In forty years of sailing and not being a-feard of rejection (asking lots of questions) I have amassed volumes of, if not orthodox, surely practical knowledge of general seamanship. An acknowledgement of the many people who have shared their vast experience and wisdom is in order here. I am just the messanger and handing down good solid stuff. For Bluewater: 1) Carry an EPIRB 406 preferred. 2)Keep wooden thru-hull plugs in the bail-out bag (in case a valve pops in the liferaft, inflatable or lose your drain-plug. You can still keep extras attached to your thru-hulls, never stash emergency equipment in a drawer. 3) Keep a headlamp (climbers type, from REI) on sundown to sun-up, Yes SLEEP with it on. I cannot sleep without one on whilst underway nowadays, after some of my experiences.Awoke to 'BANG' ankle deep water, no power. 4)Keep:EPIRB, H.H. VHF, GPS with spare batteries in a white-water river bag in the bail-out kit. You can call the USCG and give your position. 5) The liferaft - inflatable should be the LAST choice, never leave the vessel, there are a million ways to stop a leak, rags, plywood, splashzone, sails, mattresses, but be prepared for a worst-case-scenerio and never count on having power, one of the first functions lost in an emergency. 6) Hard FRP bottomed infltable are nearly worthless in an emergency, keep a light-weight one ready to throw overboard in thirty seconds. Leave the heavy wooden floorboards out, but keep the pump & patch kit in the bail-out bag. Reef early, use a preventer, harnesses, never pee nor vomit overboard. Keep a 'sense of danger'. If you set your mind that, "I go overboard - I am dead" you will never, short of the yacht doing a 360, go overboard.
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Ron, About #6,
What's wrong with a RIB on davits? Ready to go with only knife cuts to the tackle. You can't pick these up off of the foredeck. Is that what you were referring to? But then too, they'll float off. Either way they're readily available to crawl up and into. And another advantage is that you can keep your 25hp Yamaha mounted there ready to go.
Are you seeing where I'm going with this? Oh, another advantage of a RIB on davits is it's a great place to store gasoline. Our capacity was 13 gallons. That gave a range of over 150 miles at 30 knots. Great for coastal, or fleeing pirates, or chasing down rescue ships. (it's hard for a ship to miss a boat running circles around it and shooting flairs. In the air, not at the bridge) Sure beats sitting in a raft. Of course in most parts of the world now, your option #1 makes a raft not so bad, (406 epirb) but pirates are still not signatories to that treaty.
What's wrong with a RIB on davits? Ready to go with only knife cuts to the tackle. You can't pick these up off of the foredeck. Is that what you were referring to? But then too, they'll float off. Either way they're readily available to crawl up and into. And another advantage is that you can keep your 25hp Yamaha mounted there ready to go.
Are you seeing where I'm going with this? Oh, another advantage of a RIB on davits is it's a great place to store gasoline. Our capacity was 13 gallons. That gave a range of over 150 miles at 30 knots. Great for coastal, or fleeing pirates, or chasing down rescue ships. (it's hard for a ship to miss a boat running circles around it and shooting flairs. In the air, not at the bridge) Sure beats sitting in a raft. Of course in most parts of the world now, your option #1 makes a raft not so bad, (406 epirb) but pirates are still not signatories to that treaty.
This is not PEEculiar
I agree with the not peeing overboard idea, however im not sure if i spelled it correctly. Way too many vowels, but anyway.... I have read in several different articles that 90% of all fisherman found drowned had their zipper open. One time offshore on the rigs, a body floated by and we called the Coast Guard. One of the first things they asked was about his zipper. He was floating face down, and we werent about to swim over and find out. Coast Guard eventually retrieved the body and we never did find out.
I agree with the not peeing overboard idea, however im not sure if i spelled it correctly. Way too many vowels, but anyway.... I have read in several different articles that 90% of all fisherman found drowned had their zipper open. One time offshore on the rigs, a body floated by and we called the Coast Guard. One of the first things they asked was about his zipper. He was floating face down, and we werent about to swim over and find out. Coast Guard eventually retrieved the body and we never did find out.
Pee bottle...
While backpacking I always carry a properly marked plastic fluid tight water bottle to pee in rather than crawling out of the tent on a cold night. Our boat has the same device rather than hanging over the life lines. They make them to fit the female anatomy, too. Terry
While backpacking I always carry a properly marked plastic fluid tight water bottle to pee in rather than crawling out of the tent on a cold night. Our boat has the same device rather than hanging over the life lines. They make them to fit the female anatomy, too. Terry
Peeing on a ketch or yawl
It would take many whole books to dent the subject of offshore wisdom. We pee off the rail when we can. Since its impossible to unbag the necessary equipment for this when in foul weather gear, its more of a south-of-the-gulfstream thing. Mizzen rigging makes an ideal brace, the tether is always worn on deck here, and two people out of eight are on watch. The alernative is often going below, which aggrevates seasickness, in the rank confines of a shut-up cabin, stepping on sleeping crewmates, and dealing with a head. Dealing with a head: Take foul weather gear tops off, open door. One tack, its hard to shut the door, on the other its hard to hold it open. Once you get in, place your seaboots against the door jamb and your head against the hull or whatever. Peel suspenders and pants down, open valves and hope water stays low enough not to leave bowl. Estimate course of gravity while all points of reference, pitch and heel change violently. Clean head, shut valves and emerge from closet in full sweat. Don jacket and resume watch. On a small boat, you will probably live for days in your foul weather gear, so get really good breathable stuff. The West Marine Explorer stuff is terrific. Use jacklines, stay tethered when on deck. Do not plan to use the vee berths for sleeping, especially in the Gulfstream. One of the hardest things is to keep the batteries charged daily while not depleting fuel. Unless you are ready to do the Pardee low-tech strategy, battery maintenance is one of the MOST important aspects.... radio, lights, engine starting, bilge pumps, etc hinge on it. Um, just too much stuff to mention here.
It would take many whole books to dent the subject of offshore wisdom. We pee off the rail when we can. Since its impossible to unbag the necessary equipment for this when in foul weather gear, its more of a south-of-the-gulfstream thing. Mizzen rigging makes an ideal brace, the tether is always worn on deck here, and two people out of eight are on watch. The alernative is often going below, which aggrevates seasickness, in the rank confines of a shut-up cabin, stepping on sleeping crewmates, and dealing with a head. Dealing with a head: Take foul weather gear tops off, open door. One tack, its hard to shut the door, on the other its hard to hold it open. Once you get in, place your seaboots against the door jamb and your head against the hull or whatever. Peel suspenders and pants down, open valves and hope water stays low enough not to leave bowl. Estimate course of gravity while all points of reference, pitch and heel change violently. Clean head, shut valves and emerge from closet in full sweat. Don jacket and resume watch. On a small boat, you will probably live for days in your foul weather gear, so get really good breathable stuff. The West Marine Explorer stuff is terrific. Use jacklines, stay tethered when on deck. Do not plan to use the vee berths for sleeping, especially in the Gulfstream. One of the hardest things is to keep the batteries charged daily while not depleting fuel. Unless you are ready to do the Pardee low-tech strategy, battery maintenance is one of the MOST important aspects.... radio, lights, engine starting, bilge pumps, etc hinge on it. Um, just too much stuff to mention here.
Peeing, Plan B:
Sit to do it instead of standing and hoping that a gust won't destroy your aim. (I know owners who insist on all crew sitting and havea rule: if you stand and you miss the bowl, you clean the head.) Wait to open the valves till you're ready to flush. Why risk having to deal with with an overflowing bowl by opening 'em before you use the head? If you need water in the bowl ahead of use, put it in with cup.
Sit to do it instead of standing and hoping that a gust won't destroy your aim. (I know owners who insist on all crew sitting and havea rule: if you stand and you miss the bowl, you clean the head.) Wait to open the valves till you're ready to flush. Why risk having to deal with with an overflowing bowl by opening 'em before you use the head? If you need water in the bowl ahead of use, put it in with cup.
RIBS, ROBBERS,
Fred, Your logic on pirates and making lanfall whence the mother-ship goes down is hard to argue against. I actually own a glass bottomed Australian surf-boat. Many trawlers have a 15' glass bottomed RIB in davits like you mentioned, and on a delivery, I will bring a light-weight inflatable with me to protect my crew, my crew come before the boat or me for that matter. 1) If you get hit at night bad enough to take you down, you willnot be able to work that power-remote fast enough to save. 2) I once knew a Frenchman who worked on the Calyspso, he talked about launching their submersible. They could not launch it in more than a six foot sea! The lines would cause it to pendulem into the ship.This is the effect that these davit devices have. Ever try to launch one at sea? Sure, I agree, they are great at anchor or in a marina, in clam water, they were designed for that, not heavy seas, which is likley what you will be in. When cruising I was armed, .22 and a 25mm flare gun, but like my Canadian friend, Hugh Brown from Victoria (now in N.Z. or Tonga) said, "what's the point, you will always be out gunned". OUr best defense is a flotilla, witnesses, stealth, and avoiding known areas. John your overconfidence scares me, I have seen racing crew pretty scared, they believe they can handle anything, but they cannot, there is just too much against you out there. You pee in a bucket or throw up on the cockpit sole. Better to stink up the boat than have a death I say. I am to be sixty soon, and if I can help one person by listing the knowledge and facts as I KNOW THEM TO BE TRUE, well then, that will be re-payment to folks that have helped me, including some famous people. More to come.
Fred, Your logic on pirates and making lanfall whence the mother-ship goes down is hard to argue against. I actually own a glass bottomed Australian surf-boat. Many trawlers have a 15' glass bottomed RIB in davits like you mentioned, and on a delivery, I will bring a light-weight inflatable with me to protect my crew, my crew come before the boat or me for that matter. 1) If you get hit at night bad enough to take you down, you willnot be able to work that power-remote fast enough to save. 2) I once knew a Frenchman who worked on the Calyspso, he talked about launching their submersible. They could not launch it in more than a six foot sea! The lines would cause it to pendulem into the ship.This is the effect that these davit devices have. Ever try to launch one at sea? Sure, I agree, they are great at anchor or in a marina, in clam water, they were designed for that, not heavy seas, which is likley what you will be in. When cruising I was armed, .22 and a 25mm flare gun, but like my Canadian friend, Hugh Brown from Victoria (now in N.Z. or Tonga) said, "what's the point, you will always be out gunned". OUr best defense is a flotilla, witnesses, stealth, and avoiding known areas. John your overconfidence scares me, I have seen racing crew pretty scared, they believe they can handle anything, but they cannot, there is just too much against you out there. You pee in a bucket or throw up on the cockpit sole. Better to stink up the boat than have a death I say. I am to be sixty soon, and if I can help one person by listing the knowledge and facts as I KNOW THEM TO BE TRUE, well then, that will be re-payment to folks that have helped me, including some famous people. More to come.
Peggys Pee Rule...;-)
Dear Peggy, Good on ya mate, as the Auzzies say. This was Joshua Slocum's rule too, always sit to pee!
Dear Peggy, Good on ya mate, as the Auzzies say. This was Joshua Slocum's rule too, always sit to pee!
common sense
most are found with their zippers down because not only are they peeing over the side, but are drunk as a scunk too because that's what makes people pee a lot...and not have good judgement or good physical abilities. I pee off the transom a lot but I always have my arm wrapped around a pole and it's not bad weather. Now in cases where it is bad weather, I would mostlikely pee from the cockpit out the open transom and then wash it off with the water hose right there at my foot but so far I've been lucky enough to not be in bad conditions...only 25 knots and 6' waves so far. I do agree though that is makes total sense to sit down at the head. I try to make myself do that but sometimes I'm lazy and I almost always regret it. Know what would make a little sense for those on watch alone in rough conditions....peeing into a funnel that led overboard but the funnel end was attached to one of those wind up strings like I use for my employee badge. Never have to leave the helm. Just pull it down from the bimini rail, pee in it, wash it down with a little water, let it go and it goes back to it's position up high and out of the way and makes sure each last drop goes overboard.
most are found with their zippers down because not only are they peeing over the side, but are drunk as a scunk too because that's what makes people pee a lot...and not have good judgement or good physical abilities. I pee off the transom a lot but I always have my arm wrapped around a pole and it's not bad weather. Now in cases where it is bad weather, I would mostlikely pee from the cockpit out the open transom and then wash it off with the water hose right there at my foot but so far I've been lucky enough to not be in bad conditions...only 25 knots and 6' waves so far. I do agree though that is makes total sense to sit down at the head. I try to make myself do that but sometimes I'm lazy and I almost always regret it. Know what would make a little sense for those on watch alone in rough conditions....peeing into a funnel that led overboard but the funnel end was attached to one of those wind up strings like I use for my employee badge. Never have to leave the helm. Just pull it down from the bimini rail, pee in it, wash it down with a little water, let it go and it goes back to it's position up high and out of the way and makes sure each last drop goes overboard.
Tossing cookies, fine art of,,,
You don't really have a lot of choices about where you are when it happens; so far we've been very lucky to confine barfing to the head, the galley trashcan and the deck. In a small crew, the real danger is that if one person is incapacitated for awhile, it can exhaust the remaining persons. So far our experience is that you hurl and then feel great soon after. As for the head, I may not be talented enough to get bibs down around my seaboots and turn around in a tiny dark space inclined too far. Did you know some women's foul weather gear has a trapdoor? I confess I didn't.
You don't really have a lot of choices about where you are when it happens; so far we've been very lucky to confine barfing to the head, the galley trashcan and the deck. In a small crew, the real danger is that if one person is incapacitated for awhile, it can exhaust the remaining persons. So far our experience is that you hurl and then feel great soon after. As for the head, I may not be talented enough to get bibs down around my seaboots and turn around in a tiny dark space inclined too far. Did you know some women's foul weather gear has a trapdoor? I confess I didn't.
More cookie tossing info
My experience on a pilothouse sloop in very bad conditions led me to a discovery of great personal significance. After all of the loose books, charts, newspapers, miscellaneous food and other items had worked their way underfoot, I discovered that the initial effort to secure these items was doomed to failure. I found that whenever I transferred the lat/lon data from the GPS to the chart, I would get sick. The skipper and owner of the boat refused to get out of his bunk to do anything except go to the head. I would have to go on deck to take care of lines and down below to control the autopilot because there was no access to the control from the upper helm. I found that after tossing my cookies a few times and then retching while I cleaned it up off the miscellaneous items strewing the decks below, it became apparent that I would not be able to keep that up for the next few days. My ultimate solution to the problem was to keep a few ziplock sandwich bags handy for containing that production. No muss, no fuss, no cleanup required. I confess that I threw them over the side when they were full. So arrest me...
My experience on a pilothouse sloop in very bad conditions led me to a discovery of great personal significance. After all of the loose books, charts, newspapers, miscellaneous food and other items had worked their way underfoot, I discovered that the initial effort to secure these items was doomed to failure. I found that whenever I transferred the lat/lon data from the GPS to the chart, I would get sick. The skipper and owner of the boat refused to get out of his bunk to do anything except go to the head. I would have to go on deck to take care of lines and down below to control the autopilot because there was no access to the control from the upper helm. I found that after tossing my cookies a few times and then retching while I cleaned it up off the miscellaneous items strewing the decks below, it became apparent that I would not be able to keep that up for the next few days. My ultimate solution to the problem was to keep a few ziplock sandwich bags handy for containing that production. No muss, no fuss, no cleanup required. I confess that I threw them over the side when they were full. So arrest me...
peeing?
I have a empty liquid laundry soap container in each head, and one spare. They have a wide mouth on them, one size fits all, perfect for peeing. While on watch, I have one in the cockpit and use that. Much easier to kneel there and be safe then hang over the side, even in calm conditions. As for night lights, I found a small flashlight that lasts for hours on two AA batteries. I Attach it to my zipper on my all weather coat. Perfect, I can turn it on and forget about it, and always have light on the floor, or in the room, while I do what I have to that requires light. I've heard many people use headlamps, and I tried it, but like the coat attachment better. As for guns: I go with an AK47. You can buy ammo anywhere in the world. Ever read Gurilla (or gorilla) Marketing? Great book. explains why number one is number one. So if every terrorist in the world is using AK's, am I going to argue with them and carry something else?
I have a empty liquid laundry soap container in each head, and one spare. They have a wide mouth on them, one size fits all, perfect for peeing. While on watch, I have one in the cockpit and use that. Much easier to kneel there and be safe then hang over the side, even in calm conditions. As for night lights, I found a small flashlight that lasts for hours on two AA batteries. I Attach it to my zipper on my all weather coat. Perfect, I can turn it on and forget about it, and always have light on the floor, or in the room, while I do what I have to that requires light. I've heard many people use headlamps, and I tried it, but like the coat attachment better. As for guns: I go with an AK47. You can buy ammo anywhere in the world. Ever read Gurilla (or gorilla) Marketing? Great book. explains why number one is number one. So if every terrorist in the world is using AK's, am I going to argue with them and carry something else?
Franklin !!!!!
I confess: when in calm weather i will pee over the side or stern with one arm wrapped around the stay. In rough weather, i just pee on the cockpit floor then rinse with a one gallon bucket i keep handy for just this reason. Now for Franklins Invention: Funnel, strings? If all went wrong, it would give the word "hung" a whole new meaning.
I confess: when in calm weather i will pee over the side or stern with one arm wrapped around the stay. In rough weather, i just pee on the cockpit floor then rinse with a one gallon bucket i keep handy for just this reason. Now for Franklins Invention: Funnel, strings? If all went wrong, it would give the word "hung" a whole new meaning.
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