Small boat practical safety gear?

[Rappey]

Some of the suggestions of what gear you need are well ott.
I have a 16ft bowriders centre consol type boat.
I'm in the solent so never that far from land or others boats so circumstances and location play a part.
The boat has nav lights, ropes and anchor. I wear a lifejacket and take a handheld vhf. Also have a waterproof mobile. That's it . If it's rough or wet might wear a fladden immersion suit.
You don't need a ladder as you have a perfectly good engine and low transom to get back in.
Can you fill up the hull under the floor with empty plastic bottles with lids on for buoyancy while not adding much weight ?

 

[MystyBlue2]

Some of the suggestions of what gear you need are well ott.
I have a 16ft bowriders centre consol type boat.
I'm in the solent so never that far from land or others boats so circumstances and location play a part.
The boat has nav lights, ropes and anchor. I wear a lifejacket and take a handheld vhf. Also have a waterproof mobile. That's it . If it's rough or wet might wear a fladden immersion suit.
You don't need a ladder as you have a perfectly good engine and low transom to get back in.
Can you fill up the hull under the floor with empty plastic bottles with lids on for buoyancy while not adding much weight ?

I was thinking of re-doing the foam with a 2 part closed cell foam but i have no idea on how to do this correctly and ive read if done wrong it could BURST the hull with not enough room to expand so i have been put off slightly.

Ive toyed with the idea of bottles but that should have been done before i glassed the deck in to use up as much dead space as possible and to eliminate them rattling around.

This is the tricky part...practical but safe and its easy to go over the top or not enough...

 

[jaminb]

Hi Dan

I sail a Drascombe Longboat (21ft open dayboat). I would say 6 miles along the coast from the harbour is fine, 6 miles out to see is possibly a little adventurous and probably a bit boring, enjoy your ability to hug the coastline unlike bigger boats. Swamping is my biggest concern in a heavy sea as unlike a dinghy you can't right a capsize and bail out as easily. Have you come across Roger Barnes - he is the guru of small boat cruising.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCtzWwFEMaEVXejzRKgPjPNA

Ben

 

[lustyd]

My main use is coastal fishing upto 6NM offshore NO FURTHER, Flat conditions upto force 3.

its a 14 foot boat with gallons of fuel, being swamped. or a fuel fire will be almost instant into the water situations, vhf in the pocket might be useful but if floating on a your back in a lifejacket at dusk a few miles off the coast, I know what I'd rather have.

I feel like OP is worried about likely scenarios rather than the absolute worst situation you personally can imagine happening. A PLB might be handy, but is definitely overkill for the described usage. Would a life raft make them safer? Probably, but I certainly wouldn't suggest fitting one in this situation. It's easy to scaremonger people into getting more than they need, much harder to offer sensible and appropriate advice suitable to their situation. I can't even see anything in that list which could be used to start a fuel fire other than the engine, and it would be exceptionally difficult to be suddenly swamped in a flat calm F3 while fishing. Perhaps a harness would be a better start to ensure remaining on/with the boat, and a SeaStart membership in case of breakdown.

 

[Rappey]

If your deck is glassed in and airtight then you have buoyancy. Your seahog looks a competent boat and good protection from oncoming waves with the cabin.
An electric bilge pump may be useful as you can pump out while underway.
I don't carry oars as the slightest bit of wind and the windage of the boat is more than what I can row as have high freeboard. I do have a paddle though.
Good common sense about conditions is the key element.
It's a small boat with limitations . I think Dan has already well equipped his boat for the intended usage

 

[northwind]

At the end of this, if you add everything suggested you are going to need a bigger boat....

 

[john0740]

Depending on location, there is a possibilty of swamping in otherwise calm conditions arising from wake of passing ships.

 

[MystyBlue2]

Well here are a few pics of boat if it helps...

 

[Rappey]

I was thinking of re-doing the foam with a 2 part closed cell foam

30 years ago the expanding foams had a lot of force and could snap upvc windows if too much was used. Nowadays they seem a lot less ferocious and the tinned stuff often tell you how much they expand by, some hardly expand at all

 

[MystyBlue2]

If your deck is glassed in and airtight then you have buoyancy. Your seahog looks a competent boat and good protection from oncoming waves with the cabin.
An electric bilge pump may be useful as you can pump out while underway.
I don't carry oars as the slightest bit of wind and the windage of the boat is more than what I can row as have high freeboard. I do have a paddle though.
Good common sense about conditions is the key element.
It's a small boat with limitations . I think Dan has already well equipped his boat for the intended usage

Well it was air tight but i did fit 2 small inspection hatches so if i bumped my hull and got a leak i could bilge it out as it was coming in.

It would only stay air tight until i got a leak but then NO WAY of pumping out. Would be a certain sinking scenario.

 

[Caraway]

If your deck is glassed in and airtight then you have buoyancy. Your seahog looks a competent boat and good protection from oncoming waves with the cabin.
An electric bilge pump may be useful as you can pump out while underway.
I don't carry oars as the slightest bit of wind and the windage of the boat is more than what I can row as have high freeboard. I do have a paddle though.
Good common sense about conditions is the key element.
It's a small boat with limitations . I think Dan has already well equipped his boat for the intended usage

I have had paddles. But with a high freeboard they are back-breaking. The alloy oars make great paddles and can be used without leaning overboard.

 

[LadyInBed]

You seem to have most things covered but I would rethink your range off shore, 1nm is more appropriate than 6nm. Also, your boarding ladder, sleeved rope ones are difficult to use, a hook over extending aluminium one is much easier to use.
A 2hp 2 stroke would be IMO better than oars. I don't know if your engine uses ready mixed fuel or internally self mixes but either way, your spare fuel could service both engins.

 

[MystyBlue2]

Well all of this has come as a bit of a shock TBH...but atleast i know where i stand and the boats limitations before i get myself into deep trouble.

Looks like my paddleboard with an engine has been a total waste of time and money then.

I dont want to power to Amsterdam i was just hoping to get some days 6miles off on some deep wreck fishing.

Never mind thanks for all your advice and comments folks ?

 

[pcatterall]

Dont be put off! lots of different views on here, just choose the ones that make sense to you. I would certainly consider the situation about going overboard especially as you are fishing and possibly moving around, leaning over the side etc a bit more than yachtsmen may do.

 

[northwind]

Honestly you have most things covered, the main things to add are simple ones:
Understand the effect of wind and tide,
Understand how to interpret the weather forecast, combined with reading the clouds. Know your and your crafts limitations, ideally know how to troubleshoot engine issues. if you follow these in the right conditions you will be fine. Take a look at Harry Dwyer's videos on YouTube, he is going round the UK in a 4m searider.

 

[PaulRainbow]

If you fit everything suggested here the boat will be too heavy/low in the water, so you'll need a bigger boat. When you buy the bigger boat, the list of recommendations will grow exponentially and the bigger boat will be too heavy/low in the water, so you'll need a bigger boat. When you buy the bigger boat................

 

[Spirit (of Glenans)]

Will only serve to make the life jacket less attractive. Given the range off shore VHF is more than adequate and would likely provide better outcomes. PLBs are great for offshore sailing, but in local waters are overkill and just add bulk to a lifejacket. I have one on the LJ I use offshore, and wouldn't be without it, but inshore I wear a different LJ or no LJ at all.

Pandos is posting from a country where, in a small boat, we are legally obliged to wear an LJ "at all times while on deck", regardless of whether we like it or not, and a good thing too, IMHO.

 

[thinwater]

That looks like a sturdy boat, and with a sharp eye on the weather, suitable.

I would consider a 24" cone drogue. Good for drift fishing, and also to keep the bow into the wind if the engine dies. That little boat could take some waves if the bow stays into the wind, but not so much on the beam or transom, and I'll bet she would drift transom-to-waves with all that cabin windage. The drogue might do more to keeping the boat right side up, and that is the main thing!

If you do not want to carry a drogue (I know, one more thing) then test making a jury drogue from fenders and the anchor. Might work.

 

[thinwater]

That looks like a sturdy boat, and with a sharp eye on the weather, suitable.

I would consider a 24" cone drogue. Good for drift fishing, and also to keep the bow into the wind if the engine dies. That little boat could take some waves if the bow stays into the wind, but not so much on the beam or transom, and I'll bet she would drift transom-to-waves with all that cabin windage. The drogue might do more to keeping the boat right side up, and that is the main thing!

If you do not want to carry a drogue (I know, one more thing) then test making a jury drogue from fenders and the anchor. Might work, and a handy fishing trick.

 

[lustyd]

Pandos is posting from a country where, in a small boat, we are legally obliged to wear an LJ "at all times while on deck", regardless of whether we like it or not, and a good thing too, IMHO.

Thankfully I live in a country that acknowledges that I might enjoy using my boat for pleasure and leaves it up to me. I like Spinlock, but the Deckvest leaves all kinds of tanlines and it's utter shite when you want to jump in for a swim.