6 people rescued in 60 knots of wind and 20 ft seas 100 miles off California coast. 1

[redneckrob]

Originally Posted by boatpoker

So this isn't your quote ?

Perhaps you could point to where, exactly, I refer to getting into a liferaft inside a boat that quote?

Again, take your own advice and READ what I've written instead of jumping to absurd conclusions. Your choices are to abandon ship into a liferaft before your boat sinks OR wait in your boat until it sinks, then have to egress yourself from your boat, then find your liferaft, then get into it. If you had read my several posts in this thread, it would be obvious that is what I was talking about. Heck, if you just had the common decency to assume it may, just may, have been likely you were misreading something if you thought someone who spent more than 20 years rescuing people as a Coast Guard pilot was advocating getting into a liferaft inside a a boat, then we wouldn't be wasting time on this utterly inane discussion.

To remove all doubt, NO, I WAS NEVER TALKING ABOUT GETTING INTO A LIFERAFT INSIDE YOUR BOAT, and frankly the fact that you would not only assume but then insist that I was advocating that is quite insulting. Again, why did you feel the need to do that and what, exactly, are you trying to accomplish here beyond trolling?

[sv_pelagia]

Here in Canada it's Remembrance Day.

[Shaneesprit]

Not directly related but
Not rescued but dead 3 or 4 dead
Doesn’t say in the link but torrential rain and 80mph winds and they paddle board in to a weir in the river.
My boat was on its mooring a few miles away.

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-wales-59104329

[Cadence]

Come on children, stop the pissing contest.

[Cynara]

I actually understood the post.

[Rotan]

Originally Posted by boatman61

The hard bit is righting it, and keeping it righted.. only need to do it once in the pool but with wind and waves not so easy for real.. then you gotta climb in.
I remember reading about a late delivery across the Biscay years back where things went bad and the skipper decided to abandon ship.
He sent one of the crew forward to ready the liferaft which somehow inflated on the foredeck and then blew over the side.. can't remember if that's when he went over the side or he got swept over by a wave but now there was just the skipper + 1 onboard.
They and the boat survived, the MOB sadly was never recovered.

Ive seen one boat with the liferaft within reach of the companionway and that was a CC. Mine is on the foredeck and there is no way I would go up there with waves breaking over.
Where are you supposed to mount these things to be of any use? next to the helm under the autoppilot?

[Stewie12]

Redneckrob puts forward a very sensible comments.

[Cynara]

Ours was mounted on top of where the hatch slides under. Commonly referred to as the turtle

[Shaneesprit]

Originally Posted by Rotan

Ive seen one boat with the liferaft within reach of the companionway and that was a CC. Mine is on the foredeck and there is no way I would go up there with waves breaking over.
Where are you supposed to mount these things to be of any use? next to the helm under the autoppilot?

I have righted a life raft but only in the pool they made it as difficult as they could with waves and limited light - pool with black tiles - in the pool it’s taught as a 2 man job.
In the pool it was easy, in the sea with people without the knowledge it’s going to be a nightmare.
You have to go under the raft put one person in the underside of the upturned raft - where the Gas cylinder is (like you could find that in a Gale) then another finds the cord and pulls them self up on to the raft then standing on the Gas bottle pulls the cord while leaning backwards and ends up under the raft and continues hand over hand on the cord until you pop out from underneath the righted raft - now it’s righted the one who was under is now inside and can pull the other inside - carefully because if your too aggressive you throw one person on board and the next you throw them into each other and now you have head injuries to deal with.

Let’s hope we don’t have to ever use this knowledge

[carstenb]

Ours is mounted on the aft railing in a mount that has a fold down front. Turn the handle and the front folds down by itself and the raft falls out into the water.

Pull the rip cord ( attached to the rail) and the raft inflates.

[waterman46]

Originally Posted by Rotan

Ive seen one boat with the liferaft within reach of the companionway and that was a CC. Mine is on the foredeck and there is no way I would go up there with waves breaking over.
Where are you supposed to mount these things to be of any use? next to the helm under the autoppilot?

Many center cockpit boats might be able to mount a liferaft behind the cockpit. Our 6 man Switlick is big but fit just to the side of the mizzen. It is within arms length of the helm. It is heavy and would be awkward to lift over thel lifelines but I think there would be lots of adrenaline flowing if ever used in anger.

[Clivevon]

No way would one nan be able to lift a 6 man container liferaft over lifelines. No handles for a start. You would have to be able to slide it over the deck & under the lifelines. Best to measure to make sure it will fit. Mine is in cradle in front of companion, with carabiner clipped to cradle already. In action would clip to bittom lifeline before launching overboard.

[Clivevon]

Nan. Sorry. Or even one MAN.

[Clivevon]

My viking life raft is self righting. Its why i chose that raft.

[Auklet]

Originally Posted by Rotan

Ive seen one boat with the liferaft within reach of the companionway and that was a CC. Mine is on the foredeck and there is no way I would go up there with waves breaking over.
Where are you supposed to mount these things to be of any use? next to the helm under the autoppilot?

I have two places. Long-term (i.e., boat not in use or sailing in best conditions) the four-person Plastimo in a hard canister is stowed in the shallow, sealed, port-side cockpit locker where the emergency tiller also is stowed. Opening the locker would not allow water to flood below if boarded by seas. Does not drain itself, however. I could pull the raft from the locker albeit not with great ease it being heavy and deploy it from the cockpit, sliding it over between the gunnel and the lifeline. When on more adventurous sailing, say, up the central coast or farther from services, I keep the canister in the cockpit strapped (vertically) to my binnacle. It’s not much in the way as it uses the space for the cockpit table, which I do not need when sailing. After arriving at destination I can return it to the locker, put the table back on if I wish to.

I keep the canister in a custom made canvass (sunbrella) pouch with side-straps and a flap over the top that closes using Velcro. So I can lift or drag it by the straps. The straps are low so the thing wants to tip over and slide out when lifting, which is good if you want it out of the pouch, which is loosely fitted, in a hurry. Two people, one on each strap, could lift and pitch it over pretty quickly. Just have to remember to attach the lanyard to the boat first.

I’ve read a few reports of inflated life rafts being blown away or being otherwise separated from the boat b/f the crew could get into it. Not many situations as portrayed in All is Lost. However, there was a sinking in the Sea of Cortez a couple of years ago where the crew actually did, virtually, “step up” into the raft as the boat was settling. Another yacht standing by in response to their MayDay picked them up right away. Bad day with a good ending! Horrible experience, though.