Horse shoe life ring- some daft questions

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Mike k

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Hi all

just bought one and no instructions- can anyone tell me please the following
1) do you fasten the two ends of rope that are around the bouy which have a loop and clasp?
2) do you attach a throw line and to where?
3) it has a plastic light which is not conected to anything except the mouting bracket- does this attach somewhere and should there be a line attached between this and the life ring?

Any help gratefully recieved

many thanks

Mike
 
here we go

Hi all

just bought one and no instructions- can anyone tell me please the following
1) do you fasten the two ends of rope that are around the bouy which have a loop and clasp?

fix them together so that in needed by someone they can fasten it around them , so I believe

2) do you attach a throw line and to where?

Attach it to the top and coil it or use a bag so it does not get tangeled

3) it has a plastic light which is not conected to anything except the mouting bracket- does this attach somewhere and should there be a line attached between this and the life ring? a

a line, a meter or so long,it can be more a cord than rope to
attach it to the light again making sure that when thrown you do not have to undo anything to throw them together.

Any help gratefully recieved

many thanks

Mike
 
There are no right answers here and plenty of different/valid opinions.

MCA tell you (1) nothing - just sort it out for your own gear becuase they're all different (2) yes attach the throw line to anywhere sensible on the horseshoe (3) yes attach the light with a short line, and attach a drogue too

But MCA are not always sensible. It is perfectly arguable you should not attach the light. That allows you to throw the light immediately so it is v close to the casualty. With best will in world it is going to take you 5 seconds more to throw the horseshoe because of the need to prep the rope for throwing, and by then you might have lost the chance to put the light near the casualty. It really is arguable both ways

I hate horseshoes and keep in my head plans that do not involve using them!
 
jfm said:
I hate horseshoes and keep in my head plans that do not involve using them!
Click to expand...

I agree. Throwing lines with floating rope are a far better tool. But a coded boat my size still needs 2 horseshoes.
I have inflatable ones because 2 big yellow ones on a boat like mine makes it look, well like a coded boat!
 
Elessar said:
I agree. Throwing lines with floating rope are a far better tool. But a coded boat my size still needs 2 horseshoes.
I have inflatable ones because 2 big yellow ones on a boat like mine makes it look, well like a coded boat!
Click to expand...

Tee hee. Me too - I have inflatables, which look a good product and don't uglify the boat like solid horseshoes. I also have (non MCA) inflatables with no line attached: I think these are easier to throw, without being impeded by the line. You don't need the line in many scenarios - so long as the casualty has something buoyant he can wait till you return to pick him up. The line impedes your throw, slows you down, tangles, and likely will be shorter than the distance twixt you and the casualty by the time you've deployed the sodding thing.
 
Just for variety; I agree with Powerskipper.

I have a long (100' ish) floating line carefully coiled & trapped between the horseshoe & the pushpit. In the awful even of some idiot (probably me) going over the side, the instructions are to throw the lot as far as you can towards the victim, release all sheets if sailing, start engine & slowly motor in a circle around the dope in the water. This should wrap the rope around them - so you now have a dope on a rope.

Stop head to wind, roll up genny, kill engine & pull in dope on rope - who should be now be reeling himself in anyway. Deploy swim ladder & assist aboard. If MOB is unconcious, a couple of turns may be needed & the dinghy will probably need to be inflated.

Better by far to wear lifelines.
 
jfm said:
Tee hee. Me too - I have inflatables, which look a good product and don't uglify the boat like solid horseshoes. I also have (non MCA) inflatables with no line attached: I think these are easier to throw, without being impeded by the line. You don't need the line in many scenarios - so long as the casualty has something buoyant he can wait till you return to pick him up. The line impedes your throw, slows you down, tangles, and likely will be shorter than the distance twixt you and the casualty by the time you've deployed the sodding thing.
Click to expand...

My inflatables meet the code and don't have a line, just a drogue.

If I want a line I throw this.
images-2.jpg
You can throw it a long way as the floating rope uncoils itself as it goes. Much more useful than a horseshoe.

It gets used a lot because I chuck it out of the back of the boat when I swim at anchor. If the tide starts to pick up I just swim sideways to the floating rope and pull myself back the the boat. I know that's not a problem you have to worry about!

And whilst many boats have these, take a look at them. They all have spelling mistakes on them :)
 
Thanks Ellesar - your comment prompted me to check the yellow book and you are absolutely correct that the coding rules (for cat 2 and <16 persons) do not require the line to be attached to the horseshoe. You are required to have 2 horseshoes and one throwing line, but not necessary stuck together. Excellent, and thanks
 
Searush said:
Just for variety; I agree with Powerskipper.

I have a long (100' ish) floating line carefully coiled & trapped between the horseshoe & the pushpit. In the awful even of some idiot (probably me) going over the side, the instructions are to throw the lot as far as you can towards the victim, release all sheets if sailing, start engine & slowly motor in a circle around the dope in the water. This should wrap the rope around them - so you now have a dope on a rope.

Stop head to wind, roll up genny, kill engine & pull in dope on rope - who should be now be reeling himself in anyway. Deploy swim ladder & assist aboard. If MOB is unconcious, a couple of turns may be needed & the dinghy will probably need to be inflated.

Better by far to wear lifelines.
Click to expand...

Searush, not saying you/your crew can't do it but 6 knots is 10 feet per second so unless the line is thrown within 10 secs it will not reach the casualty and will be towed away from him. Better to have a horsehoe that can be thrown detached from the boat surely? Then the casualty can swim to it and hang on to it while the boat is stopped and turned etc. Or one of each - a free one and a tethered one? But yes, in a breeze strong enough to make s/y SR do 6 kts lifelines seem the best choice
 
My horseshoe and line are separate. Fortunately I have not had to put this into practice, but

1. Throw the horseshoe as close to the MoB as possible. Horseshoe is right next to helm. I see so many boats with the horseshoe on the foredeck. How long does it take to get there? 30-60 seconds?

2. Throw the line for the MoB to grab. I have deleted the light as we currently do not cruise in the dark.
 
Interesting stuff. Yes, Elessar is right that the line does not need to be attached to the horseshoe, but a drogue does. Our lights are clipped to the horseshoes, which has always worried me about how it would affect throwing the thing (or if you were really close, the risk of banjoing the casualty with a plastic tube with 4 D cells in it...)

The lines on the horseshoe should be left undone AFAIK, so that the casualty can pull themselves into the thing then fasten the lines to hold in place and stop them from sliding out again.
 
All interesting food for thought. My horseshoe is attached to the light, but not to a line to the boat. I theorised that it would be easier to throw the horseshoe if not on a line that, with kids fingers on board, could have becmoe tangled. The horseshoe bracket is on the bridge behind the helm, but the mouling in fromnt of it is a convenient seat. I have a dan buoy as well. Our last MOB discussion session focussed rather more on how to get the casualty back on board and worked around the idea that the horseshoe itself brings little to the party that a lifejacket did not already offer in terms of buoyancy and thus the issue was keeping sight of the casualty, in daylight the dan buoy was a better visual target than the light.
 
Wiggo, thanks. The drogue is tiny so it's easy to deal with. I agree with you about potentially thwacking the casualty with a box of D cells. The new JonBuoy inflatable horseshoes from Ocean Safety come ready equipped with both a drogue and one of those tiny LED lights, like on good lifejackets, so they are a complete solution in a tiny container
 
jfm said:
Searush, not saying you/your crew can't do it but 6 knots is 10 feet per second so unless the line is thrown within 10 secs it will not reach the casualty and will be towed away from him. Better to have a horsehoe that can be thrown detached from the boat surely? Then the casualty can swim to it and hang on to it while the boat is stopped and turned etc. Or one of each - a free one and a tethered one? But yes, in a breeze strong enough to make s/y SR do 6 kts lifelines seem the best choice
Click to expand...

6kts? SIX kts!! Whaddya think I am? I'd get nose bleeds at speeds like that.

Of course lifelines are the best choice, this is a fall back solution & the idea is to cricle round the casualty at 2ts or less. I have no wish to strangle them. I have cockpit cushions that float & could be quickly thrown if no lifejacket worn. But current horseshoe is getting sticky& may be retained as a freethrow one if I ever buy a replacement.
 
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