Kukri
Well-Known Member
I’ve had four of these for ages. Brilliant. Can’t remember who made them but I think maybe @wilkinsonsails ?
Horseshoe Lifebelts
- Thread starter KAM
- Start date
Stemar
Well-Known Member
Not bad, but it'd be next to invisible in the water. May I suggest a bit of dayglo/reflective stuff on it?
johnalison
Well-Known Member
A horseshoe may be a poor solution in some ways but you are not going to be in a worse position for carrying one, and it might just save a life.
[2574]
...
Agree with that, my argument is that rail space is better used by more effective equipment. We have a Lifesling which I suppose could be said to be a much improved horseshoe buoy. Currently wrestling with whether the danbuoy is usurped by crew PLBs….but that quickly leads to the PLB/AIS discussion……
Kukri
Well-Known Member
The danbuoy is good for practice. How good it would be in real life might depend on the strength of the wind, the sea state, the light and not least on the quality of the danbuoy… suspect the PLB is less useful for practice and the same might go for the AIS…?
fredrussell
Well-Known Member
The main problem with horseshoe lifebuoys is that yachtsmen mount them the wrong way up on pushpit and as a result their inherent good luck escapes. Always mount them ‘prongs up’ as per RYA guidelines.
DanTribe
Well-Known Member
We have a horseshoe one side and a life sling on the other. Having played with them while swimming I'm not convinced that either is going to be the full answer if used in anger, but they may help.
Years ago we carried on of those hard PVC horseshoes often seen at municipal ponds, and we felt virtuous. It would probably caused serious injury if thrown at a MOB.
Years ago we carried on of those hard PVC horseshoes often seen at municipal ponds, and we felt virtuous. It would probably caused serious injury if thrown at a MOB.
Graham_Wright
Well-Known Member
Have you ever tried using the Jonbuoy?
I went on a sea survival course run by a very competent lady. During our group life raft sessions in the pool, her husband was attempting to enter the Jonbuoy. The pool session took around an hour. At the end of that hour, he had still not succeeded - and he was exhausted.
James_Calvert
Well-Known Member
I always get flamed here for this, but if you have one or two they can be useful to supplement fenders if you're an inside boat in a big raft blown against you in a gale.
And they still float afterwards...
And they still float afterwards...
geem
Well-Known Member
My danbuoy was secured in a tube. You had to extend it as it was telescopic before deployment. By the time you had gone to the back of the boat, taken it out of the tube, extended it and thrown it over the side I suspect it would take over 10 seconds. At 7 kts the danbuoy will be over 100ft from the MOB.
At this point you haven't provided the MOB with a floatation device. So do you do that first? Assume you have a horse shoe ring and you deploy that first. Say 10 seconds so it 100 ft from the MOB. If it takes you another 10 seconds to deploy the danbuoy it will likely be 200ft from the MOB.
We sail predominantly as a couple so there is only likely to be one person left onboard in an MOB situation.
Our plan in such an event is hit MOB button on the plotter as first action followed by bean bags over the side. We have two of them. The next thing would be to get the sails down and motor on to return to where the MOB went in the water. Trying to sail to the MOB then use a lifesling single handed isn't going to happen. We have practised that in calm conditions under sail and picked up my volunteer wife. It wasn't easy at all. Based on that experience we decided sails down gave far better certainty of a successful rescue in a bumpy sea.
Kukri
Well-Known Member
No, I haven’t! I’m not surprised - climbing into anything when in the water is very hard. But with reference to Geem’s points above, in relation to danbuoys and horseshoes, which I agree with, it is quick and easy to deploy a Jonbuoy (step across the cockpit and hit the button) and it makes a visible marker and something for the MOB to hold on to.
Assuming we find and get up to the MOB, I have a MobMat and Duncan Wells’s Harken 6:1 purchase, both of which work “when practicing”. Let’s hope we never do it “for real”!
Last edited:
DanTribe
Well-Known Member
Love the folding rule. That would be worth a few bob on Bargain Hunt.
Fantasie 19
Well-Known Member
Yes - I use it weekly for resting my outboard on so that the head is higher than the bottom of the leg.. horseshoe shape stops it sliding round, or sliding off.. ..
michael_w
Well-Known Member
On my first Atlantic crossing we squabbled over who's turn it was to sit on the lifebuoy. After a week or two those cockpit seats get damn hard!
geem
Well-Known Member
Another good reason to use beanbags?
Spirit (of Glenans)
Well-Known Member
Wouldn't it be simpler to just put them below when not on board, (or when not actually under way)?
Spirit (of Glenans)
Well-Known Member
IMHO, the first action should be to immediately go about while dumping the main and leaving the jib sheeted, then steadily turning the tiller towards (wheel away from), the boom, thereby performing an Emergency Heave-To.
This quickly stops the boat in the vicinity of the casualty, then all the other actions can follow. Try it out while passing close to a convenient mooring buoy at a decent speen on any point of sail, and see how close to the target you can stop. I used to do this while teaching on keelboats.
geem
Well-Known Member
Not when you are tradewind sailing. Twin headsails or worse spinnaker and main. An East to West Atlantic crossing was our last trip. It needs different tactics
thinwater
Well-Known Member
I probably have this wrong (US sailor). I think the applicable regulation is Pleasure Vessels - Regulations and Exemptions - Guidance and Best Practice Advice
Saying they are fussy to release is just poor mounting. If it takes more than 3 seconds, fix it. I've seen them lashed down three ways so they can blow off; that's like locking up fire extinguishers or life jackets.
- You must have a lifejacket for each passenger. In the US, there is an additional caveat that inflatable PFDs only count if they are actually being worn.
- The USCG has a requirement for a "throwable," that can include anything from a complex danybout, to a cushion with handles, so long as they are USCG approved.
Saying they are fussy to release is just poor mounting. If it takes more than 3 seconds, fix it. I've seen them lashed down three ways so they can blow off; that's like locking up fire extinguishers or life jackets.
