Appropriate Safety Gear

MedDreamer

MedDreamer

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As previously reported we have recently bought a Monterey 258SS bowrider which will be based in Cala D'Or. It will be predominantly used for Bay hopping and sunbathing so I expect to be hugging the coast most of the time. It feels good to be "MedDreaming" again :cool:

Prompted by the "Irrational Fear" thread I have been pondering on what the appropriate level of safety gear would be - I know I can't have too much and I currently have lifejackets, horseshoe lifebuoy & line, Handheld waterproof DSC. There is no practical space for a liferaft but what do the esteemed members of the forum think is the right level of safety gear for this type of use, should I get daytime flares, EPIRB etc?

All advice welcome

Thanks

Martyn
 
I also have a 25 foot dayboat in mallorca, and use it the same way you intend. I have the same gear as you, ie life jackets, handheld vhf (and fixed vhf on boat). Plus i also have handheld gps ( waterproof garmin watch in reality) , smoke flares.

Thats it, dont have space for liferaft, but do have inflatable kayak, and inflatable sup, which if push came to shove i could use possibly.

I do sometimes think about getting an epirb/plb but havent bothered so far.

Im never more than 10 miles from land, and never out of sight of it, although i do occaisionally contemplate an ibiza trip (did it in our old sealine s34, but not plucked up courage to do it with a single engine). In reality the furthest i go is to cabrera ( from port adriano).

I think the biggest risk you run with a boat like ours is mechanical failure, so as long you have appropriate spares and tools, and the knowledge to use them, you should be fine.
 
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Thanks for the reply, my Handheld DSC has in built GPS so I think I’m covered there. Having flares on board brings its own issues re safe storage and disposal but if I need them and don’t have them....

Our last boat was as S34 as well, we were based in Alcudia so never did Ibiza but did Menorca a good few times. Just looking forward to being out on the water again.

I will have tools and spares but carrying out maintenance on a small boat floating without power may be easier said than done so I’ve also made sure I have a suitable tow rope!

I think Cabrera will also be the limit of our open water cruising (and probably in company) - may see you there! O


Cheers
 
Yeah, lots of rope is essential. Ive been towed home a couple of times over the last 20 years , once in the sealine, once in my old sea ray, never in the windy ( yet- touch wood).

I have had to fix (again nothing in the windy yet) a few mechanical issues out on the water , nothing major, things like an overheat due to stuck thermostat.

Ive also towed others home a few times as well , more often than not because theyve run out of fuel - can you believe it?
 
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+1 on the PLB/EPIRB, I am not a fan of flares - nasty things
other than a liferaft I think you have it covered. Do you have any sort of inflatable on board - dinghy ?
 
No dinghy as no practical way of storing it inflated but I may look further at the 2 man liferaft even if there are more of us on board it’s something to cling onto!

We have the first aid kit and I will get a PLB, just for the extra level of comfort but not flares, I really don’t like the idea of them on board a small petrol engined boat.

Thanks everyone for the advice, hopefully all of it will be a waste of money anyway.

Cheers

Martyn
 
“nothing major, things like an overheat due to stuck thermostat”

I bought myself a new non marking rubber mallet, that should do it for the tool kit shouldn’t it? ?
 
Every tool kit needs a hammer.

Howevr it didnt help in the case of the stuck thermostat, i had to drop anchor, un bolt the thermostat housing and remove the stat, then reassemble.

I beleive a stuck stat is quite common on the raw water cooled petrol merc inboards, the local sea ray dealer in mallorca in the early 90s used to remove them before delivery because they were so problematic.

When i boughtmy sea ray in 2006 i figured they must be more reliable now after 16 years, but that wasnt to be the case.
 
kashurst said:
+1 on the PLB/EPIRB, I am not a fan of flares - nasty things
other than a liferaft I think you have it covered. Do you have any sort of inflatable on board - dinghy ?
Click to expand...

Yes, definately a PLB, smaller than an EPIRB and as effective. You can just clip it onto your lifejacket. In an addition when I had my Monterey I also had softwood bungs just incase of seacock failure and a mallet for them. I had a grab back with flares, bungs, spare waterproof VHF and a very sharp knife incase the props got fouled.
 
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Lunching and swimming in the med is a different safety mind set to perhaps cold grey, tidal Muddy and grimy U.K. .

Presume in the season - as described not big long offshore expiditions in poor weather

https://imgur.com/a/VuZuJ

Just a hack saw to untangle the props
Plenty of flare s to attract attention, if they can,t hear you :)
I think your inflatable will double as a floatation device for the 10 mins after you boat sinks before you are nearly run down :)
 
Something that does bother me a bit. I very seldom am more than 3 miles off the coast as I tend to bay hop. If and when I decide to do a longer sea passage I will rent or purchase a life raft. In the meantime, as I am cruising in sheltered inland waters I rely on my inflatable tender as an emergency escape should the worst happen. It is always fully inflated and can be launched in less than 20 seconds. In addition in the bug bag at hand and easily retrievable is (apart from vhf hand held etc) a "one slice" rope cutter should a strap or rope become snagged or main boat capsize to ensure a quick release of the tender.
I've read that a tender can easily capsize, but I find that hard to credit in my own location and certainly not in the sea states that will see me out and about in the first instance. Quite to the contrary I find the tender (ali deck with inflated keel) sits like a go cart in the water and great fun can be had playing in the rollers to the estuary mouth. Am I deluding myself into thinking that it is sufficient in my circumstance and given the circumstances as good as a "cheap -ish" liferaft that would likely take as long to deploy and a matter of faith that it will indeed deploy.

edit:

One thing I should mention here in a hurried departure the tender would be launched without the motor which is stowed separately but with oars and a drogue to maintain directional stability into any waves.
 
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BruceK said:
:) only 50% of my outings are in company and unless Roy gets his Cranchi or Jeanaeu AND new bifocals he wont be much use as he's normally outside radio range until 2 hours after we've already set anchor :p
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That’s why I have shown you what it’s like in a typical popular Med location ,so you can refine your advice for the Op

How ever fully understanding the U.K. side - interesting and i,am as bad as any for drifting threads :)guilty :)
 
:D OK. Apologies myself. As my circumstances seemed much like his (inshore sheltered, bay hopping) I thought it relevant.
 
BruceK said:
Something that does bother me a bit. I very seldom am more than 3 miles off the coast as I tend to bay hop. If and when I decide to do a longer sea passage I will rent or purchase a life raft. In the meantime, as I am cruising in sheltered inland waters I rely on my inflatable tender as an emergency escape should the worst happen. It is always fully inflated and can be launched in less than 20 seconds. In addition in the bug bag at hand and easily retrievable is (apart from vhf hand held etc) a "one slice" rope cutter should a strap or rope become snagged or main boat capsize to ensure a quick release of the tender.
I've read that a tender can easily capsize, but I find that hard to credit in my own location and certainly not in the sea states that will see me out and about in the first instance. Quite to the contrary I find the tender (ali deck with inflated keel) sits like a go cart in the water and great fun can be had playing in the rollers to the estuary mouth. Am I deluding myself into thinking that it is sufficient in my circumstance and given the circumstances as good as a "cheap -ish" liferaft that would likely take as long to deploy and a matter of faith that it will indeed deploy.

edit:

One thing I should mention here in a hurried departure the tender would be launched without the motor which is stowed separately but with oars and a drogue to maintain directional stability into any waves.
Click to expand...

This is a good Q
If I can condense it ?

What’s the x over point when the inflatable on the bathing platform is now inadequate- and a LF would be better ?

All though the sun shines and the water temp is more survivable in the Med the same point can be reached .

Firstly
Back to the Op - I don’t think he needs a LR or ERIB / PLB for bay hopping - swim / lunch in the season .

U.K. - if it’s not busy , unpredictable weather , tide nav issues to contend with , and a short survival time in the cold sea if you end up in it - then for me piece of mind a LR - as well as the inflatable.
If you find you go out of sight of land often as your experience grows , eg for Bruce ^^ a trip to IOM or Ireland ,then
Defo both LR and a locator beacon .
If you are in the Solent and only go the IOW or Poole harbour in dead calm seas hot days on shore - you know 70 odd everybody on the beach etc - then no to both .

For Med use if you go off shore even once then yes to both .
An added complication with that statement is the smaller the boat ie a 27 ftr between the baldricks or PeteM,s Targa 34
Mainland Sp - baldricks and back ? , the greater chance you gonna need them imho .
Thinking if the sea gets up , as well as swamping ,just the motion is more acute = somthing shaken loose in the ER or 8hit in fuel ,or tiny ER diff to fix a dead engine or find a leak , or your outdrive s and other VP glitches choose now to play up .
Or somebody stumbles and cracks there nut .
Yet it’s the smaller guys who have budgetary and space / storage constraints , who are more likely NOT to have a LR or locator beacon .

Once above a certain size it’s a bit of an academic Q as the boats tend to come fully equipped,or there’s enough in the running budget to cover these .
6 man LF €1000 and fullfat ERIB new say less than €300 ,
I spend more than that Every time filling up , and engine service dwarfs that too .Purchasing or renting a berth in the Med makes the €1300 est extra safety gear seem like peanuts .
Not trying to sound funny btw .
So for us Med guys if you go touring around -which is very easy to do - then we end up with everything safety wise .

Cos there’s not the same budgetary or storage space pressure ,
Hope that makes sense
 
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