Matt/Meribeth Pedersen wrote:

The hardest part of MOB recovery, by far, is hoisting them out
of the water. There are far too many people who think about
how they are going to handle the boat to get close to the victim,
and then think they'll just haul them out of the water. Nuh uhh.
Way too hard, especially if the MOB is out of gas. I just heard
a story about a situation in Santa Cruz where the MOB was
recovered, just barely, by an outboard powered inflatabe with
12 inches of freeboard. Despite the MOB having one leg up
and in the boat and help from the boat driver, he was barely
able to get in.

While I believe hoists have their place, (our mainsheet can be moved to
the end of the boom and cranked in with the primaries, giving up to 60:1
purchase) I believe that making it easy to get from water level to deck
is an improvement that keeps on giving. Our transom mounted swim ladder
has three rungs in the water, making it easy for large, unathletic
guests to board. It can be dropped at a moment's notice and I discovered
that I could climb aboard even at 5+ knots (A couple of times, I cleared
crab pots without disengaging the autopilot and found myself suddenly
bodysurfing....)

--
Jere Lull
Xan-a-Deux ('73 Tanzer 28 #4 out of Tolchester, MD)
Xan's Pages: http://members.dca.net/jerelull/X-Main.html
Our BVI FAQs (290+ pics) http://homepage.mac.com/jerelull/BVI/