In the past, I tended to agree with the old view that towing a dink behind
the mothership was "lubberly," and ill-advised. I still tend to think that
way when a hard dink is involved, but recently purchased a 9 foot Genesis
(Walker Bay) inflatable. With this monster sitting, inflated and assembled,
in our dining room last evening, it suddenly occurred to me how much like a
very large PFD this dinghy is, which has me reconsidering my standard MOB
routine.

At this time my standing MOB Rule is that upon crew going aglub, the first
thing to do is to toss them a horseshoe with floating line attached, keeping
an eye on them (or trying to) while coming about for rescue attempts. Other
than retrieving "Oscar" in the Navy (for non-squids, "Oscar" is a stuffed
manakin made of sailor clothing wearing a PFD, used for Man Overboard
drills) and PFD's or rings tossed overboard, I've not had the misfortune (so
far) of having to actually rescue an actual person.

But this inflatable dink has me rethinking things. By towing the dink when
weather allows, if crew should go overboard the dinghy could be cut loose
immediately. This would provide conscious MOB with a boat to swim towards,
and give rescue crew another marker (though one with more windage) to help
with locating the missing crew. The floating line in the water would also
give the MOB something to grab, and its streaming direction would offer
clues as to the current and rate of drift, assuming it's not being trailed
behind a wind-driven dink.

And, of course, trailing a dinghy in the water in fair weather could become
a handful if the wind picks up.

Any thoughts?

--
Karin
Rawson 30 ketch "Escapade"
aka "Essie"

"KLC Lewis" wrote in message
...
In the past, I tended to agree with the old view that towing a dink behind
the mothership was "lubberly," and ill-advised. I still tend to think that
way when a hard dink is involved, but recently purchased a 9 foot Genesis
(Walker Bay) inflatable. With this monster sitting, inflated and
assembled, in our dining room last evening, it suddenly occurred to me how
much like a very large PFD this dinghy is, which has me reconsidering my
standard MOB routine.

At this time my standing MOB Rule is that upon crew going aglub, the first
thing to do is to toss them a horseshoe with floating line attached,
keeping an eye on them (or trying to) while coming about for rescue
attempts. Other than retrieving "Oscar" in the Navy (for non-squids,
"Oscar" is a stuffed manakin made of sailor clothing wearing a PFD, used
for Man Overboard drills) and PFD's or rings tossed overboard, I've not
had the misfortune (so far) of having to actually rescue an actual person.

But this inflatable dink has me rethinking things. By towing the dink when
weather allows, if crew should go overboard the dinghy could be cut loose
immediately. This would provide conscious MOB with a boat to swim towards,
and give rescue crew another marker (though one with more windage) to help
with locating the missing crew. The floating line in the water would also
give the MOB something to grab, and its streaming direction would offer
clues as to the current and rate of drift, assuming it's not being trailed
behind a wind-driven dink.

And, of course, trailing a dinghy in the water in fair weather could
become a handful if the wind picks up.

Any thoughts?


My initial thought is that the situations when someone goes aglub do not
usually lend themselves to having any useful help from an unattached dink.
The typical situation would be one of fairly high winds and seas, and losing
a dink in those conditions would disappear it almost immediately from the
area. A dink made of what you describe would be highly susceptible to being
wind-blown; thus, something with more windage would be a disadvantage. My
personal preference would be to throw multiple objects that float, which is
described as littering the water.

In addition, the generally accepted rule of preventing hypothermia is for
the MOB *not* to attempt to swim, as this uses up useful heat reserves in a
futile attempt to catch the boat. In practice, with a conscious person,
that's going to be ignored if the rescue boat is within a boat length or
less. If the person is conscious, I would talk to them as well as other crew
members, for one thing telling the MOB not to swim.

I certainly understand the tempting nature of using the dink, but I think
the deficit outweighs the advantage.

I'm fortunate that I've never experienced a true MOB emergency, but I've
been in the water on practice MOBs, and I've been aboard when others have
gone over deliberately. Well, I did push a woman into the water in the BVI
once, so I could get some recovery practice, but she didn't spill her drink,
so I don't think that counts. g

--
"j" ganz @@
www.sailnow.com

"Capt. JG" wrote in message
...

My initial thought is that the situations when someone goes aglub do not
usually lend themselves to having any useful help from an unattached dink.
The typical situation would be one of fairly high winds and seas, and
losing a dink in those conditions would disappear it almost immediately
from the area. A dink made of what you describe would be highly
susceptible to being wind-blown; thus, something with more windage would
be a disadvantage. My personal preference would be to throw multiple
objects that float, which is described as littering the water.

In addition, the generally accepted rule of preventing hypothermia is for
the MOB *not* to attempt to swim, as this uses up useful heat reserves in
a futile attempt to catch the boat. In practice, with a conscious person,
that's going to be ignored if the rescue boat is within a boat length or
less. If the person is conscious, I would talk to them as well as other
crew members, for one thing telling the MOB not to swim.

I certainly understand the tempting nature of using the dink, but I think
the deficit outweighs the advantage.

I'm fortunate that I've never experienced a true MOB emergency, but I've
been in the water on practice MOBs, and I've been aboard when others have
gone over deliberately. Well, I did push a woman into the water in the BVI
once, so I could get some recovery practice, but she didn't spill her
drink, so I don't think that counts. g

--
"j" ganz @@
www.sailnow.com


"J",

Valid thoughts, many of which were on my mind as well. Thanks for the reply!
:-)

"KLC Lewis" wrote in message
et...

"Capt. JG" wrote in message
...

My initial thought is that the situations when someone goes aglub do not
usually lend themselves to having any useful help from an unattached
dink. The typical situation would be one of fairly high winds and seas,
and losing a dink in those conditions would disappear it almost
immediately from the area. A dink made of what you describe would be
highly susceptible to being wind-blown; thus, something with more windage
would be a disadvantage. My personal preference would be to throw
multiple objects that float, which is described as littering the water.

In addition, the generally accepted rule of preventing hypothermia is for
the MOB *not* to attempt to swim, as this uses up useful heat reserves in
a futile attempt to catch the boat. In practice, with a conscious person,
that's going to be ignored if the rescue boat is within a boat length or
less. If the person is conscious, I would talk to them as well as other
crew members, for one thing telling the MOB not to swim.

I certainly understand the tempting nature of using the dink, but I think
the deficit outweighs the advantage.

I'm fortunate that I've never experienced a true MOB emergency, but I've
been in the water on practice MOBs, and I've been aboard when others have
gone over deliberately. Well, I did push a woman into the water in the
BVI once, so I could get some recovery practice, but she didn't spill her
drink, so I don't think that counts. g

"J",

Valid thoughts, many of which were on my mind as well. Thanks for the
reply! :-)



Unfortunately, retrieving a conscious MOB is a cake-walk compared to an
unconscious one. If you've never tried it, get a weighted dummy or sack with
rocks that's 150 - 200 lbs and try retrieving it while on a mooring or at
anchor (not at the dock, as that removes the motion of the boat due to
current/wind). It really takes some planning, especially if the person doing
the retrieving is smaller than the MOB.

Jonathan

--
"j" ganz @@
www.sailnow.com

You might want to think about rigging a drogue that deploys when you
release the dink as the boat may well drift faster than the MOB can
swim. Or, You might experiment with having a really long floating
painter that you can deploy so that it will circle the MOB when you do
a quick stop (like a life sling)...

Have fun,

-- Tom

My initial thought is that the situations when someone goes aglub do not
usually lend themselves to having any useful help from an unattached dink.
The typical situation would be one of fairly high winds and seas, and losing
a dink in those conditions would disappear it almost immediately from the
area. A dink made of what you describe would be highly susceptible to being
wind-blown; thus, something with more windage would be a disadvantage. My
personal preference would be to throw multiple objects that float, which is
described as littering the water.

So what if you attach a much longer line to the dink that is tied off short
as to keep it at a shorter interval and, using a quick release knot, allow it
to float much further behind the boat so as to give the MOB a line to grab
and a dink to crawl into if possible before throwing all sorts of floatation
overboard. Would this also provide a line that would encircle the MOB while
coming about making it easier to retrieve them, provided of course that you
come about on the correct side of the MOB with the line.

Bill

--
Message posted via BoatKB.com
http://www.boatkb.com/Uwe/Forums.aspx/cruising/200702/1

"scbafreak via BoatKB.com" u25927@uwe wrote in message
news:6db8eefcaef43@uwe...
My initial thought is that the situations when someone goes aglub do not
usually lend themselves to having any useful help from an unattached dink.
The typical situation would be one of fairly high winds and seas, and
losing
a dink in those conditions would disappear it almost immediately from the
area. A dink made of what you describe would be highly susceptible to
being
wind-blown; thus, something with more windage would be a disadvantage. My
personal preference would be to throw multiple objects that float, which
is
described as littering the water.

So what if you attach a much longer line to the dink that is tied off
short
as to keep it at a shorter interval and, using a quick release knot, allow
it
to float much further behind the boat so as to give the MOB a line to grab
and a dink to crawl into if possible before throwing all sorts of
floatation
overboard. Would this also provide a line that would encircle the MOB
while
coming about making it easier to retrieve them, provided of course that
you
come about on the correct side of the MOB with the line.

Bill

--
Message posted via BoatKB.com
http://www.boatkb.com/Uwe/Forums.aspx/cruising/200702/1



Interesting.. not sure if it would really make that much difference... might
make things worse. With the LifeSling, for example, you encircle the MOB
with the line, which eventually brings the attached horseshoe to the MOB. I
think the dink line might be too big and potentially harmful. Also, when you
get to the end, you have a fairly good size weight at the end, which might
be quite a smack.

I do think dinks should have lines running down the sides to facilitate
entry.

One thing to keep in mind is that everytime you add something to do, you in
some way take away from the actual recovery. The best approach is to stop
the boat next to the MOB, protecting them from the wind/waves. Then figure a
way to get them aboard.


--
"j" ganz @@
www.sailnow.com

wrote in message
oups.com...
You might want to think about rigging a drogue that deploys when you
release the dink as the boat may well drift faster than the MOB can
swim. Or, You might experiment with having a really long floating
painter that you can deploy so that it will circle the MOB when you do
a quick stop (like a life sling)...

Have fun,

-- Tom



It would be interesting to see what the tradeoff is between complexity and
usefulness. The previous COB workshop I believe showed that simpler tends to
be better.

--
"j" ganz @@
www.sailnow.com

wrote in message
oups.com...
You might want to think about rigging a drogue that deploys when you
release the dink as the boat may well drift faster than the MOB can
swim. Or, You might experiment with having a really long floating
painter that you can deploy so that it will circle the MOB when you do
a quick stop (like a life sling)...

Have fun,

-- Tom


I take it we're talking a REALLY long floating painter -- half a mile's
worth? :-)

"Capt. JG" wrote in message
...
wrote in message
oups.com...
You might want to think about rigging a drogue that deploys when you
release the dink as the boat may well drift faster than the MOB can
swim. Or, You might experiment with having a really long floating
painter that you can deploy so that it will circle the MOB when you do
a quick stop (like a life sling)...

Have fun,

-- Tom



It would be interesting to see what the tradeoff is between complexity and
usefulness. The previous COB workshop I believe showed that simpler tends
to be better.

--
"j" ganz @@
www.sailnow.com


I think I'm going to try a variation on one of the previously-mentioned
ideas: Short painter (three boat lengths, or 100 feet for good measure) but
additional MOB line (same polypropylene or other floating line) on a spool.
Quick release on the spool would allow the rest of the painter (as MOB line)
to pay out while the boat encircles the MOB. I think it's worth
experimenting with. The inflatable stays attached to the boat, as does the
line.