On Mon, 20 Dec 2004 17:09:39 GMT, "Don White"
wrote:

Fine tune a 'man overboard' procedure and practice on a regular basis. Sit
back and let your wife be the capt conducting the drill. After all, if it's
you in the water, you'll want her to come back & get you.


That is another thing. Especially for couples. A life sling ready to
deploy. And yes, my wife had to use it and I was in the water.



Rodney Myrvaagnes NYC

Let's Put the XXX back in Xmas

http://www.landfallnav.com/abandoncheck.html
That's a good list for offshore navigation... you may not need that much
stuff, but it's a good checklist.

--


Keith
__
The hardness of the butter is inversely proportional to the softness of the
bread.
"Roger Long" wrote in message
...
Since we're all excited about the new boat right now, I'm thinking of
buying some safety gear for the wife and kids for Christmas. Knowing I'm
thinking about keeping them attached the boat should make her feel warm
and fuzzy.

I've been looking at the safety harnesses that have a built in CO2
lifejacket. Pricey, but they look comfortable to wear and you don't have
to worry about digging up a harness if things get hairy. I'd appreciate
some experience / or comments on these.

We're in Maine and most of our cruising will probably be to even colder
regions. The Mustang coats look great but are probably too warm for
summer. Growing kids (12 and 14) will go through them fast.

Safety perception is a funny thing. My wife is petrified to have me take
the kids up in my well maintained airplane in clear calm conditions but
sees no danger in boating at all. Now that I'm coming back to sailing
after learning to fly and think very proactively about safety and what can
go wrong, I can see about 100 more ways to hurt or lose a kid on the water
than in the air.

When I started to learn how to fly, everyone who had ever sailed with me
said that there was no way in hell that they would ever get in an airplane
with me. I turned out to be a very cautious and conservative pilot; even
became a contributor to "Aviation Safety" magazine. I think I'm going to
be a very different kind of sailor when we get the boat launched.

--
Roger Long

we do a lot of lake sailing and i travel out
to ca a lot...sailing in the bay area and san diego...
"Where do you sail in Colorado?"

"Roger Long" wrote:

I've been looking at the safety harnesses that have a built in CO2
lifejacket. Pricey, but they look comfortable to wear and you don't have to
worry about digging up a harness if things get hairy. I'd appreciate some
experience / or comments on these.

We always wear these when underway. We have the auto-inflate ones.
We didn't actually really believe that they would inflate, so one warm
day on the Chesapeake, we jumped overboard (the boat was anchored) to
see. Boy do these inflate fast. We periodically have them go off
without being submerged. The first time, Bob accused me of pulling
the manual inflate tab. So we always keep a couple of refill kits,
and a couple extra life jackets on board. We also keep enough for
various ages of grandkids.

Bob was concerned that I would not be able to pull him aboard because
even though I'm heavier than he is, I'm also weaker. He's worked out
a way to use the jib winches so that either of us can pull up the
other one.

We also keep the swim ladder deployed most of the time, even when at
the dock, as I was folding the sail getting ready to haul the boat for
the winter, and backed right off the end of the dock into the 50
degree water. The dock ladders had only one rung, and since it was a
lowish tide, it was way over my head.

I do not know how to deal with cold water, so I won't address that,
but an occupational health physician told me the 50 50 50 rule - 50
percent of people survive 50 minutes in 50 degree (F) water.

I refused to go offshore without an SSB. We have several VHF radios -
some installed, and some portable. I've come to the conclusion that
for sailors, the only really important news is the weather, and I like
to have as many different viewpoints on that as possible. If I was
going to be going offshore at all, I'd want to have one of us get our
ham license.

We have a dinghy on davits - I've not felt the need for a liferaft for
coastal cruising, which is what we do. If something happens to the
boat in the Chesapeake or the ICW, we can likely get into the dinghy
in time to save ourselves, or even in most cases swim to shore. YMMV

Bob has various tools and spares on board, and I've heard that crash
mats and plugs for big and small leaks are a good idea.

We're in Maine and most of our cruising will probably be to even colder
regions. The Mustang coats look great but are probably too warm for summer.
Growing kids (12 and 14) will go through them fast.

Safety perception is a funny thing. My wife is petrified to have me take the
kids up in my well maintained airplane in clear calm conditions but sees no
danger in boating at all. Now that I'm coming back to sailing after learning
to fly and think very proactively about safety and what can go wrong, I can
see about 100 more ways to hurt or lose a kid on the water than in the air.

When I started to learn how to fly, everyone who had ever sailed with me
said that there was no way in hell that they would ever get in an airplane
with me. I turned out to be a very cautious and conservative pilot; even
became a contributor to "Aviation Safety" magazine. I think I'm going to be
a very different kind of sailor when we get the boat launched.

grandma Rosalie

On Mon, 20 Dec 2004 16:16:11 GMT, "Roger Long"
wrote:

Since we're all excited about the new boat right now, I'm thinking of buying
some safety gear for the wife and kids for Christmas. Knowing I'm thinking
about keeping them attached the boat should make her feel warm and fuzzy.

I would run jacklines and put U bolts in the cockpit, at the mast and
the bow. Attach tethers to the bolts and jacklines, and leave them
there while sailing. Have some within reach of the companionway. If
you want the kids to tethered, the adults should be as well. Many
sailors have their own tethers which they keep attached to their
harness, I would rather have the tethers attached to the boat and use
that one that I need.

Put nettting on your lifelines.


I've been looking at the safety harnesses that have a built in CO2
lifejacket. Pricey, but they look comfortable to wear and you don't have to
worry about digging up a harness if things get hairy. I'd appreciate some
experience / or comments on these.

I wear one all the time. Consider adding a strobe light if you are
out at night. I found a nifty case that was designed to hold a
Maglite and Leatherman. It hangs off the belt of the harness.


We're in Maine and most of our cruising will probably be to even colder
regions. The Mustang coats look great but are probably too warm for summer.
Growing kids (12 and 14) will go through them fast.

I have a Mustand jacket I seldom wear. The seams are not water proof.
For cold weather, I suggest

- polypropylene underwear
- fleece
- good foul weather gear (breathable and waterproof)
- sea boots (with at least two sets of felt inserts)
- gloves ( I am still searching for something that can get wet and
stay warm.)
- watch cap (As a Canadian, I should call it a toque)
- avoid cotton and wool.

I wear fast drying hiking pants. They fit into my sea boots easily,
and they are comfortable under foul weather gear. They also take no
space in my bag.


Safety perception is a funny thing. My wife is petrified to have me take the
kids up in my well maintained airplane in clear calm conditions but sees no
danger in boating at all. Now that I'm coming back to sailing after learning
to fly and think very proactively about safety and what can go wrong, I can
see about 100 more ways to hurt or lose a kid on the water than in the air.

Everyone should learn and practise:
- upwind MOB
- downwind MOB
- Anderson turns
- Williamson turns

Both day and night.

The galley can be dangerous. Make sure everyone understands how to
use the stove properly.

You have to be somewhat anal about gear stowage.

Teach everyone the knots.

Make sure everyone knows where the safety gear is and how to use it.

You might consider hiring an instructor to come out for a couple days
to reinforce what you are saying about safety.

I am currently reviewing manuals and exams for one the organizations
for which I certify. I could go on but ......


Jack

__________________________________________________
Jack Dale
Swiftsure Sailing Academy
Director/ISPA and CYA Instructor
http://www.swiftsuresailing.com
__________________________________________________

On Mon, 20 Dec 2004 22:06:27 -0500, krj
wrote:



How often do you put fresh battries in your "crash box"?
krj

Once a year. I transfer the unused AA batteries from the box and they
get eaten quickly by the GPS and the mini-flashlight I have hanging in
the companionway. Or they go into the Grundig YachtBoy and die an
honourable death giving me the BBC World Service while I'm having late
night beverages in the cockpit.

The Cs go into my ship's clock and my kid's toys, and the big Ds go
into a boombox. I buy cheap alkalines at a surplus place and make sure
they have 1.6 volts DC before I put them in the crash box. If I use
the Zodiac a lot, I will run through the Ds as I have battery powered
nav lights in addition to this year's installation of a Harley AGM 12
volt battery to give me switchable running lights. Sometimes I like to
putt-putt in Lake Ontario under the stars and the Zodiac is better for
this than the sailboat. The running lights aren't legally required at
9,9 hp outboard size, but there's a lot of "party boat" traffic near
my club and it was an easy modification.

R.

Roger,
Well - you know th line about old-bold pilots Same - Same

About auto-inflate harnes lifejackets.

Get them for the family. Go someplace that has a real good collection
of a least Sospenders and Mustang. You may have to go to more than one
place. Try one everything you can find - have the family do the same -
DO NOT look at price tags. When you find what you like buy it. If it
is not comforatable, you may not want to wear it at some time. Also get
the re-arm kit to keep in something really watertight.

Get the cartridges weighed anually and before fit-out blow them up with
the little tube and let them sit for a day. I have had two cartridges
lose weight with no sign of distress.

My first one is now 17 seasons old but has recently been reassigned to
light duty because of visible "seabag" wear. Both my wife and I have
used ours (as distinct from wearing). OK - the first thought when you
hear it go off is "damn - there goes 20~30$"

We currently keep a full complement on board. They are always on over
foulweather gear and any time we are short handed or things are less
than wonderful (yes - most of the time.)

Wear them in health.

Matt Colie A.Sloop "Bonne Ide'e"
Lifelong Waterman, Licensed Mariner and Congenital Sailor





Roger Long wrote:

Since we're all excited about the new boat right now, I'm thinking of buying
some safety gear for the wife and kids for Christmas. Knowing I'm thinking
about keeping them attached the boat should make her feel warm and fuzzy.

I've been looking at the safety harnesses that have a built in CO2
lifejacket. Pricey, but they look comfortable to wear and you don't have to
worry about digging up a harness if things get hairy. I'd appreciate some
experience / or comments on these.

We're in Maine and most of our cruising will probably be to even colder
regions. The Mustang coats look great but are probably too warm for summer.
Growing kids (12 and 14) will go through them fast.

Safety perception is a funny thing. My wife is petrified to have me take the
kids up in my well maintained airplane in clear calm conditions but sees no
danger in boating at all. Now that I'm coming back to sailing after learning
to fly and think very proactively about safety and what can go wrong, I can
see about 100 more ways to hurt or lose a kid on the water than in the air.

When I started to learn how to fly, everyone who had ever sailed with me
said that there was no way in hell that they would ever get in an airplane
with me. I turned out to be a very cautious and conservative pilot; even
became a contributor to "Aviation Safety" magazine. I think I'm going to be
a very different kind of sailor when we get the boat launched.