How much time will you have to get the Liferaft?

[A_8]

I was organizing stuff in the boat in preparation for the summer trip and planning a cruise to Poland I was getting a bit safety consious.
I looked at the liferaft that was stowed under a hatch with some more stuff and thought that will take me 2-3 minutes to get out and then maybe a minute to get it inflated.
So I started thinking how quick the boat might go down if I hit something hard at around at 25 knots....
I guess a likely and very dangerous scenario would be a container floating just under the surface and hitting an edge at high speed would create a large opening in the hull, maybe a up to 100cm and maybe a couple of cm's wide.
I know there are many parameters to consider but I was hoping there would be some experiance or educated thoughts on this.
For example, are we 98% likely to have more then 10 mins or would you say we are 50% likely to have less then 5 mins.
Again, I know its like asking how long is a string but still it would be interesting to learn from any experiance or thoughs that's out there.

 

[Searush]

"Ye'r aw Doomed, dye hear, DOOOMED, I tell ye!" said Pvt Fraser.

Stay in bed at home, it's safer. Hang on, don't most people die in bed these days?

 

[tinkicker0]

Was a story in MBM I think a year or two ago where a large mobo hit something off Portugal. The whole plot sank in less than a couple of minutes.

 

[sarabande]

hlb has first hand (and bucket) experiences of nearly sinking.

 

[Searush]

Most "survivor accounts" of near sinkings seem to relate to hose or stern tube failures. Those that get holed generally seem to be able to step (or at least jump) ashore. Perhaps those that hit containers don't survive?

I reckon at my normal speeds, SR would bounce off a swamped container just as she has off rocks, wrecks, jetties etc over the many years I have had her. 2 great big iron keels on her bottom offer an excellent defence technique.

 

[trouty12]

I think you should be more concerned with the prospect of fire. You may have considerably less than 3 minutes from detection to needing to abandon. IMHO 3 minutes is too long to remove the liferaft from storage.

You still have to deploy it once removed and this along with all the other emergency tasks. IE.. organise crew, mayday, grab bag, flares, warm clothing etc...

Eeek, you could really frighten yourself if you think about this stuff for long.

 

[Solitaire]

I looked at the liferaft that was stowed under a hatch with some more stuff and thought that will take me 2-3 minutes to get out and then maybe a minute to get it inflated.

I am guessing from your description it's a valise case. I would take it out of the locker and put it in the cockpit - you don't say what your boat is so also again difficult to be definitive. But assuming you have space towards the stern simply leave it there with the painter already attached to the grab rail, then if **** hits the fan, chuck it over the side and it should self inflate. A life raft is a heavy bit of kit and trying to lug it out of a locker that has "other stuff" in it will not be easy. So, plan ahead!

However, just remember, always step up into a life raft, not down.

 

[bluejasper2]

getting in to raft

never mind how long you have to launch life raft,can you get in life raft from water. I work offshore and have to do survival courses which involve getting into various life rafts,I am quit fit and find it a struggle and this is in a flat calm warm swimming pool,just imagine bit of a swell freezing cold in shock not so easy.

 

[SpottyDog5]

I agree with Solitaire, just get out ALL your safety gear before you cast off, there is something comforting looking at your gear, knowing you have prepared as much as possible in advance.

Its better to be looking at it, than looking for it !

 

[Solitaire]

never mind how long you have to launch life raft,can you get in life raft from water. I work offshore and have to do survival courses which involve getting into various life rafts,I am quit fit and find it a struggle and this is in a flat calm warm swimming pool,just imagine bit of a swell freezing cold in shock not so easy.

very valid. Anybody who has a liferaft aboard should do the sea survival course . As you say, getting into a liferaft from the water is not easy.

 

[A_8]

Thanks all.

I don't think it will happen and most of us have a lot more to worry about then the boat hitting something, not likely and a random hard thing

I do like thinking ahead though so here is is a question:

You hit something and you go for the life raft......or you go for a reinforced canvas and bring it to the front and pull it under the hull to stop the leak.

?

 

[hlb]

Theres no real answer to your question, depends where the hole is and how big it is.

Your biggest job will be talking to the coast guards and answering all sorts of silly questions.

In a small boat or open boat, it could be just one wave that swamps you.

 

[Searush]

(snip).....or you go for a reinforced canvas and bring it to the front and pull it under the hull to stop the leak.

?

You carry sails on your MoBo?

 

[simon barefoot]

A mate of mine about 20 years or so ago got a rope around his prop. It sheared the bolts to the gear box and wound the shaft out through the stern tube (I think). Apparently he had about 30 SECONDS to get out of the boat.
It has to be said he was singlehanded trawling, and was dozing on autopilot when it happened... not ideal, but understandable and if everything was perfect there wouldn't be the word accident in the dictionary

 

[Searush]

Why worry?

Have a charged VHF & a h/h GPS in your grab bag, then you can answer the coastguard's silly questions from the reaxing comfort of your liferaft as the bubbles disperse from demise of your pride & joy.

 

[fireball]

You hit something and you go for the life raft......or you go for a reinforced canvas and bring it to the front and pull it under the hull to stop the leak.

?

Your LR should be easy to get to and launch - ours is in a locker - despite the fact that it's not likely to be used it is ready to be hauled out and sits in prime position in preference to other more frequently used items.

If you do hit something then you should prioritise the actions ... Mine would be:

1) Stop the boat
2) Check everyone ok - small cuts & bruises don't matter
3) Check for leaks below - a small amount of water can be dealt with - masses cannot
4) Assuming leak - unless it is minuscule - ie you can clear up with a sponge - call CG on VHF - DSC panic button preferably.
5) If the leak is that big that you cannot stem the water flow then get the LR ready to deploy.

You should be able to do the above steps in under 2 minutes total. (Ok - the call to the CG will take longer - but can be done alongside the getting LR ready.

Depending on where I was and what rescue services were available I'd be tempted to get the tender out if it was quick and easy to do so - or rather I'd detail one of the crew to do it - it gives them something to do and gives you an additional vessel should it be required.

Holes -> stemming the flow ...
A small hole will not sink the boat quickly - a charter co used to remove the log and depth gauges to wash out the bilges - so 2 x 1" holes - took a few minutes to get the floor awash. Plenty of time to bung the hole!
A cushion or 2 could reduce the flow quite considerably if used to bung a jagged hole.

 

[Tranona]

If you look at the recorded cases of liferafts being used by pleasure boats, you find first that the number of MOBOs involved is tiny, and are either collision or fire. If its any consolation most (and it is only 3 or 4 over the last 15 years) have been boats on delivery by professional crews. The chances of you or any other pleasure MOBOer needing to use a raft are just about zero.

Most of the other cases are sailing boats, usually with experienced crews where there has been structural failure, collision or in extreme weather where any sensible pleasure sailor should be safely tied up. In most cases the raft is launched in poor conditions, fails to inflate, inflates upside down - or simply is not launched because the event is catastrophic. On a few occasions (the best known being a Moody that was chopped in half by a container ship in the fog) there has been time for a planned evacuation as the boat slowly sinks.

So, certainly worth thinking about how you might prepare yourself secure in the knowledge that you will almost certainly never need it, but if you do it will be quite unlike anything you ever imagined!

Suggest you go on the survival course including the dunking. Will ensure you never knowingly get into a situation where you might have to do it for real.

 

[oceanfroggie]

It's just common sense - be prepared. Old Chinese proverb:

"Never step down into a life raft, only step up into a life raft"

In other words don't abandon too early, stay with sinking vessel as long as is safely possible.