Improvised Weapons

[S/V Alchemy]

Originally Posted by GordMay

"Pansy" laws? A little insecure in our manhood, are we?

A man of my calibre just pushes in the bullets by hand.

I also have chunks of Chuck Norris in my stool.

[GordMay]

Originally Posted by Wotname

... S/V A's use of the other adjectives tells me a lot about how he feels about the subject...
... So for me, it does add some illumination (and colour)!

Which is exactly why I chose to say it/they add LITTLE illumination, not none.
Politeness prevented me from drawing attention to this fact.

[mbianka]

I have always thought that a small glass bottle (say a quart) container full of gasoline tossed into the bottom a boat coming along side with people meaning to do harm followed by a shot from a flare gun into the same boat would keep them occupied pretty fast and alert folks on the shore that someone needs help at the same time. Both those items can be carried on your boat. Just use them together judiously.

[atoll]

dont forget your boat makes a pretty good weapon if at sea,ramming speed,keep your head down and try to take out the out board................saved some friends in the gulf of aden a few years back when being attacked by 3 small skifs

[GordMay]

Originally Posted by atoll

don't forget your boat makes a pretty good weapon if at sea, ramming speed, keep your head down and try to take out the out board ... saved some friends in the gulf of Aden a few years back when being attacked by 3 small skiffs

"Mahdi" and "Gandalf"?
➥ Attacked by Pirates | Cruising World

[atoll]

yes they left salalah three days before us

[S/V Alchemy]

Part of the reason we got steel...beats reefs and skiffs and you can pound out the bullet holes.

[S/V Aphrodite]

Were I a journalist, in the classical sense, I would not use emotionally loaded adjectives. But as a private citizen I am free to express personal beliefs, hopefully with some degree of humor.

My own feeling is that this is not an appropriate forum for a debate about gun laws, 2nd amendment interpretations, etc. But I'll happily share my personal take on self protection while aboard.

When I started my cruise I had a Mini14 and a 12 guage. While at sea I tried some target practice and discovered that it is very difficult to aim and hit a human sized target more that 50 to 100 feet away whilst pitching and rolling in trade winds and 6 foot seas. Conclusion -- I wasn't going to be able to fend off pirates alone with such limited firepower. So I send the guns home and decided to simply avoid know pirate areas. Now I limit myself to reasonable precautions against burglars.

[barnakiel]

Defensive, sure.

A winch handle is handy though. Aim at the big toe.

b.

[S/V Aphrodite]

As atoll proved (!), your boat makes a great weapon if you can get in position. Mine weighs 45,000 pounds. At 7 knots it will do tremendous damage to a skiff if they're too dumb to get out of the way. The problem is that those skiffs are much faster and more maneuverable so that approach may not always work.

I've been giving some thought to methods for creating an effective smoke screen by injecting something into my exhaust system, but haven't had any chance to do any testing. The simplest approach is to inject oil or hydraulic fluid into the hot exhaust (you need an above water exhaust to do this). Not as efficient as the Patterson fog oil with a specially designed generator, but it might be enough. I hope to try it on my next cruise.

Injecting chlorine bleach into the hot exhaust could prove an effective deterrent (especially if mixed with ammonia), but you DON'T want to be downwind!

BTW, atoll, I read of your encounter and rescue when it was published. Good work!!

[Hud3]

Originally Posted by barnakiel

Defensive, sure.

A winch handle is handy though. Aim at the big toe.

b.

Good idea! They actually do that all by themselves when you drop one.


Then they bounce overboard.

[genomic]

How would foreigners carrying concealed/improvised weapons be treated (if said weapond found) when entering U.S. waters? Just curious

[goboatingnow]

How would foreigners carrying concealed/improvised weapons be treated (if said weapond found) when entering U.S. waters? Just curious

Gitmo.

Actually seriously, most countries view improvised weapons , more seriously then guns, as its shows significant premeditated intent.

Dave

[genomic]

"Gitmo.

Actually seriously, most countries view improvised weapons , more seriously then guns, as its shows significant premeditated intent."

Mmm, hmm. From what I can see those who promote sailing to various independent nations armed to the teeth rarely think about the converse - a foreigner doing the same in their country.

[mbianka]

Atolls ramming experience got me thinking. Perhaps some 3 foot metal rebar spikes insulated from the boat in blocks of wood or some other insulated materal. Positioned about 1 to 1 1/2 feet apart around the boat when traveling in "dangerous waters". With each spike alternatley hooked up to the neutral and hot of a 120 volt generator that could be turned on when a boat is threatened by pirates. This might discourage someone from boarding the boat or at least help even the odds or buy you some time. Longer spikes in the bow and the stern could be used to "clear the decks" of said skiffs if the boat is manoevered right. Anyone grabbing the spikes to board the boat won't be holding them for long. When you reach safer waters just sell the rebar for scrap or donate it to the locals. Personally, I would avoid waters where this might be needed. I'm just running the idea up the flagpole.