How Do Couples Cruisers Fall Off Boats?

[thinwater]

Originally Posted by a64pilot

If you do the trailing line thing make sure it’s a floating line and long.
I’m not abdicating it, I used to rig on when we were diving, it’s real common for a diver to get current swept from the boat and a line makes it a whole lot easier to get back. Now we are taking about a half kt or so of current.

Without being flippant, the floating line obviously has to stop the boat. Do any of you have a system you have actually tested? I've never heard of such a system being tested, so for the sake of discussion, it does not exist.


In fact, I have tested one such system. Kinna fun. In fact, it could be looked at as a couples solution, since it stops the boat without a sailor aboard. Before you bash it...
a) I did this just to provoke thought.
b) It actually did work every time.
c)Yes, staying on board is better. Let's not start that again.






Sail Delmarva: I Just Want the Boat to STOP!!

[StuM]

Originally Posted by a64pilot

If you do the trailing line thing make sure it’s a floating line and long.
I’m not abdicating it, I used to rig on when we were diving, it’s real common for a diver to get current swept from the boat and a line makes it a whole lot easier to get back. Now we are taking about a half kt or so of current.

Advocating?


7 knots is 3.6 m/s. Can you grab the line within 10 seconds of going overboard? If so, you'll be 36m (120ft) behind the boat!

[Cpt Pat]

Originally Posted by a64pilot

I believe this is not an uncommon opinion of professionals in dangerous occupations, especially if older and no family.
I have a good friend that delivers aircraft over the North Atlantic, well actually world wide, but the North Atlantic is particularly troublesome.
He absolutely will not wear the required survival suit, his belief is that it only turns minutes of suffering into hours of suffering. He says he will do everything possible to get the engine going again but as he passes thru 100’, he’s pushing the nose down.

I believe it, you have to know John, he is one tough old guy, and like I said has one or another girlfriend, but no family that he has to take care of, and I think that makes a lot of difference.

If you fall in and decide you'd prefer to die fast: you can always take off the flotation gear. I'm willing to bet most people wouldn't. Hypothermia is preferable to drowning. (Although in shark territory - it's a toss up.) As long as it's not an encumbrance, you may as well wear the PFD gear. I'm a pilot too, and I suspect the chief objection is the gear's interference with flight operations. There's not a lot of room in a typical cockpit. Pilots sometimes take off their shoulder strap for the same reason (and the FAA rules permit that). That's why the shoulder strap isn't sewn to the seat belt.

[a64pilot]

Originally Posted by StuM

Advocating?


7 knots is 3.6 m/s. Can you grab the line within 10 seconds of going overboard? If so, you'll be 36m (120ft) behind the boat!

Yes, IPad spells for me.
But yes, hence the need of a long rope
I don’t think the rope thing is a good answer myself, I guess maybe if you could get to the rope and your better half threw the helm over, you May could hold on long enough, if you just turn our boat into the wind, she pretty much stops.
However I’d assume if the rope isn’t first high vis and floating it’s not likely your getting to a rope underwater?

Ideal I guess would be for the rope to cause the autopilot to throw the helm over and hold it, I haven’t tired to see what would happen, but would suspect she isn’t making way well with the rudder held hard over. I’d suspect she would end up in Irons?

No our plan is heavily weighted on first not going overboard and if you do then the AIS SART.
Hoisting the life sling with the spare halyard is not hard and of course brings you aboard at the mast.
We don’t do cold water, ever, and don’t plan too.

[skipperpete]

Originally Posted by taxwizz

I have heard that an extremely large percentage of men go overboard with their fly open.
And that is how the bodies are found.
Seriously.

Some years ago that happened on our marina hardstand, in the early morning the guy was found at the stern on the concrete with a broken neck and just as you described. Alcohol was definitely involved. He had actually done it before at another marina but the water broke his fall on that occasion.

[Cpt Pat]

Originally Posted by skipperpete

Some years ago that happened on our marina hardstand, in the early morning the guy was found at the stern on the concrete with a broken neck and just as you described. Alcohol was definitely involved. He had actually done it before at another marina but the water broke his fall on that occasion.

I've found 500 ml juice bottles work well. I "fill" it inside the cabin, and then (3 nm or more offshore) empty it overboard. No danger of falling, and no need to sit or display superhuman balancing skills in the head. The bottles are intended to contain acidic fluids, and the mouth of the bottle is sized right for me (but I'm Irish, so...).

[hpeer]

Originally Posted by Cpt Pat

I've found 500 ml juice bottles work well. I "fill" it inside the cabin, and then (3 nm or more offshore) empty it overboard. No danger of falling, and no need to sit or display superhuman balancing skills in the head. The bottles are intended to contain acidic fluids, and the mouth of the bottle is sized right for me (but I'm Irish, so...).

I’ve taken to doing the same, makes a damn sight more sense than standing at the rail.

[wingssail]

Originally Posted by Cpt Pat

I've found 500 ml juice bottles work well. I "fill" it inside the cabin, and then (3 nm or more offshore) empty it overboard. No danger of falling, and no need to sit or display superhuman balancing skills in the head. The bottles are intended to contain acidic fluids, and the mouth of the bottle is sized right for me (but I'm Irish, so...).

Boy, I'll bet it is a joy to visit your yacht, with a few sixpacks of urine sitting around the cabin, and sweet smelling too, then after emptying them overboard, do you wash out the bottles in the sink?

Why don't you use the head?

[hpeer]

For myself I use the bottle if I’m stuck in the cockpit for some reason. I use a dingy bailer and pitch it overboard.

[cyan]

Originally Posted by thinwater

Without being flippant, the floating line obviously has to stop the boat. Do any of you have a system you have actually tested? I've never heard of such a system being tested, so for the sake of discussion, it does not exist.


In fact, I have tested one such system. Kinna fun. In fact, it could be looked at as a couples solution, since it stops the boat without a sailor aboard. Before you bash it...
a) I did this just to provoke thought.
b) It actually did work every time.
c)Yes, staying on board is better. Let's not start that again.






Sail Delmarva: I Just Want the Boat to STOP!!

Now that is brilliant.
The scary part is how fast you are out of sight behind the boat after going over.
Testing is key- thanks for the link.

[Cpt Pat]

Originally Posted by wingssail

Boy, I'll bet it is a joy to visit your yacht, with a few sixpacks of urine sitting around the cabin, and sweet smelling too, then after emptying them overboard, do you wash out the bottles in the sink?

Why don't you use the head?

I believe I explained why the bottle is superior to the head. Why does anyone pee over the side when they have a head?

• Safety -- not having to relinquish the watch when on deck.
• And convenience.

I assume you don't have ocean swells where you sail, so you aren't familiar with the complexities of peeing in a head at sea on a surging, swaying, rolling, pitching, yawing, heaving boat. Yes, you can do it "lady style" (which is proper practice for men at sea) but you have to undo half your garments to accomplish that.

And you can use the bottle on deck -- you just don't have to walk right up to the toe rail and tempt Poseidon to yank you overboard (the on-topic subject here).

The bottle is just as superior seamanship. And I don't get my shoes wet - which sounds a lot grosser to me that having pee in a sealed bottle for the ten seconds I need to toss the contents overboard where ever it's legal to do that.

The bottles seal air tight very well, even after serveral uses. Just put the lid back on.

No need to wash them out. I'm not dainty about it. But if you wish, there's usually plenty of water around.

But to each his own. You do it your way (but not on my boat - I hate swabbing the head).

[model 10]

Originally Posted by taxwizz

I have heard that an extremely large percentage of men go overboard with their fly open.
And that is how the bodies are found.
Seriously.

I don't know about that, I find my fly down all the time. Might as well not have one these days.

[CassidyNZ]

I once mused about a system that may assist in MOB situations.

Imagine an electronic device that a crew person wears that communicates with the auto pilot and gets logged onto a network so that the auto pilot knows who is on board. Once all crew members are logged on and everyone who is on the system is “seen” by the AP, it continues to steer the set course. The worn device has a range no longer that the furthest point on the boat away from the receiver.

At the moment that any one of the devices is no longer “seen” by the AP, the AP dumps the course and heaves the boat to (something like an auto-tack with no sail reset).

So at the moment a crew member leaves the boat, communication is broken and the AP stops the boat. Crew on the boat are immediately aware that someone has gone over the side and they’re close enough to adequately respond. In the event that it is a single hander, it gives him a fighting chance, no matter how slim, to get back to the boat. Then the knotted trailing line starts to make some sense.

I reckon it could have merit 🤔

[a64pilot]

Originally Posted by hpeer

I’ve taken to doing the same, makes a damn sight more sense than standing at the rail.

I use this as a carry over from my airplane days, but a gator aid bottle works just as well.

[FlyingScot]

Originally Posted by CassidyNZ

I once mused about a system that may assist in MOB situations.

Imagine an electronic device that a crew person wears that communicates with the auto pilot and gets logged onto a network so that the auto pilot knows who is on board. Once all crew members are logged on and everyone who is on the system is “seen” by the AP, it continues to steer the set course. The worn device has a range no longer that the furthest point on the boat away from the receiver.

At the moment that any one of the devices is no longer “seen” by the AP, the AP dumps the course and heaves the boat to (something like an auto-tack with no sail reset).

So at the moment a crew member leaves the boat, communication is broken and the AP stops the boat. Crew on the boat are immediately aware that someone has gone over the side and they’re close enough to adequately respond. In the event that it is a single hander, it gives him a fighting chance, no matter how slim, to get back to the boat. Then the knotted trailing line starts to make some sense.

I reckon it could have merit 🤔

In theory this sounds great. What happens when it auto tacts accidentally and throws somebody off the boat? Or it auto tacts while sailing downwind and it breaks things. Any accidental signal loss would be very problematic.