Alternatives to horeshoe lifebuoy

[snowleopard]

Haveyou ever been thrown a lifebuoy? Did it help? Looking at mine there seems no way to use it that would provide useful support. It's too small to go under the arms so the only place it would fit is round the neck with your face below water. The big rings you see along the seafront seem much better for the job.

I saw one alternative on the army's fleet of boats at the British Kiel Yacht Club earlier this year. They consisted of a pre-inflated lifejacket, presumably foam-filled.

Does anyone have a realistic alternative? Is a Jon Buoy a practical option?

 

[Boomshanka]

I've posted this a couple of times before, but no harm in repeating it to show how useful a horseshoe lifebouy is:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/8383946.stm

 

[Heckler]

I've posted this a couple of times before, but no harm in repeating it to show how useful a horseshoe lifebouy is:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/8383946.stm

I nearly did that on my maiden delivery trip on Sacha. It was the opposite way around, we were heeled hard over to port, I was behind the wheel, we took a big un on the stbd side, I was launched feet first towards the port locker, I was on my way, my a rse hit the cockpit floor and I was sliding, BUT I had my lifeline on, it brought me to a shuddering halt. I still go hot and cold thinking about it! We were doing 10 kts over the ground, wind was on the up to a forecast 9.
Stu

 

[prv]

Is a Jon Buoy a practical option?

I think it's one of the better options, although like anything it's not infallible (one was deployed to Prue Nash, but she couldn't get to it).

Plus points:

Easy to launch. I can show novice crew the trigger lever and have reasonable confidence that they'd be able to get the thing in the water quickly if someone went over. If you've watched a non-sailor fumbling around with mooring lines or whatever, you can imagine how long it might take them to get the usual bunch of bunglies into the water, especially when it turns out to be tied to the dan buoy that they assumed was part of the boat.

Excellent at keeping the MOB afloat. On a warm day, I feel I could float around on the thing for hours.

Forms a cradle for lifting people out of the water. Complete with a 6-foot flagpole to grab when you're trying to hook up the halyard.

Stows neatly and looks unobtrusive. Hey, it's a consideration, especially if you have a boat whose looks would not be improved by hanging lots of yellow foam and pot-buoys all over the stern.

Downsides:

You can't throw it. But how far can you really throw a horseshoe?

It's more complex. A block of foam is guaranteed to float, whereas there's always a risk, however small, that something inflatable will fail to inflate. But the mechanism here is pretty simple (it's a manual lifejacket inflator with the toggle tied to the boat) and since it's not tightly-packed and sealed like a liferaft you can open the box and check it yourself.

I'm not connected with the company, but I do have one and I consider it a good buy.

Pete

 

[npf1]

I've gone the JonBuoy (one port side and a second on on stbd) route too after seeing how useless foam filled rings are in most conditions. I figured that for shorthanding they are a very useful addition - although I'm far from convinced that SWMBO would ever be able to get back to me if I went over. My stern is still cluterred up with two rings though, but I was wondering if there's any point keeping them.

Must admit that it surprises me that they are not more popular in the UK. I mentioned this to Ocean Safety at SIBS - only a small proportion of their sales of them are in the UK.

One thing that is a bit of a put off is that they are meant to be serviced each year. Interesting to read the post above that DIY is possible.

 

[Poignard]

I've posted this a couple of times before, but no harm in repeating it to show how useful a horseshoe lifebouy is:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/8383946.stm

Phew!

Think I'll be sure to clip on in future after seeing that - even though I have no voyages to the Southern Ocean planned.

 

[Cruiser2B]

Lifesling - http://www.practical-sailor.com/marine/lifesling.pdf

 

[prv]

My stern is still cluterred up with two rings though, but I was wondering if there's any point keeping them.

I kept the single horseshoe that came with Kindred Spirit. I could imagine using it if someone tripped overboard at anchor, or fell in the marina. I guess it's there in extremis if the Jon Buoy is lost. It also has the boat's name painted on it, and looks quite nice. That's partly because it's white, though, which is not great for visibility at sea.

Must admit that it surprises me that they are not more popular in the UK.

I too find it surprising. I try not to sound like I'm promoting them too much (as I say, no connection) but it seems like they deserve to be more common.

One thing that is a bit of a put off is that they are meant to be serviced each year. Interesting to read the post above that DIY is possible.

I mentioned this to the Ocean Safety guy at the boat show. He said "one year old? We'd probably just open it up and look at it." He reckoned they'd like to have it for servicing, but really I'd be fine just checking the bottle was screwed in properly, weighing it if possible, and repacking the raft carefully with the sinker weight on the outside (gets the drogue full of water straight away to minimise drift). This stuff isn't magic, and they do sell replacement cylinders as spares for self-repacking by blue-water cruisers. I get the impression that the folding sequence is important, though, so maybe take pictures as you open it.

I suggested that I might do an end-of-season drill with it, wash, dry and repack with a new cylinder and call it a service. He was quite enthusiastic about the idea of me having a practice. I never got round to doing so though.

Pete

 

[Malish]

I've posted this a couple of times before, but no harm in repeating it to show how useful a horseshoe lifebouy is:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/8383946.stm

but a good reason to fit dodgers