Idiot seeks electrical advice for (quite) brilliant boaty idea

[tcm]

Whilst at helm of this catamaran on a long passage, esp at night, everyone else snoozes peacefully. Which is fab ....until something happens, like needing help on deck or at extreme i suppose MOB or fire.

If there such an emergency, someone would have to trot trot round the cabins up and down each hull, realise nobody in that cabin, and helloo....so back up to other hull and knock knock and so on. So there could/would be a whole loads of time wasted waking people up when they should be sprung to action but unfortunatly no amount of noise on deck will wakem.

So! what i am really aftr is a lashup rig of several alarms, activated by big button at helm. Perhaps the alarms could be each like a smoke detector, which would be cheap. Not sure. Best would be 4 buttons for four sleeping areas to wakem individually. Whatever.

Or is there a product already out there like this? I bet it will cost £599 for two cabins though. Those posh oceany Oysters don't have it do they, hm? Well, you need it if on ocean passage at night and need evryone out pronto. Well, it's a better idea that most of the dragons den ideas. Or it's better than the rubbish MOB alarm idea than involves cutting a hole in the boat...

all ideas and ridicule gratefully receievd.

 

[Stingo]

Errm, a few B&Q battery operated front door bells, perhaps?

 

[Shanty]

How about an electric doorbell in each cabin?

 

[essexboy]

I bought a wireless doorbell from Lidl about £3.50

 

[Stingo]

Maybe something like THIS ONE

 

[Oliveoyl]

Hang on, let me get this right - you're alone on deck, all the crew are below, prolly asleep, then you have a MOB- which can only be you.... So you're going to get back on board, sound the alarm, then..... throw yourself overboard again?
How about a foghorn? Or if you have hifi speakers all over the boat (and I'm sure you must do on such a jolly fine vessel), how about a DJ kind of arrangement, with a mic in the cockpit?
Agree the idea is brilliant, but am also an electrical idiot

 

[Sixpence]

Multi station intercom similar to the ones used in multi occupancy buildings , press individual buttons to wake individual crew members or use the ' call all ' button to wake the lot

 

[Sixpence]

Good point but anyone that isn't an electrical idiot /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif can rig a kill cord to the system I've suggested so if he decides to , erm , jump back in , the alarm goes off anyway

 

[tcm]

oho! They looks good. Thanks!

 

[mikemonty]

What about shouting your head off!
Or if you go over the side, a little battery operated personal alarm thing with a breakaway cord to do your shouting for you.

Mike

 

[tcm]

hm yes, i suppose i confused the idea of being all alone with an MOB. The mob wd be with min just two people on deck, but the fire could be with only one. ...

 

[cameronke]

Howzabout keeping it all un-electrical and nice and simple then?

Posh old houses have a little bell pull in each room all connected by strings to a bank of little bells in the kitchen or butlers quarters.

Simply reverse said system so little bank of bell pulls are at the helm connected to individual bells in each cabin. Crew members can now be summoned singularly or severally by pulling one or more pulls.

Sorted!

Cameron

 

[nyx2k]

how about flexible water pipe with a funnel at helm end to shout down.

 

[cameronke]

Much more nautical!

A bank of little funnels to shout down. Top tip: always store funnels "funnel down" for fear of flooding cabins during heavy rain.

Cameron

 

[Vara]

Every thing you need to know about speaking tubes here;
http://www.dself.dsl.pipex.com/MUSEUM/COMMS/voicepipe/voicepipe.htm

And with some small adaptions could be made to allow delivery of a hot beverage to the on-coming watch member, how civilised would that be?

 

[capnsensible]

On submarines they used to have a real neat one called the 'Main Broadcast General Alarm'. Now seeing as most of the submarine fleet is laid up in Scotland and the new PM is a sweaty sock, try an email to No. 10 appealing to his canny native caution with money and make an offer for a 'pre owned' one.

 

[Strathglass]

We have recently bought a couple of those license free cheap communicator things (£10 for two from asda).

The call button is very loud. They can also be used for ship to tender or shore.

Different makes seem to talk to each other and my cheepies have a choice of 8 channels.

I think they would do the job you are looking for.

Iain

 

[Rowana]

I have a whistle which belonged to my Grandfather. Lovely big brass thing it is, and I would defy ANYONE to sleep through it.

My Mother used to tell me that when she was a child and out with her brothers and sisters, if they heard the whistle, they had to run hell for leather home! She said it could be heard at some considerable distance from the house.

Must take it on board sometime and give it a try /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[Lakesailor]

Absolutely.
If you're rigging an emergency muster-call system it shouldn't rely on electricity or batteries.

Better still than the string operated bells is a wire pull system (so that fire won't disable it. Each crew member ties the wire to their, erm, member or, for more formal crew arrangements, their big toes. A quick yank in the cockpit will get their attention "toe de suite".

 

[tcm]

Joke Standards Officer

You're nicked...