How strong a halyard for MOB retrieval?

dunedin said:
Also a very recent PanPan the Coastguard spent 5 minutes asking all sorts of details, including call sign (never used in 50 years) from a poor skipper who was trying to cope with an emergency without the bureaucratic form filling.
I have occasionally briefed any crew that if I fall overboard, press the red button, tell them the problem and the assistance requested - and then tell them to use the MMSi and look up the rest on their computer system and not to waste time with this.
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there is a danger of getting dragged into a detailed discussion but a DSC call takes 5 seconds. You should never be concerned about telling the CG to wait. If you don’t give them the reassuring responses they are looking for it’s likely to escalate the help they send rather than reduce it - especially if you’ve got across it’s a MOB not an engine hiccup.
 
Fr J Hackett said:
The answer we came up with was that she would launch the life raft ASAP
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Did you experiment with if she could actually do that? We have a 6 man in a canister and getting it over the rail for a person too weak to haul me in would be a struggle in the sort of conditions where in might be most needed. It is a scenario we have considered (and the dinghy potentially provides an extended sugar scoop/bathing platform), but I think those only help if the casualty can help themselves.
 
ylop said:
Did you experiment with if she could actually do that? We have a 6 man in a canister and getting it over the rail for a person too weak to haul me in would be a struggle in the sort of conditions where in might be most needed. It is a scenario we have considered (and the dinghy potentially provides an extended sugar scoop/bathing platform), but I think those only help if the casualty can help themselves.
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Yes she could lift the liferaft but it's position meant that by cutting the guardline lashings it could easily be launched into the water either side of the boat, something that was at the forefront of thinking when determining its position.
As I said I know how difficult entering a liferaft alone can be having done it ( in practice) but it seemed the best option and one I even now can't think of a better one. A dinghy would be an improvement especially with a partially inflated tube but when underway our dinghy was always deflated and stowed never towed. A sugar scoop stern would also be useful but again our yachts never had one.
 
rogerthebodger said:
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Locking carabiner

Try a rock-climbing shop
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I have one of those on my climbing kit but, to be secure, it does need screwing up.
I am sure I have seen a clip on one that defies accidental opening.
 
Graham_Wright said:
I have one of those on my climbing kit but, to be secure, it does need screwing up.
I am sure I have seen a clip on one that defies accidental opening.
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What's wrong with the now standard harness fitting with the internal bar that if necessary can be opened with one hand rather than the carabiner that used to be the standard fitting but was superseded many years ago.
 
Fr J Hackett said:
What's wrong with the now standard harness fitting with the internal bar that if necessary can be opened with one hand rather than the carabiner that used to be the standard fitting but was superseded many years ago.
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My DS instructor many years ago showed me how to disconnect one by applying a bit of lateral twisting motion on the tether.
 
st599 said:
My DS instructor many years ago showed me how to disconnect one by applying a bit of lateral twisting motion on the tether.
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Maybe you can but I bet it was contrived and about as likely to happen in real life as being hit on the head by a meteor. But each to his own
 
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Fr J Hackett said:
Ah that's not the type I was talking about, that is the type that was common 40 years ago and was replaced by what you see on tethers today with the internal bar.

Spinlock 3 Clip Safety Line Gael Force Marine
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That type, flat hook, are prone to failure if pulled sideways. It’s the type that cause the MOB on the Clipper race.

I have just bought a new safety tether from Spinlock and they no longer get sell this type. No idea if they can be opened single handed, but I always thought that was the single action type.

Performance Safety Lines | Spinlock
 
RunAgroundHard said:
That type, flat hook, are prone to failure if pulled sideways. It’s the type that cause the MOB on the Clipper race.

I have just bought a new safety tether from Spinlock and they no longer get sell this type. No idea if they can be opened single handed, but I always thought that was the single action type.

Performance Safety Lines | Spinlock
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Just read the report thanks but it wasn't the locking mechanism that failed it was the body of the carabiner / hook and looking at the current iteration it has been changed from flat section to a thicker one to increase strength under lateral loading. All part of the evolution of safety equipment in all walks of life unfortunately they usually come as a result of an incident and often fatality. They also seem to have changed the locking mechanism to the one commonly used in industry by scaffolders etc. If I remember correctly it requires you to squeeze the part with the slot to allow the gate to open, not sure if it's an absolute improvement as it can easily be get trapped and be pushed inwards especially on a cluttered deck, more likely that they have just adopted the existing industrial carabiner / hook into their leisure / sailing equipment.
 
Fr J Hackett said:
Just read the report thanks but it wasn't the locking mechanism that failed it was the body of the carabiner / hook and looking at the current iteration it has been changed from flat section to a thicker one to increase strength under lateral loading. All part of the evolution of safety equipment in all walks of life unfortunately they usually come as a result of an incident and often fatality. They also seem to have changed the locking mechanism to the one commonly used in industry by scaffolders etc. If I remember correctly it requires you to squeeze the part with the slot to allow the gate to open, not sure if it's an absolute improvement as it can easily be get trapped and be pushed inwards especially on a cluttered deck, more likely that they have just adopted the existing industrial carabiner / hook into their leisure / sailing equipment.
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In the scenario envisaged, the carabiner will be clipper onto the MOB under close supervision so is unlikely to be unclipped accidentally. As it will be permanently rigged to the rescue/dinghy launching halyard, it will be very exposed to the elements and needs to be stainless. This probably rules out industrial and climbing devices (although I still haven't found one in those categories either).
 
Graham_Wright said:
In the scenario envisaged, the carabiner will be clipper onto the MOB under close supervision so is unlikely to be unclipped accidentally. As it will be permanently rigged to the rescue/dinghy launching halyard, it will be very exposed to the elements and needs to be stainless. This probably rules out industrial and climbing devices (although I still haven't found one in those categories either).
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Have a look at any lifting / harness company eg Spinlock, there products are designed to tolerate "abuse" and all weathers / environments.
 
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