles you see on the back of boats have never touched the water, and that the boat owner would have to think about how it was attached to the transom, taking the cap off the flag at the top, worry about getting tangled in the backstay and not falling overboard himself, before getting it into the water. Just my opinion, but has anyone out there actually ever used an MOB pole, seen one used, or practiced with their own?
practiced with one
Hello, My old boat came with one. We practiced with it a few times. As mentioned, it is a bit of a pain to deploy. And man, when there is COB situation it seems like there is a lot to do in a very short time - deploy the COB pole, it the COB button on the chartplotter, throw floatation to the COB, stop the boat, etc. IMHO, the COB pole would help a little, but not a lot. The biggest pain it putting the pole back in the mount (mine was mounted on the stern pulpit and ran up the back stay. My new boat did not come with a COB and I do not plan on buying one. Barry
Hello, My old boat came with one. We practiced with it a few times. As mentioned, it is a bit of a pain to deploy. And man, when there is COB situation it seems like there is a lot to do in a very short time - deploy the COB pole, it the COB button on the chartplotter, throw floatation to the COB, stop the boat, etc. IMHO, the COB pole would help a little, but not a lot. The biggest pain it putting the pole back in the mount (mine was mounted on the stern pulpit and ran up the back stay. My new boat did not come with a COB and I do not plan on buying one. Barry
MOB Pole
The MOB is meant to be used when there are waves, so you can see it from the boat. You don't have to be very far from a person in the water for waves to hide that person from your view. That is why practice, practice, practice is very important.
The MOB is meant to be used when there are waves, so you can see it from the boat. You don't have to be very far from a person in the water for waves to hide that person from your view. That is why practice, practice, practice is very important.
Deployment
I would suggest that if your pole takes 10 seconds to deploy, then you should set it up differently. On my boat, it sits in a rather sturdy stainless fishing poll holder mounted on the ourside of the pushpit (something from West Marine). The flag tube is tied with a loose length of light line to a point up the backstay. If I'm at the wheel, I can reach the poll without moving, and lift it straight up and toss it. The flag cover will come off automatically. It doesn't take more than a second. Chris
I would suggest that if your pole takes 10 seconds to deploy, then you should set it up differently. On my boat, it sits in a rather sturdy stainless fishing poll holder mounted on the ourside of the pushpit (something from West Marine). The flag tube is tied with a loose length of light line to a point up the backstay. If I'm at the wheel, I can reach the poll without moving, and lift it straight up and toss it. The flag cover will come off automatically. It doesn't take more than a second. Chris
I agree with David
Some years ago I raced my sailboat extensively here in Puget Sound and in British Columbia (Swiftsure and the Strait of Georgia races). At that time (I suspect it still is a requirement) there were levels of gear manditory for racing in the different classes. I remember the MOB pole (now called the COB pole) was pretty much required for all classes of race boats. A member of my crew and I were inspecting what gear we had at that time and what we didn't have--the pole being a major need for my boat. Like Mr. Lucky has mentioned the poles are expensive and like many before us decided to build our own. My friend and I first selected a large 12 foot ocean casting blank pole--firberglass one. Then we jammed a cork up the pole and then added lead weights, finally capping the end. Then we added a foam float and put my protest flag at the top. Because we were young professors at the time, we had to do some testing of our creation. Down at the harbor we dump it in the water and it promptly leaned over. Okay, not enough weights. We added more weight and tried again. Now it was lower in the water--not what we had in mind. So a bigger float thing was needed. Finally, we had it standing up and looking good....except... if there was a modicum of breeze off a butterfly's wing, it would start to lean over. Must be too big a flag so we put ribbons on the top. It helped. Later on that week we went out with our new pole and tried it in Bellingham Bay with 10 to 15 knots of wind and some waves. Damn thing was happiest laying over at about forty five degrees. It convienced my crew that they would stay on board under any circumstances. Our next test was to try our pole against a borrowed commercial Forespar pole. I'll admit their pole stood up a bit better in light winds but in winds over twnety knots both poles were essentially useless. Now that we were in this testing mode, we also tested our blinking man overboard light (6 volt) that was tied to the pole. Let me put it this way, in our rainy gray days here in the pacific northwest, that light was also essentially useless although we didn't test it at night. At Easter time that year, the Strat of Georgia race out of West Van was held. I remember the weather predictions well, light airs and possibly no wind for the race. They were right about the start of the race on the wind but it kept building and sometime during the evening we had fifty-five knot winds; that is what they told us afterwards. The waves were twelve to twenty feet hight and when in the trough we couldn't see other boats around us but when we got to the top of the next wave all we saw was green and red lights. We eventually dropped out of the race due to seasickness of most of the crew and the skipper. We all agreed that the COB pole and light would have been of no use whatsoever. Later that summer we did some more "testing", particularly with the Lifesling (1). Those waves had really impressed us. This time I got into a wet suit and a PFD and fell "overboard". We had a lot of learnings that day. First, it was difficult for a crew member to keep me (COB) in sight. With any wave action, the person's head dissapears much of the time. Second, the Lifesling is great! Just drop it overboard (don't throw it) and then sail or power the boat around the COB, assuming you have a general idea of where that COB is. The line will get to them and the person can put the sling on and be pulled toward the boat. By the way, when you hit the water and the boat is leaving you, it sure looks smaller as it goes but when they turn around and come back for you that boat is amazingly big and it feels like they are going to run you over. Either way it is a scary thing being in the water. Throwing cushions would not have done much--I couldn't see them if they weren't close by. They too were too low in the water. What about the pole? We didn't even try that--the Lifesling was our practice device that day. Given our testing of the pole, flashing light, LIfesling and cushions with a COB in the water, here are my recommendations, however, please be advised that you ought to do your own testing of your gear. My first recommendation is based upon the fact that the COB can see the boat much better than the boat and crew can see the COB in the water. So I want a VHF waterproof radio on each PFD worn by crew memebers to advise the boat which way to turn (I'm behind on the starboard side, etc.). I also want a flashing stobe on each PFD. I haven't done full testing in the water but the latest strobes seem to be much brighter and even occasional blinks would be helpful. I also notice that West Marine is selling a two mile laser light to gain attention of the crew. I'd like to try this out someday. It might work. The VHF, the strobe and the laser light would help the boat locate you. I know, what if the COB is knocked out going overboard? I don't know; I don't have an answer for that one but I'm working on the assumption that that is a remote happening. For the cruising couple there is now a wireless man overboard safety system that alerts the crew that someone has gone overboard. I haven't tested it but it seems like something a couple might want to have. I don't want to disparage Forespar poles--they might work in some condidtions and it might make the crew feel safer. Howere I do have a Forespar motor hoist that we leave up permenantly for my outboard motor. But it didn't take my wife long to see that it could be used to haul up a COB (me) out of the water as well. That is why my wife and I wear PFD with harnesses now. As my crew has said after all this COB testing in cold northwest waters, DON'T GO OVERBOARD! I hope this helps a bit--at least think it through as to what you are going to do on your boat and does your crew know what to do if you are the COB. My best to all of you
Some years ago I raced my sailboat extensively here in Puget Sound and in British Columbia (Swiftsure and the Strait of Georgia races). At that time (I suspect it still is a requirement) there were levels of gear manditory for racing in the different classes. I remember the MOB pole (now called the COB pole) was pretty much required for all classes of race boats. A member of my crew and I were inspecting what gear we had at that time and what we didn't have--the pole being a major need for my boat. Like Mr. Lucky has mentioned the poles are expensive and like many before us decided to build our own. My friend and I first selected a large 12 foot ocean casting blank pole--firberglass one. Then we jammed a cork up the pole and then added lead weights, finally capping the end. Then we added a foam float and put my protest flag at the top. Because we were young professors at the time, we had to do some testing of our creation. Down at the harbor we dump it in the water and it promptly leaned over. Okay, not enough weights. We added more weight and tried again. Now it was lower in the water--not what we had in mind. So a bigger float thing was needed. Finally, we had it standing up and looking good....except... if there was a modicum of breeze off a butterfly's wing, it would start to lean over. Must be too big a flag so we put ribbons on the top. It helped. Later on that week we went out with our new pole and tried it in Bellingham Bay with 10 to 15 knots of wind and some waves. Damn thing was happiest laying over at about forty five degrees. It convienced my crew that they would stay on board under any circumstances. Our next test was to try our pole against a borrowed commercial Forespar pole. I'll admit their pole stood up a bit better in light winds but in winds over twnety knots both poles were essentially useless. Now that we were in this testing mode, we also tested our blinking man overboard light (6 volt) that was tied to the pole. Let me put it this way, in our rainy gray days here in the pacific northwest, that light was also essentially useless although we didn't test it at night. At Easter time that year, the Strat of Georgia race out of West Van was held. I remember the weather predictions well, light airs and possibly no wind for the race. They were right about the start of the race on the wind but it kept building and sometime during the evening we had fifty-five knot winds; that is what they told us afterwards. The waves were twelve to twenty feet hight and when in the trough we couldn't see other boats around us but when we got to the top of the next wave all we saw was green and red lights. We eventually dropped out of the race due to seasickness of most of the crew and the skipper. We all agreed that the COB pole and light would have been of no use whatsoever. Later that summer we did some more "testing", particularly with the Lifesling (1). Those waves had really impressed us. This time I got into a wet suit and a PFD and fell "overboard". We had a lot of learnings that day. First, it was difficult for a crew member to keep me (COB) in sight. With any wave action, the person's head dissapears much of the time. Second, the Lifesling is great! Just drop it overboard (don't throw it) and then sail or power the boat around the COB, assuming you have a general idea of where that COB is. The line will get to them and the person can put the sling on and be pulled toward the boat. By the way, when you hit the water and the boat is leaving you, it sure looks smaller as it goes but when they turn around and come back for you that boat is amazingly big and it feels like they are going to run you over. Either way it is a scary thing being in the water. Throwing cushions would not have done much--I couldn't see them if they weren't close by. They too were too low in the water. What about the pole? We didn't even try that--the Lifesling was our practice device that day. Given our testing of the pole, flashing light, LIfesling and cushions with a COB in the water, here are my recommendations, however, please be advised that you ought to do your own testing of your gear. My first recommendation is based upon the fact that the COB can see the boat much better than the boat and crew can see the COB in the water. So I want a VHF waterproof radio on each PFD worn by crew memebers to advise the boat which way to turn (I'm behind on the starboard side, etc.). I also want a flashing stobe on each PFD. I haven't done full testing in the water but the latest strobes seem to be much brighter and even occasional blinks would be helpful. I also notice that West Marine is selling a two mile laser light to gain attention of the crew. I'd like to try this out someday. It might work. The VHF, the strobe and the laser light would help the boat locate you. I know, what if the COB is knocked out going overboard? I don't know; I don't have an answer for that one but I'm working on the assumption that that is a remote happening. For the cruising couple there is now a wireless man overboard safety system that alerts the crew that someone has gone overboard. I haven't tested it but it seems like something a couple might want to have. I don't want to disparage Forespar poles--they might work in some condidtions and it might make the crew feel safer. Howere I do have a Forespar motor hoist that we leave up permenantly for my outboard motor. But it didn't take my wife long to see that it could be used to haul up a COB (me) out of the water as well. That is why my wife and I wear PFD with harnesses now. As my crew has said after all this COB testing in cold northwest waters, DON'T GO OVERBOARD! I hope this helps a bit--at least think it through as to what you are going to do on your boat and does your crew know what to do if you are the COB. My best to all of you
"Crew Overboard Pole" for your PFD
My sisinlaw has a rolled up orange tube in a little pouch attached to her PFD. If she overboards, she blows up the tube so it sticks up out of the water. I would have one myself except I lake sail so don't have the wave problem. She is a CG auxiliarist and I think she got the tube from the Coast Guard. Maybe some auxiliarist out there can tell us where to get one???
My sisinlaw has a rolled up orange tube in a little pouch attached to her PFD. If she overboards, she blows up the tube so it sticks up out of the water. I would have one myself except I lake sail so don't have the wave problem. She is a CG auxiliarist and I think she got the tube from the Coast Guard. Maybe some auxiliarist out there can tell us where to get one???
inflatable cob tubes
scuba shops usually sell them to help divers in the water be seen by the dive boat
scuba shops usually sell them to help divers in the water be seen by the dive boat
Lost a Diver Once
We were diving a few miles offshore and another boat had lost a diver. We and three other boats searched for over 2 hours before we found the diver. The waves were only 4-5'. We had decided to call in a helicopter when the diver was finally found. He was pretty rattled after about three hours in the water. He said that it wasn't too scarey over top of the reef but once he drifted over the big blue that he was scared. He had his speargun cocked and ready. The water was about 80 degrees and he was wearing a light wetsuit. I doubt a sailer could survive 3 hours in cold water. I know frompersonal experience that 80 degree water starts to feel real cold after an hour or so. With only one boat searching finding someone would be extremely difficult especially if the fell off without someone immediately noticeing their absense. The handheld radio sounds like a great idea. The diver said that he saw us several times and tried waving but couldn't get our attention. He didn't have a sausage but that would have been a big help if it was tall enough .
We were diving a few miles offshore and another boat had lost a diver. We and three other boats searched for over 2 hours before we found the diver. The waves were only 4-5'. We had decided to call in a helicopter when the diver was finally found. He was pretty rattled after about three hours in the water. He said that it wasn't too scarey over top of the reef but once he drifted over the big blue that he was scared. He had his speargun cocked and ready. The water was about 80 degrees and he was wearing a light wetsuit. I doubt a sailer could survive 3 hours in cold water. I know frompersonal experience that 80 degree water starts to feel real cold after an hour or so. With only one boat searching finding someone would be extremely difficult especially if the fell off without someone immediately noticeing their absense. The handheld radio sounds like a great idea. The diver said that he saw us several times and tried waving but couldn't get our attention. He didn't have a sausage but that would have been a big help if it was tall enough .
Lots of interesting ideas here
and thanks Les for the detailed description of your building and testing a COB pole. I bought the Lifesling last year even though we have a COB pole so I am glad to hear that you liked it. In terms of making one why not get a mooring pick up stick (for around $35 at defender) and start with that as the basic platform. You could put reflective tape on it and epoxy a flag (or ribbons) to the top. Add the SCUBA safety sausage and a submersible VHF and whatever else you want. Once it is to your liking you have the challenge of stowing it on deck near where it can be quickly deployed. The COB kits come with the mounting hardware and a sleeve for the flag on top which you could fabricate. I know that this is a required piece of equipment for some races but is a lot cheaper than a survival raft. Anyone have plans for a DIY life raft?
and thanks Les for the detailed description of your building and testing a COB pole. I bought the Lifesling last year even though we have a COB pole so I am glad to hear that you liked it. In terms of making one why not get a mooring pick up stick (for around $35 at defender) and start with that as the basic platform. You could put reflective tape on it and epoxy a flag (or ribbons) to the top. Add the SCUBA safety sausage and a submersible VHF and whatever else you want. Once it is to your liking you have the challenge of stowing it on deck near where it can be quickly deployed. The COB kits come with the mounting hardware and a sleeve for the flag on top which you could fabricate. I know that this is a required piece of equipment for some races but is a lot cheaper than a survival raft. Anyone have plans for a DIY life raft?
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