SAFETY Ideas?

[Gord May]

The interesting & informative tread on “clipping on & jack-lines” got me thinking about personal safety issues, particularly fall protection & prevention.I’ll bet there are a lot of good tips, tricks, pointers, and opinions out there. Anyone care to share some safety advice?Some random safety thoughts that come to my befuddled mind (no particular order):If it LOOKS like a handhold - it IS a handhold.Everything that could conceivably be used as a handhold must be built & fastened in a very robust manner, suitable for life-safety applicationsDODGER & BIMINI FRAMES should be fabricated of heavy-wall pipe (not lightweight Alum. tubing), and securely fastened (not #8 screws). These frames are a lifetime investment and are worth doing right (amortize the cost over 20 years?). Exterior handholds (on Dodgers) are very useful.TABLE & COUNTER FIDDLES are often used as finger grips, and should be as sturdy as aesthetics will allow. Hand-hold cutouts at corners are attractive and functional.MAST STEPS: I use a bosun’s chair & halyard to climb my mast. I’m not comfortable at height anymore, and feel more secure when standing on mast steps, so have installed 2 offset steps near the top. My wife, Maggie, is fearless, so she uses them more than I.OUTBOARD MOTOR KILL SWITCH & LANYARDS are important - use them. I was tossed out of my 13' Whaler on Exuma Sound, and might have been lost at sea, had I not been able to turn the tiller hard over (an the throttle down) on my way overboard. I was, undeservedly, fortunate that the dinghy circled round me, and I was able to catch it and re-board. I’ve re-connected the kill switch and always use the tether now! I don’t sit on an inverted milk-crate anymore, either. LIFEJACKETS: I’ll admit that I never took to wearing my lifejacket in the dinghy; but someday I may get what I deserve...INFLATABLE PFD’s c/w INTEGRAL HARNESS: These seem like a great compromise between comfort & safety (I’ve never used one). What do you think of yours? Automatic?Manual?Lets hear your ideas, especially the more obscure tricks you’ve seen or used.Regards,Gord

 

[steven f.]

short response

I'll start with the PFD's. We use manual PFD's with harness. The reason is simple, we had an automatic inflatable and it went off during an extended sail in driving rain/wind/spray. We now use the maunal and realize that if we go overboard and are unconscious than we accept that fate. Yeah, we do use the tether but mainly at night, severe weather or if alone in the cockpit. As for the kill switch, we have them but like most others we are not religioius about using it even though we should be.... Mast climbing? We (I) use a Mast Mate and am quite happy with it. It has it's draw backs but few systems are flawless. This one works for me. Given a choice I'd have a big self-tailing wench for the halyards, a college football player/sailor manning it while he hauls my carcass up the mast in a cushy reclining bosun's chair. Hell, I'd probably spend the day up there if I had all that. Our thoughts on boating are fairly simple, we choose to be out there, be it good or bad weather. We also accept the responsibility for whatever happens to us. We like the fact that the USCG is around but also know they are busy and very short handed. If we die out there than it was OUR decision to be there thus it is our responsibility to take care of ourselves.

 

[David Foster]

Really Like the Harness/Inflatable PFD's

Until the Admiral is comfortable with the MOB drill, I will clip on at all times. Both of us like the inflatable PFD, especially in the hot weather when a jacket can be quite warm.All crew and guests wear PFD's when out of the cabin underway or in a dinghy, regardless of the weather.DavidLady Lillie

 

[Jim Wolfgram]

safety thoughts.

We use inflatible PFD's as well. For myself it's an automatic with buit in harness and manual back up. For others, we have manuals. We have made our boat a PFD required boat. I think some of our guests consider it overkill, but we don't leave the dock with out them on.Going aloft, I use a different technique. I'm more comfortable self propelling up the mast. I use a climbing harness and a couple of ascenders. I then easily climb a halyard to what I want to work on. I also have another halyard attached to the harness and routed through a clutch to a winch as a back up. Coming down is a fun little rapple.This boat (C320 #385) is fairly new to us. I haven't put jacklines on yet, does anyone have good ideas on where to neatly set them up.

 

[RonD]

Safety thoughts

PFDs are useful *only* if you are wearing them when you go overboard. I have inflatables for everyone & insist everyone topside wears them when under way. We have a mix of manual & auto-inflation -- generally assign the auto models to non-swimmers. We also carry a supply of real offshore type I vests to use if we must abandon ship.Inflatables require periodic inspection & maintenance, too. I open them up and manually inflate every one prior to boating season. They remain inflated for at least 24 hours to ensure there aren't any slow leaks. The bottle & inflation pull mechanism is carefully checked, too. On auto models, a new bobbin is installed annually. During the season, periodically inspect them for signs of wear or damage.The ladder -- up or down, face the stern and hold onto the hand-holds. No exceptions. I was crew on a schooner some years ago, on a rainy night passage up to Maine, and rushed down the ladder facing forward. My feet slipped and I landed on my back on the ladder steps -- very painful!! The only thing saving me from serious injury was that I managed to grab the hatch cover as I went down.Have a set of emergency procedures and (a) brief the crew/passengers every time you go out, and (b) periodically practice them (e.g., a MOB drill). Have a block & tackle set up to be able to haul in a 200lb inert, wet object -- know where & how you'll rig that block & tackle in order to use it (I have a boom bail and use a carabiner on one of the blocks). Know where the fire extinguishers are & how to use them. Inspect them regularly & rotate/shake the dry chem types to reduce clumping.Nobody goes forward of the cockpit without the permission of the helmsman. That alerts the helm of something else to watch out for. All movement forward/aft along the windward side. "One hand for the boat."Propane is dangerous stuff when misused. Make sure the valve at the bottle is turned off when not in use -- don't rely on just an electric shutoff valve controlled from the galley.Make sure everyone knows where the through-hulls are located and how to shut them off. Carry a mallet, a sharp knife (to cut hose), and set of wooden plugs that are immediately accessible to plug a leaker.Keep the bilge clean. Especially, around the bilge pump pickup hose. Test it regularly (and the backup hand pump). Have a bucket to bale if necessary.....I'm sure I can come up with many more, but time is limited. Safety is an attitude that must be working 24/7 -- Prevention, Preparedness, and Execution. That attitude starts and ends with the Captain. --RonD

 

[RonD]

Jim -- Jacklines

I've pondered that question, too. My guess for now is from the forestay attachment point back to the stern cleats on each side. That allows the jacklines to be clear of the jib sheet tracks, furling line, etc. My only concern with using the stern cleats is that if you go overboard, you'll zip down the line to be towed astern unless you keep the tether short -- no longer than 6ft. --RonD

 

[Dave]

Ron - PFD Inflation test

When I manually inflate our PFD's and let them set for 24 hours they loose some of there firmness over the 24 hours. I have done under water leak testing and found no bubbles. I wondered if you experienced the same thing. ThanksDaves/v DAMWEGAS

 

[RonD]

Might be inflation tube

The seal on the inflation tube might be the source of a very slow leak. If, after 24 hours, the PFD is still fully inflated (albeit a bit soft) that shouldn't be cause of too much concern. BTW: If you are in the water that long without rescue, your chances of survival are slim. Hypothermia will get to you by then in most U.S. waters -- up here in New England, it's a matter of around 3 hours in the summer before you are in serious jeopardy.

 

[Clyde]

Safety Sausage

When drift diving, sometimes you can drift out of sight of the drift boat if there is any kind of waves. To aid in making yourself visible to the driver on the drift boat, drift divers carry a "Safety Sausage" clipped to their dive belt. The inflatable Safety Sausage is a six foot or longer colored tube inflated by C02 cartridge or manually blown up. You can get them from most diving shops or online. This is a great item to clip to your PFD harness while sailing, along with a whistle and strobe light for signaling.Fair Winds,Clyde

 

[Bill O'Donovan]

Well-dressed terrorist

I use a jackline and tether while wearing a full lifejacket. I've rigged a portable IPRB onto the front of the PFD, complete with whistle. I look like someone wearing a car bomb, so I'm careful to avoid sailing too close to the Navy's Yorktown Naval Weapons Station.

 

[Gord May]

Bill O'D...

I hope you've also got a Strobe Light, Knife, and lots of reflective tape - gotta be prepared, as the scouts say.Gord