Recommended safety equipment for coastal cruising..

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wipe_out

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Hi,
Just as a check for myself I am looking for recommendations for what safety kit we should have for weekend coastal cruising in case I have missed something or there is something I didn't know I needed..

Currently we have:
  • Life jackets
  • Horse shoe
  • Throw line
  • Fixed VHF
  • Hand held VHF
  • Basic first aid kit
  • Coastal flare pack
  • Wooden bung pack

What else do you think should we definitely have?

What else isn't definitely needed but would be good to have?

Thanks.
 
Good binoculars, may as well be with a combined compass; could be said to be nav rather than safety but they're near vital for spotting trouble ahead, tide guages at entrances etc.
 
In Western Australia we must have an Epirb if we venture more than 4 NM offshore. (Agree with Scala as well)
 
Liferaft - depends on size of boat to carry it, I have never carried one apart from a one-man ejection seat job - when crossing the Channel I have the dinghy half inflated on the foredeck and a high speed inflator.
 
A lot of safety is in the seamanship of the skipper and crew and in the preparation and maintenance of the boat.

For coastal cruising I’d be far more worried about a boat with defective bilge pumps and no buckets on board and no tools and bits and pieces to cobble together a repair than whether I’ve got a life-raft or EPIRB.

Having the boat reasonably well maintained and some basic spares on board (spare filters and impeller for the engine, a can of fuel, some tape and wire and some spare line and a few odd blocks and shackles etc) is all about safety IMHO.

Some common sense and knowledge of how to fix things makes you a lot safer.

You say you have lifejackets and a vhf. Hopefully you’ve got some charts and a compass.

A plan and listening to the weather forecast helps!
 
Tea bags, plenty of them.

also - spare warm clothing and foul weather gear on board just in case.

i also carry some essential spares / fuel and toolkit just in case kinda safety?
 
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Have you get a fire extinguisher?

Otherwise, maybe some spare fuel in case you run out.
 
john_morris_uk said:
Having the boat reasonably well maintained and some basic spares on board (spare filters and impeller for the engine, a can of fuel, some tape and wire and some spare line and a few odd blocks and shackles etc) is all about safety IMHO.

Some common sense and knowledge of how to fix things makes you a lot safer.
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Definitely this.

Liferafts and flares and suchlike are emergency equipment, to help you not die when things have already gone drastically wrong. If you find yourself launching a liferaft or picking up a flare, you are already unsafe.

Safety equipment helps you avoid having the emergency in the first place, by navigating clear of the rocks, getting the engine going again, or properly avoiding other traffic. Most of it is not fluorescent orange.

Pete
 
wipe_out said:
Hi,
Just as a check for myself I am looking for recommendations for what safety kit we should have for weekend coastal cruising in case I have missed something or there is something I didn't know I needed..

Currently we have:
  • Life jackets
  • Horse shoe
  • Throw line
  • Fixed VHF
  • Hand held VHF
  • Basic first aid kit
  • Coastal flare pack
  • Wooden bung pack

What else do you think should we definitely have?

What else isn't definitely needed but would be good to have?

Thanks.
Click to expand...

I depends what you mean by coastal, but anywhere near the solent and you would be rescued before a liferaft hit the water. So a liferaft is OTT - a way of raising the alarm is better and you have that.

Fire extinguishers and warm clothing are 2 of the responses already that I would have said. And John Morris's reply is a wise one.

I would add a way of getting back on board if you fall in.
This should include a minimum of showing the crew how to stop the boat, and telling them to press and hold the red button and do as the man says.
If you are sailing single handed then a way of raising the alarm if you fall in, eg the handheld clipped to your l/J.
Given the above I would also add harnesses in case it gets bumpy.
 
I echo those who concentrate on safety equipment to avoid the need for emergency equipment.

With a finite budget then well maintained sails, ropes, engine and harnesses plus good navigation knowledge comes a huge way (for me) above a life raft. I try to start with thinking and reading about what might go wrong and then working on prevention.

So warm clothing, good waterproofs, a decent watch system and easy hot food and drink are also priorities so that skipper and crew can make the best most rational decisions at the time.

I’d put head torches for each person and boots with really good grip high up on the list too.
 
On the primary safety front I would suggest:
- checking you have adequate fire extinguishers and a fire blanket
- making a detailed plan of all through hull holes - seacocks etc - as probably more than you think

On the secondary safety side:
- if doing any overnight crossings then lights in the lifejackets
- I would certainly want a PLB and probably a liferaft for my cruising grounds, but there are much fewer boats around than in the channel so need to be more self sufficient here

Safe voyages and have fun
 
wipe_out said:
Hi,
Just as a check for myself I am looking for recommendations for what safety kit we should have for weekend coastal cruising in case I have missed something or there is something I didn't know I needed..

Currently we have:
  • Life jackets
  • Horse shoe
  • Throw line
  • Fixed VHF
  • Hand held VHF
  • Basic first aid kit
  • Coastal flare pack
  • Wooden bung pack

What else do you think should we definitely have?

What else isn't definitely needed but would be good to have?

Thanks.
Click to expand...
I sailed a long way singlehanded for quite a few years without a single item from your list on board. I did have charts, a compass and a leadline, tools and spares, plenty of extra string in all sizes. I might have had a packet of Elastoplast on board. At first I was very careful with weather, but quite quickly got much more confident. I assumed I'd be dead if I fell overboard, and as the boats did not have guardwires got used to holding on. In those days only rich people with big boats had VHFs, big fixed green things with dials.

As others have said, most of the current "safety equipment" carried is "emergency equipment" for use after something probably preventable has happened. The biggest aid to safety is to constantly think "What if ………..."

I'm not against current "safety equipment", and have lots of it now, but it doesn't actually make you much safer. Learning and thinking makes you safer.
 
jwilson said:
I sailed a long way singlehanded for quite a few years without a single item from your list on board. I did have charts, a compass and a leadline, tools and spares, plenty of extra string in all sizes. I might have had a packet of Elastoplast on board. At first I was very careful with weather, but quite quickly got much more confident. I assumed I'd be dead if I fell overboard, and as the boats did not have guardwires got used to holding on. In those days only rich people with big boats had VHFs, big fixed green things with dials.

As others have said, most of the current "safety equipment" carried is "emergency equipment" for use after something probably preventable has happened. The biggest aid to safety is to constantly think "What if ………..."

I'm not against current "safety equipment", and have lots of it now, but it doesn't actually make you much safer. Learning and thinking makes you safer.
Click to expand...

Agree completely.
My "safety equipment" is good clothing and plenty of head torches. Spares for the boat and food and drink for me. Probably the most useful thing I had for my last trip was AIS which whilst not replacing lookout was extremely useful as I was parallel to shipping lanes a great deal of the time and far enough offshore that I didn't see a fishing boat that wasn't transmitting. I did see a couple of yachts though which were considerably larger than me but didn't have AIS transmitters.

My emergency equipment cost a fortune, takes up space and weighs plenty too. Let's hope my distain for it only grows as the miles pass as that will mean the safety equipment is working.
 
I posted a rather similar question a while back. Here is that thread; it may be interesting to compare them.

http://www.ybw.com/forums/showthrea...ary-cruising-what-have-I-forgotten&highlight=

I fancy that wipe_out is thinking along the same lines as I was; “have I forgotten something important?”

I can remember the list of safety and other equipment that the 18 year old me carried on a cruise round the Thames estuary in an 18ft half decked centreboard boat in 1971:

1 A blue jacket with an inflatable bladder inside (Peter Storm?)
2. Two flares.
3. 12 year old sister (very handy for going up the mast and into the space under the foredeck)
4. Compass, chart, copy of East Coast Rivers, copy of Instant Weather Forecasting, WH Smith’s note book for log.
5. Torch. Allegedly watertight (it wasn’t!) Tinplate hurricane lamp (it rusted) for riding light.
6. Change for telephone to report back to parents from phone boxes.
7. Fisherman anchor and warp.
8. Borrowed pram dinghy with oars and bailer.
9. Primus stove, kettle, etc.
10.Ex Army ground sheet over boom to make a tent.
 
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