Man Overboard Alarms & Devices

[fgd3]

I have a wireless controller for my RayMarine autopilot. I can use it to put the boat in a tight circle, sending three 10-degree course changes followed by a standby command. That puts the wheel hard over and holds it there. Under sail the result would be a backwinded jib with the boat essentially hove to. Under power the boat would continue circling at 5 or 6 knots. Even in calm conditions I imagine it would be pretty difficult to get back aboard a boat moving that fast, but the chances are better than if it just steams away in a straight line.

Using the wireless remote would require quick reflexes, since it is limited to WiFi range.

Fabbian

[robert sailor]

OK you sold me but tell me how the autotack would work when your sailing down wind poled out and prevented off. I think for those folks with some spare change there is nothing wrong with the MOB devices.

[Captain Ludd]

Originally Posted by fgd3

I have a wireless controller for my RayMarine autopilot. I can use it to put the boat in a tight circle, sending three 10-degree course changes followed by a standby command. That puts the wheel hard over and holds it there. Under sail the result would be a backwinded jib with the boat essentially hove to. Under power the boat would continue circling at 5 or 6 knots. Even in calm conditions I imagine it would be pretty difficult to get back aboard a boat moving that fast, but the chances are better than if it just steams away in a straight line.

Using the wireless remote would require quick reflexes, since it is limited to WiFi range.

Fabbian

Very interesting Fabbian, is the remote waterproof I wonder.

[fgd3]

Robert,

Not autotack, just putting the wheel hard over and putting the autopilot in standby so it holds the wheel there. At some point the boat would stop making forward motion, but it might drift downwind sideways faster than you could catch it. It depends on the boat, I guess. I'm not proposing it as a solution, just something that might be better than nothing at all.

For a singlehander the best MOB device has to be a PLB. With no one aboard your own boat to bring it back to you the only chance you have is to alert someone else that you're in need of rescue. And a handheld VHF that will work in the water would be a good thing for directing rescuers to you.

With crew aboard all the available devices make sense. The hard part is choosing which are the most cost-effective if you can't afford them all.

Fabbian

[fgd3]

It seems to be pretty well sealed but I wouldn't count on it being waterproof. I think it might work for a few seconds after you went in the water--long enough to put the wheel over--but would have to be replaced after that. A plastic bag could make it waterproof, though.

Fabbian

[goboatingnow]

The only useful mob device is an AIS sart. Immediate alerting and continuously updated gps position of the mob. Small can be attached to a life jacket. Everything else is a compromise.

As for the ludicrous notion that wearing one , makes you more likely to fall over , nuts , I've just crashed the car, burnt the house down and jumped overboard , because of seat belts , fire alarms and mob devices. ....... Haha

Dave

[Captain Ludd]

Originally Posted by goboatingnow

The only useful mob device is an AIS sart. Immediate alerting and continuously updated gps position of the mob. Small can be attached to a life jacket. Everything else is a compromise.

As for the ludicrous notion that wearing one , makes you more likely to fall over , nuts , I've just crashed the car, burnt the house down and jumped overboard , because of seat belts , fire alarms and mob devices. ....... Haha

Dave

Hmm, very useful but maybe not the only thing worth having.
I'm still musing on a solution that heaves the boat too.
I bet someone has added a function to an autopilot.
I bet it's so easy to do and might be of great comfort to a solo sailor.

[goboatingnow]

Originally Posted by Captain Ludd

Hmm, very useful but maybe not the only thing worth having.
I'm still musing on a solution that heaves the boat too.
I bet someone has added a function to an autopilot.
I bet it's so easy to do and might be of great comfort to a solo sailor.

Solo sailing is completely different. The OP was not solo sailing

Dave

[fgd3]

I agree the AIS SART is a better choice if you go overboard in an area with many other boats around. If you're transiting an unpopulated ocean area you'll want something with a little more range that you know is monitored.

Fabbian

[Captain Ludd]

Originally Posted by fgd3

I agree the AIS SART is a better choice if you go overboard in an area with many other boats around. If you're transiting an unpopulated ocean area you'll want something with a little more range that you know is monitored.

Fabbian

Epirb with built in GPS :-)

[goboatingnow]

Originally Posted by fgd3

I agree the AIS SART is a better choice if you go overboard in an area with many other boats around. If you're transiting an unpopulated ocean area you'll want something with a little more range that you know is monitored.

Fabbian

Let's examine this statement and several others like it.

Firstly one assumes if you equip your boat with an AIS sart mob device , you will of course have a working AIS receiver. Hence the most likely vessel to pick you up in an " unpopulated ocean " is the boat you just fell off of.

This is why personal PLBS actually have little use in the ocean , firstly the boat you fell off of has no knowledge of what happened, nor has the MRCC necessarily any knowledge of what boat you were on or where that boat is.

Secondly rescue under GMDSS can take upto 4 days , and that supertanker is going to have sone job finding a single head in the water. Are you going to be even alive , in temperature climates you'll be dead inside an hour.

No matter how you look at it PLBS are only good at directing your rescuers to find your body.

Fundamentally, people are forgetting that AIS sarts are designed to be rescued by the boat you fell off of. , therefore it's not about being in a populated area

Dave

[nigel1]

Tested an AIS SART last year. Receiving antenna about 30m above sea level, and the AIS SART at sea level. Lost the signal at 4 miles.
So if you go over the side, and you are single handing, best hope that another boat with an AIS unit is pretty close.
I'd like to think that with a PLB, in coastal or near coastal waters, if you activated the PLB you would have some chance. MRCC would pick up the signal, make a call to your contact number, confirm you are out on a boat, and hopefully dispatch a SAR helo to go look. That's assuming that the coast state in to who's waters you fell have the assets to do this.

[surfmachine]

Hi, go for option 3.....I have a "on watch kit", includes a sh dsc waterproof vhf radio with the red emergency button. If the boat can receive the signal it shows a mob symbol, with the coordinates and the mob can also talk to the boat. also, aircraft and any other vessels in vhf range.
Kit also includes a epirb with gps and mini flares, torch, strobe, whistle, mirror.
Onboard, we have ais class B transponder and a sh ais/dsc/vhf radio, also receives mob distress calls and sounds alarm and shows location of mob.
seems a great solution and gives some peace of mind?
Gotta call the boat quick, eh????
cheers from Keith.
ps, I wear it always, especially when sailing alone!!

[Andrew Troup]

For a singlehander it's pretty hard to go past a tripline.

It doesn't involve spending lots of money, monitoring yet another set of batteries, or remembering to grab it every time you go abovedecks ... just imagination, ingenuity and a very thick skin (on this forum, at least).

[Tim R.]

In my book, any means available, used properly, to aid in the recovery of MOB is prudent.

Some folks out there have the attitude that if Columbus didn't have it why should I. These items would include engines, chart plotters, charts, radar, AIS, life jackets, radios, sat-phones, etc. The list goes on. Yes, you can cross an ocean without these and many other devices but they sure do increase your chances of getting to the other side safely.

I am getting ready to buy a couple of the Kannad Safelinks to go along with our horseshoe buoy and inflatable MOB pole. One for each of us and I already have a PLB for on watch helmsman and ditch bag. Also have an epirb for the vessel. Will rent a sat-phone for any crossings we do. None of these replaces the need for a good harness/tether with a quick release.