Man Overboard Question

[Russell]

I do not have a trasom mounted ladder anymore, I removed it to mount my windvane, but even if I did I would consider a bad spot to try to reboard a boat that is still moving. As for a trailing a line behind the boat, if the boat is still moving, good luck. I tried it once on my old catalina 30, the boat moving 5 knots, trying to hang on to a rope is near impossible, you will dislocate your shoulder even if you can hold on. And the chances you would actually be able to recover your senses and get to it while the boat is moving are slim to none anyways, same goes for a trip line rigged to your windvane.

The best possible thing to do is stay on the boat, my jacklines are made of the thickest nylon webbing I could find, and I do not tie or knot them to cleats, I installed padeyes with strong backing plates and had the jacklines sewed with loops on the end to the exact length and I shackle them to the padeyes, with seizing wire. Any knot will decrease breaking strength, sewing them is far better, but I have to have them resewn once per year so due to UV, though I have decided to just replace the lines entirely every year. I do everything possible to make sure i stay on the boat and do it to the extream.

But in the off chance I fall off the boat, since I am single handing, I took the only precautions I feel make sense. Someone mentioned one of the mystic stainless ladders, I do infact have one of these to replace my now absent stern ladder, but in no way would I consider this an emergency ladder, deploying it from a trip line in a big sea your more likely to knock yourself out then anything. And these ladders cost about $700 a pop, so two, one for each side is simply too expensive. The plastimo ladders I mentioned earlier I still think the ideal trade off. They are not solid ladders, they are nylon webbing, BUT the steps themselves are solid plastic, so its a trade off, but the only one that makes real sense. The fact is, if you go overboard your in real trouble if your alone, the best thing to do is do your best to make sure you remain on board, but the measures you take for if you do go overboard, be realistic about.

[Len]

Last summer I had the occassion (to the delight of some ) of winding up in the water after swamping a hard dinghy while working on my mooring ball. I quickly discovered that the deck which in my youth was attainable was no longer within reach despite the warm water and a moored boat. The swim (?) ladder neatly attached to the stern required being on deck iun order to deploy!!! A neighbor rowed over and rescued me. The next day I devised the following quick release to release a stern swim ladder from the water.
It requires 2 eye jaw toggles,2 bolts with nuts, one fast pin and a length of line long enough to reach the water. Attach one toggle to the pushpit (stern rail) one toggle to the swim ladder - aligned with the first. The four holes now line up. Insert fastpin and attach line to fastpin. Done. Pull on line fastpin , ladder opens and falls to water.
[img]http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e37/s ... le0389.jpg[/img]

[Oswego John]

Hi Russell and all.

The Man Overboard question is one of the most important subjects for sailors to be aware of. This topic has come up on the board several times before. It is something worthy of deep consideration.

Russell, I realize that your type of sailing is only a dream for the vast majority of sailors reading this. However, we all must be cautious, especially going single handed.

I think that it is a given to accept the fact that the best advice is to "Stay In The Boat". No question about it. I think that the thread's intent is to go a little farther. It tends to raise the question *WHAT IF*. It is a rare occasion that anyone plans to intentionally leave the confines of his boat, especially while under way. Most of the "what ifs" are accidental, unintentional.

It must be the most sickening, gut wrenching feeling to be bobbing in the water by yourself and helplessly watch your sailboat sail away from you. What can a person do to avoid this situation when, inadvertantly, he is subject to a "what if" situation.

I have reread jneely's original post and all the responses. Some of them are noteworthy with thoughts and suggestions. A good thought is to create a failsafe system to halt the boat's progress keep it from sailing away from the area. One idea is to maintain a slight weather helm. Another thought is to have the boat round up and stop. Autopilots and camcleats can be potentially lethal as well as helpful.

As has been already mentioned, a moving boat will probably be harder to reboard than a boat at rest. It will be most difficult to pull yourself back to the boat with a trailing line. Should you be able to release any kind of safety device or climbing aid, it will also be difficult to climb aboard with a rope ladder, stirrup or other flexible
aid if the boat is still under way or heeling away from you.

It is an accepted fact that a good percentage of not only CD owners, but other boatowners are fast approaching or already at senior citizen age. We are not the same person that we were thirty or forty years ago. Our physical limitations are much less now and we must consider that fact when planning the safety of our cruise.

For the above reasons, I am thinking of installing a swim platform at the stern. This is a flat platform at the water level, not a swim ladder. It will have a fold down hard ladder which will have rungs below the surface, as well as hand grabs.

My thinking is that it is easier to approach the boat from the rear, rather than either side. It will also be easier to reenter the boat in stages, from the water to the platform, then from the platform to the cockpit, rather than from the water over the coaming into the cockpit in one stage. If you can make it to the plateform, you can at least rest up a bit out of the cold water before finally climbing the rest of the way into the boat.

In regard to trailing a knotted, floating, bright colored, poly line astern, why not? It's better than nothing. It may prove to be the last link between you and your moving boat. A drowning man will clutch at a straw.

Just some thoughts on the subject.

O J

[Neil Gordon]

My thinking is that it is easier to approach the boat from the rear, rather than either side.

Unless the boat is pitching. Then it can be deadly.

Your "stages" idea is a good one. I tow the (inflatable) dinghy when I'm alone. Handheld VHF attached to your PFD might also save your life. Don't forget the whistle and light, too.

If you do end up in the water survival is about conserving heat and energy. If the boat is sailing away, let it go.

[winthrop fisher]

look at it this way,
if you don't you could loss your life and think of ever one beaning left behind..
your boat is so high off the water trying to grabbing a folding ladder from the water, it would be too hard in a moving boat..
I sailed the gulf many times over and that ladder will save your life just like it did to me.
i would really think hard about putting one on the stern,
so what if you don't like the way it looks,
one day it will save your life.
think about it.
winthrop

Whenever I sail my CD 27 by myself I always tie myself to the mast using a Sospenders harness/floatation device and a rope that is just long enough to allow me to work at the bow. I was thinking the other day that if I should somehow fall overboard this rig would keep me afloat and tied to the boat, but that I would be hard pressed to get myself back on board. I am considering installing a swim ladder at the stern, but I don't like the looks of them and I would have to use a much longer (and unwieldy) rope to allow me to reach the stern. I would be interested in hearing any suggestions regarding this problem. Thanks for all replies.