I have developed a device for practicing day or night time crew overboard
recovery drills. Details may be found at www.cobtarget.com

Stupid Idea.

It has a flag (Crew members don't have flags on their heads)
A crews head is much lower in the water and much much harder to see. ( so
should the target )
Crew members don't have handles on the top of their heads (neither should
the target.)

Why do MOB training if its done with training wheels on? All this object
appears to do is "over-assist" the skipper and crew in locating and
retrieving the MOB. It does not represent anything near a live situation.
Better to go back to the trusty old lifejacket for a more realistic,
low-to-water object.

If the crew members head is not disappearing behind wavelets it is not a
real situation. This Object removes that real life hindrance.

Retrieval of the crew member in the simulated simulation should be as
difficult as in real life. The handle again takes away another real life
situation.

Over priced and over rated in my opinion
The only use I see for it is as a poor mans DanBouy.

DP


"Matthew Carmel" wrote in message
...
I have developed a device for practicing day or night time crew overboard
recovery drills. Details may be found at www.cobtarget.com

I agree, for practice, but it seems that it could be helpfull in a real
situation, if you didnt have to screw it down, if it were a orientation
trigger, like the EPIRBs so all youd have to do is pick it up and toss
it and the light came on... (but, of course, it isnt)

"StarWindSurfer" wrote in message
ps.com...
I agree, for practice, but it seems that it could be helpfull in a real
situation, if you didnt have to screw it down, if it were a orientation
trigger, like the EPIRBs so all youd have to do is pick it up and toss
it and the light came on... (but, of course, it isnt)


Yeh.. then its most likely too flimsy to last on deck for the long periods
required for something like that. It kind of reminds me of the Sailing boat
Clothes Line. At first glance it appears a good idea. Then the more and more
you think about it, it becomes rediculous. Boat shows are full of whacky
things like this every year. Its surprising how few make it..

DP

d parker wrote:

Stupid Idea.

It has a flag (Crew members don't have flags on their heads)
A crews head is much lower in the water and much much harder to see. ( so
should the target )
Crew members don't have handles on the top of their heads (neither should
the target.)

Why do MOB training if its done with training wheels on? All this object
appears to do is "over-assist" the skipper and crew in locating and
retrieving the MOB. It does not represent anything near a live situation.
Better to go back to the trusty old lifejacket for a more realistic,
low-to-water object.

If the crew members head is not disappearing behind wavelets it is not a
real situation. This Object removes that real life hindrance.

Retrieval of the crew member in the simulated simulation should be as
difficult as in real life. The handle again takes away another real life
situation.

Over priced and over rated in my opinion
The only use I see for it is as a poor mans DanBouy.

DP


"Matthew Carmel" wrote in message
...

I have developed a device for practicing day or night time crew overboard
recovery drills. Details may be found at www.cobtarget.com


While nothing beats the real thing, learning how the boat reacts
when the skipper dissapears, or even if he is only supposed to
dissapear is always a good thing.

It's always the skipper who goes "missing" in a MOB drill, if the
skipper hopes to be rescued at all.

If the target is easier to retrieve, that part of the excercise need
not be included when training for the navigational challenge of
finding the MOB.

Further, and especially at night, a flashing beacon at least offers
a rendezvous point toward which the MOB and the rescue vessel might
both make some progress. If the MOB is discovered late, the beacon
will at least indicate some relative position from which to start a
grid or circular search. One would hope the beacon could be
expected to drift in the same way as the MOB.

Rescue of MOB may be divided into several phases. There is nothing
wrong with practicing the various skills piecemeal, then combining
them for the ultimate test, ie. man on lifeline goes overboard to
encircle chilled victim with harness for lifting using available tackle.

No such practice, or device prompting such practice should be
discounted out of hand.

If I was purchasing possibly disposable LEDs for MOB training, I
would offer each crew person a small pocket lamp they could use to
attract rescuers, if they were concious. I say pocket because they
might not wear a life jacket which should have such a lamp also, if
they successfully refused a harness and tether. The gift could
engage some one in a discussion which could save their lives, or mine.

Dollar store key ring lights might be ideal insurance.

One impromteau MOB drill prompted by an accidental loss of a
floatable hat was aborted when we finally found the drifting hat,
now near rocks, and in such a manner might this device be
reconsidered disposable.

Finding the gray hat amid whitecaps in daylight was an excercise in
itself, as we could not see it until we calculated a position from
where to look, a procedure involving shouting, pointing, noting
compass bearing, wind, and currents, and a DR return to area
(without GPS) after dropping sails, as designated rescuer was better
able to manouver on engine than under sail. The hat drifted half a
mile, more than would a real MOB. I thought it a miracle that we
located it at all.

Skipper stood aside, mute, entertained, eventually apprehensive,
finally relieved, threatened, and then, resurrected, authoritative
in pronouncing the hat lost, abandoned. Mutiny threatened, and a
"whip round" was decreed to replaced the hat and quell the
rebellion. The MOB would likely have walked home, had he survived to
that point.

"It's your hat, you shouldn't have lost it. Why weren't you wearing
the chinstrap? Buy a new one. No, we're not launching the gig
(deflated) to go after it. Why aren't you wearing your lifejacket?
It's your life."

Skipper wore neither lifejacket nor tether, a point not raised at
that time. Conditions were relatively benign.

Terry K

On Tue, 29 Nov 2005 23:30:58 -0500, "Matthew Carmel"
wrote:

I have developed a device for practicing day or night time crew overboard
recovery drills. Details may be found at www.cobtarget.com



We tie a heavy bucket under a fender and lob that in. The fender
floats and the bucket stops it drifting with the wind. Its as low in
the water as a crew's head, but you can get hold of it with a boat
hook - pretty much like a person really!

Simple and made from gear you probably already have on the boat. Why
carry and pay for extra stuff you don't really need?

Another fun exercise is to get a volunteer diver with a wet suit or
dry suit to jump overboard (have a rib standing by just in case)
pretend they are unconscious and then practice getting them back onto
the boat without their assistance. Very sobering.