Crew over board how to find them ?

[Lou254]

I have this idea I would like some feed back on. I think sailors and divers would be the best people to give evaluations . If a product was on the market that was a part of your self inflatable life vest . it would have an extra gas canister with helium. This would inflate a durable sausage shaped balloon. The balloons teather would also function as a vhf antenna. This would move your signal into a much higher line of sight. The closest thing I know of is a life that comes in a life raft. The kite needs at least 10 knots of wind and a life raft as a launch platform. Over 30 knots the kite will not work and I do not think the Balloon will stay off the surface. Even if it is on the surface it would greatly increase the size of the crew overboard. A person's head in the water is only a small ball. The balloon would also be a high visability color. The human face is not . Ok that is the basics. It would be nice to have a pattent and a company behind me. I do not have this but this idea is to important if it can save a life for me to sit on it. Kind Regards, Lou

[jeremiason]

You mean like this one:

https://www.google.com/patents/US20040123793

[StuM]

Or this one:

https://www.google.com/patents/US5326297

[Lou254]

Thanks to both of you. Now this will lead to my next question. Are they so ineffective as not to be of value? A quick scan of your post shows this idea has been around a long time and could have been the real deal even in the 1950s . I would think service men might find use for this signaling device. All I could find available to purchase was a kite to use with a life raft. I have not seen any in a catolag. To my knowledge you will not find this on line at the major marine online sources. Is it just a bad idea? Has a balloon ever been involved in a rescue ? On land or sea ? Agian thanks for the great post. Lou

[JPA Cate]

Lou: Personal Locator Beacons is how this is going, nowadays. I did notice a laser signalling light for sale that claims 22 mi visibility, nice at night.

Ann

[Dave22q]

I rigged my throw-able preserver with a 6' dowel weighted at one end end with a pennant. Raising the sight line 4-5' makes a major difference in locating the man in the water. The attachment costs next to nothing and is easy to stow.

[a64pilot]

PLB will signal the rescue coordination center, help will come, may take some time though.
unfortunately it will not signal the boat, an AIS MOB device will signal the boat, but not the RCC. Of course boat must be AIS equipped

This is one of those things I have thought long about, I have decided an AIS MOB device, and a VHF handheld that has an automatic white strobe when it gets wet, theory is you know where they are, and can re-assure them your coming, and they may help guide you in

I have worried about this after reading about a couple on a home built Cat. She was on watch, he woke up late, obviously thinking she let him sleep in, gets up and never finds her.

[davewtsnape]

I would have thought that in any appreciable wind a balloon would be knocked down and just sit on the surface? Can't hurt to have something extra to see though.

[zeehag]

tether in to avoid this need.
guys--donot pee overboard even in flat seas without tether.
happy sails

[phydeaux]

An old school MOB pole will work very well, and cost less for the recreational sailor and coastal skipper. The pole's pennant is very visible, and the light/strobe you attach to the pole can be seen for miles in flat water. The attached horseshoe can easily be rigged to deploy when you drop the pole, or the horseshoe can deploy the pole and light. Check out:

Man Overboard Poles & Accessories

[a64pilot]

MOB pole only works if there is someone else on deck and sees you go over, they of course then throw the pole.
Not always the case with couples cruising, I wanted something that would wake me up if she went overboard when I was asleep.
The MOB thing is a tough nut to crack, there is no one size fits all answer, throw enough junk on your harness and you less likely to wear the thing.

[a64pilot]

This is an article about the incident I spoke of, it scared me, cause if it could happen to them with all that experience, then it certainly could happen to us with little experience.

Carly Hill lost overboard – Yacht Mollymawk

[Stumble]

The 'best' answer ignoring cost right now is a plb/AIS transponder (soon to hit the market) combined with a ship board AIS system. As I understand it the AIS MOB beacons transmit a special MOB code that takes priority over other signals, and ship side AIS systems can be programmed to sound alarms any time it recieves a MOB signal.

I would need a deep dive into operation manuals before confirming this is correct though.

[Lou254]

Originally Posted by Dave22q

I rigged my throw-able preserver with a 6' dowel weighted at one end end with a pennant. Raising the sight line 4-5' makes a major difference in locating the man in the water. The attachment costs next to nothing and is easy to stow.

Yes the line of sight is very important. I will try to be brief. 30 plus years ago I was a teen water skiing in Lake Erie. We were close to 2 miles out ? Flat and calm we had beautiful teen girl with us. I was all out an Could ski no longer and could not get the attention of the driver or spotter. They had eyes on each other. I went from side to side climbed the rope until I was at the down portion of the prop wash. I was yelling but the engine was able to muffel out my voice. I let my self back down and hung on with aching arms. I then made the most aggressive move I could to have the rope pop as I let go sinking into the lake. The boat keep on going out of my sight. After a little bit a freighter went by I could not hear the engine. I could not see the rails or windows. It went out of sight. On occasion I would see a boat near to shore zipping along but I could not hear the motors or make out if it was a fish or ski boat, just boats . It was such a nice day and from where I was quite and peaceful. It was early maybe 9:00 9:30 I decided. If I started swimming I might get in by dark. Life vest on and ski I decided to push was not making good progress . A fishing boat was coming closer this was close enough that I thought they might see me I could make out a person on board but it keep going out of sight . Finally a larger off shore yacht with twin v 8s was coming my way. Will this one run me down I thought. They do not see me . No it was not going right over me but it was close maybe three ski ropes away. A football field I could see everyone. It went out of my sight. I got a little upset how could they leave me to swim? One more stupid boat came in view on my horizon I gave it no attention it was some crazed idiot going back and fourth. I keep swimming. I took a rest and noticed the crazy boat was closer my boat looking for me it was getting closer. By now they must see me . I raised the ski a few feet the boat was zipping back and forth . No No your going the wrong way please spot me! Finally I was found. The boat was on the way to me. It blew the horn. I was helped on the hot sun was not really warm enough. It was late summer and It felt like winter. I was not aware of how cold I was until I was out of the water It was half a tank of gas gone from a 120 hp onboard outboard. That was tragic for a teen. Gas was above 50 cents. All in all it is a good memories. It has caused me to think about crew overboard. Last summer we lost a hat sailing. My new guest crew's hat. I encouraged him to point at it while I brought the boat around but the hat was lost. I can't say if it was a floating or sinking hat. Anyway these experiences and others keeps me thinking about crew overboard. I know The best thought is to stay on Board at all cost. Stay until you half to step up. Kind Regards ,Lou

[Dave_S]

Originally Posted by Lou254

I have this idea I would like some feed back on. I think sailors and divers would be the best people to give evaluations . If a product was on the market that was a part of your self inflatable life vest . it would have an extra gas canister with helium. This would inflate a durable sausage shaped balloon. The balloons teather would also function as a vhf antenna. This would move your signal into a much higher line of sight. The closest thing I know of is a life that comes in a life raft. The kite needs at least 10 knots of wind and a life raft as a launch platform. Over 30 knots the kite will not work and I do not think the Balloon will stay off the surface. Even if it is on the surface it would greatly increase the size of the crew overboard. A person's head in the water is only a small ball. The balloon would also be a high visability color. The human face is not . Ok that is the basics. It would be nice to have a pattent and a company behind me. I do not have this but this idea is to important if it can save a life for me to sit on it. Kind Regards, Lou

Just a tip on patents.

If you come up with a cunning plan, don't post it on the internet or tell anyone. If you disclose your idea, you can't then patent it.