Controversial recovery?

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Barney Strumble

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Evening all,
I'm told this method of safety boat recovery is controversial, and that it's irresponsible for me to put this vid on YT, giving others a false impression of ease, but this type of recovery would take some practice of course, and the vehicle would need a good wash afters, anyway I just happened to be down the beach at the time and asked permision for filming, I thought they done very well.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DXbEhaHO_7w
 
Not sure what's supposed to be controversial. Reverse the trailer into the water, drive the boat on, drive the trailer out. How else would you do it?

If you want exciting landings, try to see an RNLI inshore boat doing a for-real net recovery!

Pete
 
I tried to recover my trailer sailer from roughish water once. The trailer was to be pushed into the water and hauled out on a cable. The problem was that the boat ended to partially foat onto the trailer as usual but a wave hit it pushing the boat off line and the bow went past toe bow post and small vee. Caused lots of scratching as you can imagine.
I abandoned the recovery in that case and went to a sheltered ramp site.
Had i modified the trailer with a much wider vee at the front and perhaps guide posts at the back corners of the trailer amybe more rollers up high at the sides I could have succeeded in recovering in rough water. Some sort of automatic latch at the bow would be really good.
So re the video I think he was lucky to get it on straight and not have the boat foat (washed) forward past the bow post. I certainly would not want my car getting that wet.

I am involved with the storage of a 6m RIB and 5 metre aluminium run about rescue boats at our club. They are moored/stored on a bed of floating plastic cubes joined together. There is a kind of vee slot for the keel to go in. The method is to drive the boat up onto the floats then attach the winch cable and winch all the way up. For launching you lower the engine and motor the boat down and out. In practice to me the whole operation is a bit frightening. You put a crew man ashore to attach the cable. If he fails or fumbles and power is reduced on the engine the boat slides back into the water. But the bow tends to rear up and swing sideways especially if the approach is not perfectly straight. You have to then winch the boat right up so that you can reach the stern on the floats to attach ears for flushing the engines. I suspect the floats may need to be sunk a bit more.
Anyway another nearby club use this method but with no winch they just drive the boat up onto the floats until the o/b leg hits the edge of the floats. Apparently successfully with a variety of drivers. I wonder if anyone else is familiar with this kind of docking. All very interesting olewill
 
William_H said:
I certainly would not want my car getting that wet.
Click to expand...

Since this is apparently some kind of independent lifeboat, I'm guessing the car (an old-model Range Rover, I think?) is an old banger used just for running the trailer up and down the beach. Once they reach a certain age these things are very cheap as nobody can afford the fuel for them (or rather, if they can afford the fuel they can also afford a newer car).

William_H said:
I am involved with the storage of a 6m RIB and 5 metre aluminium run about rescue boats at our club. They are moored/stored on a bed of floating plastic cubes joined together.
[...]
Anyway another nearby club use this method but with no winch they just drive the boat up onto the floats until the o/b leg hits the edge of the floats. Apparently successfully with a variety of drivers. I wonder if anyone else is familiar with this kind of docking.
Click to expand...

Yep - Versadock. I don't think I've seen the winch technique used much around here, always the drive-on approach. I think some versions have a slot in the pontoon for a few feet in from the edge, so the engine can keep driving until the boat is well and truly "ashore", and then be tilted up.

Pete
 
Barney Strumble said:
... the vehicle would need a good wash afters, anyway
Click to expand...

Not as much as this method:

rj200613car-12-4692541.jpg


http://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/sinking-feelingcar-submerged-after-getting-4692647
 
Barney Strumble said:
Evening all,
I'm told this method of safety boat recovery is controversial, and that it's irresponsible for me to put this vid on YT,
Click to expand...

Who on earth told you that?

This was my method for over 10 years in Greece, with a 1.3L Escort Estate. Unless of course there were a few big Germans about to push it up the beach;)
 
Pete R said:
Who on earth told you that?

This was my method for over 10 years in Greece, with a 1.3L Escort Estate. Unless of course there were a few big Germans about to push it up the beach;)
Click to expand...

I've seen a few dodgy recoveries at New Brighton on the Mersey. What you can get away with on a Greek beach and on a river with a ten metre tidal range are probably different. Saw a bloke drown his company van last year.
 
I used to recover my 4.8m Ribcraft like that with an old Daihatsu Fourtrak that was "just for the boat's use". Used to drive the beast slowly over a lawn sprinkler a couple of times when done.
 
CreakyDecks said:
I've seen a few dodgy recoveries at New Brighton on the Mersey. What you can get away with on a Greek beach and on a river with a ten metre tidal range are probably different. Saw a bloke drown his company van last year.
Click to expand...
I too have seen many dodgy recoveries and been involved in a few myself:) The big Germans were always the preferred option.

Not sure how the tidal range should be of any significance unless you put the trailer in the water long before the boat is there??????

My question of......
Barney Strumble said:
I'm told this method of safety boat recovery is controversial, and that it's irresponsible for me to put this vid on YT
Click to expand...
was to the OP so unless that is you............?
 
Blimey! Not sure I'd want that as a second hand car! Also don't think it was especially windy! Our best ever recovery (and, of course, you only have a crowd of spectators when you stuff-up, so this one wasn't seen by anyone!) was in an onshore F6 in the Menai Straits. We dropped the kedge anchor over the transom and "lowered" the boat forwards over its trailer (which was on an extension pole so we didn't get the Landrover particularly wet), using the warp from the anchor. All nicely controlled, and then the minute the painter was round the bow post on the trailer, pulled out smart-ish to minimise the bumping that was going on.
 
Well I must thank you Gentlemen for sharing your views on boat recovery, it was probably some armchair Admiral "done the theory" type, that thought my vid was irresponsible, I must say I really enjoyed watching the other recovery techniques in those links, the RNLI vid was best. Absolute Heroes!!
Regards all.
 
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