Mount Liferaft on pushpit - starlight 35 trim???

[gregcope]

Hi all,

Want to move my liveraft from on the coach roof to the pushpit

Advantages;
- Clears view forward - presently direct forward is obscured when standing in cockpit as I am a short arse.
- Much easier to launch... Present location would be hard work ...
- Frees room to mount a solar panel in its present place.

Disadvantages
- Trim. The starlight 35 seems to trim stern down, and causes water to pool in interest places like the stern decks, and helms seats. We need to use the for peak storage, as there is very little stored there.

Does the collective forum wisdom have a view?

 

[laika]

Fortunately the only times I've ever disconnected my pushpit-mounted liferaft has been to have it serviced. You've identified ease of launching: I'm pretty sure some of my more diminutive crew wouldn't be able to lift the liferaft but they could undo the split pin holding the catch which releases it and kick it off the back. Hopefully they'll never need to do that but I *do* save time on the safety briefing every time someone comes aboard because the launch method is straight forward.

 

[gregcope]

Fortunately the only times I've ever disconnected my pushpit-mounted liferaft has been to have it serviced. You've identified ease of launching: I'm pretty sure some of my more diminutive crew wouldn't be able to lift the liferaft but they could undo the split pin holding the catch which releases it and kick it off the back. Hopefully they'll never need to do that but I *do* save time on the safety briefing every time someone comes aboard because the launch method is straight forward.

That was my thinking too. I struggle to lift the thing on a good day! Let alone throw it in the water on a dark, pitching boat. Like you I am attracted to the "pull this pin, and climb in" method.

 

[Rigger Mortice]

Put the liferaft in the best position for deployment.
If trim is a problem then change how all the gear in the boat is stowed.
Or get crew to shift forward a little.

 

[Deleted member 36384]

The stern might not always be the be the best place to launch so you may have to move it and lugging it from outside the rail to another location could be an issue. Also it is at risk of collision damage. The coach roof in my opinion is a satisfactory position as it allow the raft to be launched anywhere with relative ease. I do agree that for most situations a stern mount is likely to be a good location.

I would not try and pick up and throw my 8 man canister overboard, it can however be slid from the coach roof onto the side decks, port or starboard, and thus overboard under the guard wire easily (it is how I remove it from the boat and I have 3" gunwale to get over). The advantage of this is that I can pull it alongside as it inflates to the boarding position (gates on my beam) as opposed to towing it as it inflates from the stern to the beam. I have a centre cockpit.

 

[bedouin]

A serious disadvantage of the pushpit mounting is that the liferaft is very exposed. If you are out in "survival" weather then there is a high chance of it being carried away. Given the choice of the coachroof or the pushpit I would go for the coachroof.

I don't quite see why launching from the coachroof would be hard work - isn't it just a case of sliding it into the water from there?

 

[GrahamM376]

One advantage of mounting on the taff rail is that it should still deploy if boat's inverted whereas ours in a cradle on the aft cabin coachroof may well be trapped.

 

[gregcope]

One advantage of mounting on the taff rail is that it should still deploy if boat's inverted whereas ours in a cradle on the aft cabin coachroof may well be trapped.

Recent events made me think of that too.

 

[SeaMark]

I have a 6 man life raft mounted on the starboard side of the pulpit on Lyra Vega. It is a bit of a pain sometimes when mooring alongside other boats but other than that I think it is ideal. In terms of trim It goes a little way to counteract the slight list to port S35s tend to adopt.

 

[gregcope]

I have a 6 man life raft mounted on the starboard side of the pulpit on Lyra Vega. It is a bit of a pain sometimes when mooring alongside other boats but other than that I think it is ideal. In terms of trim It goes a little way to counteract the slight list to port S35s tend to adopt.

Sounds like the best compromise, and I had not mentioned the port list!!!

 

[KellysEye]

>A serious disadvantage of the pushpit mounting is that the liferaft is very exposed. If you are out in "survival" weather then there is a high chance of it being carried away.

We've been in some serious weather with water breaking over boat, one occasion it washed a full water container that was tied on off the side deck and tore the inflatable Dan buoy off the stern quarter. The life raft container that was on the pushpit was unaffected, waves don't reach there.

 

[Neil_Y]

Bigger anchor?

 

[Sans Bateau]

It seems to me those who campaign the location of the liferaft on the coach roof have overlooked the facts that someone has to go forward on a likely heavily pitching deck, from the safety of the cockpit to launch it, add to that the scenario where the rig has come down trapping the thing. Push pit every time.

 

[Seajet]

Could the trim be assisted by filling / moving water tank forward ?

 

[gregcope]

Could the trim be assisted by filling / moving water tank forward ?

Could be, but to make a material difference it would need to go into the forepeak, which is nearer the centre line.

 

[gregcope]

Bigger anchor?

I already have the bower and kedge in the anchor locker

Lead anchor?

 

[AntarcticPilot]

A disadvantage I found with a pushpit mounted liferaft is that it puts a heavy load on the pushpit mounting brackets. There is a heavy weight on a long lever arm, at a point on the boat where the motion is relatively great.The hole through which the fixing pin passes on the forward leg of my pushpit has worn and become elongated because of the stresses of a pushpit mounted liferaft.

Mine is now located on the hatch garage, from where it can be slid into the sea without much effort

 

[AngusMcDoon]

- Trim. The starlight 35 seems to trim stern down,

Compare the difference in trim when someone walks from the centre to the aft of the boat, and then divide that by 5 for the respective weight of the liferaft. It will be unmeasurable on a 35' boat.

 

[bedouin]

>A serious disadvantage of the pushpit mounting is that the liferaft is very exposed. If you are out in "survival" weather then there is a high chance of it being carried away.

We've been in some serious weather with water breaking over boat, one occasion it washed a full water container that was tied on off the side deck and tore the inflatable Dan buoy off the stern quarter. The life raft container that was on the pushpit was unaffected, waves don't reach there.

How many times have you been forced to abandon ship to the liferaft because of heavy weather?

There is a number of documented instances of boats losing their pushpit mounted liferaft long before they needed it - I have an idea there was a case either in the Fastnet or Sydney Hobart where a crew chose to abandon ship because the liferaft had been swept off like that and that as a result lives were lost.

There isn't a perfect answer - we just need to be aware of all the issues and choose the compromise that suits us best.

 

[Deleted member 36384]

...... add to that the scenario where the rig has come down trapping the thing. ......

No worries about the mast taking it out, the meteor impact protection cage will easily deal with mast impacts. However, as we all know, this will not protect the pushpit mounted L/R from a vertical iceberg ramming unless the optional horizontal crumple zone is installed. Most folks don't as the additional LOA increases marina fees. Some people have no sense of perspective when it comes to safety.