Small boat practical safety gear?

northwind said:
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.
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I've been watching his videos from the beginning, There incredible! It has given me the kick up the bum to grow some balls and use my boat for its intended use and not just hugging the coast as im scared if the sea and wont go out unless it is glassy calm.

But ive had my eyes opened up abit on this thread...maybe back to the drawing board.
 
Ive been looking at drogue's for drift fishing as its really annoying having to reset the drift every 10mins cos im drifting too quickly. (y)
 
PaulRainbow said:
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................ :)
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Good point....a vicious circle
 
ghostlymoron said:
I'm no expert on small mobos but is it safe to have a 40hp motor on such a small vessel. Also 6nm is a long way to row if your motor fails.
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Thats why i have a VHF and a license to transmit to ask another boat for a tow or failing that the RNLI.

I personally dont think im being stupid as with any size boat you can get "caught out" unexpected.

Look at cargo ships, 30ft yachts and small power boats. Anybody can run into trouble at any time.

Were all taking a risk if were on the water we just need to use our brains and keep us as safe as possible and reduce the risk of accidents.

The rest is down to the gods
 
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If it's well maintained then crack on and ignore the Debbie Downers. You wouldn't put a motorbike in your boot to drive through the Lake District! Just pack some sarnies and maintain everything as well as you can, you'll be fine.
 
I'd get wooden oars rather than aluminium ones as you would need to put your back into rowing, but would you want to row her far? (Don't forget the rowlocks.) I do see rowed boats that far out, but rarely.

I have two of those collapsible paddles on my Newmatic 360 and they are ok for getting to the beach once it is too shallow to want to motor - I now use a decathlon extending ally paddleboarding paddle in the 360 and it's a lot better but again wouldn't want to paddle far.

My biggest worries would be swamping, rolling & pitchpoling - Ensuring the under sole buoyancy was functional would be my primary safety concern; A bilge pump would be pretty simple to install under the sole with the outlet raised with an anti syphon loop and valve as per a toilet.

Just don't go far out to sea if an offshore wind is forecast. The nut holding the wheel is your most important bit of safety equipment.
 
Iliade said:
I'd get wooden oars rather than aluminium ones as you would need to put your back into rowing, but would you want to row her far? (Don't forget the rowlocks.) I do see rowed boats that far out, but rarely.
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I have wooden oars as well as the alloy ones. The alloy ones have more bite in the water and are very strong. As I say I can row a wooden 14ft boat at 4 knots with the alloy ones. I don't like the wooden ones. In fact I think I have sold them. I haven't seen them for a while. :)
 
Caraway said:
I see that Seahog recommend up to 70hp for their current 15' boat and are selling a 10ft used one with a 40hp motor. New Boats – Seahog Boats
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The seahog i have is a beefed up version of the old CJR. Apparently seahog bought the design off of CJR and beefed up the transom from 1.5" thick, to 2.5" thick.

Ontop of that i have reinforced my transom with gussets and 5mm Aluminium sheet and a 5mm ally plate on the inside to spread the load.

Im not worried at all about the power as my transom was solid and no signs of rott what so ever.

My boat would fall to bits before my transom give in.

Il upload pics...
 
The OP wrote "i had to remove the buoyancy foam from under deck as it was soggy. So if i get swamped im going down. "

That puts a very different light on it. If the boat/engine combo had positive buoyancy, even a tiny bit, they could hang on aboard and use a waterproof VHF and/or flares etc. Not that I am approving relying on rescue - I truly and deeply hate that attitude.

Sudden bad squall, or a huge wash from a powerboat, and they may be swimming in seconds. I once saw green water over the deck of a 34 ft cruising yacht motoring in a near-glassy-calm ass a result of wash from nuclear submarine going by fast on the surface! Have seen nearly as bad wash generated by inconsiderate muppets in big powerboats.

I'm usually very supportive of those who think through the current elf-and-safety nonsense and make a reasoned judgement as to what to do, but a 14 ft dory, 40 hp engine, two big humans and no buoyancy is not that well reasoned for 6 miles offshore, let alone a mile offshore, unless they are superb open water swimmers. 6 miles may not seem that far and be quite quick out and back at fast planing speeds. A bit longer if cold, wet and swimming.
 
A point to consider, if you are 5 or 6 miles out and it starts to blow up a bit and the sea gets a bit upperty, the chances are that you might not be able to get back in on the plane, that means an hour or so's run back at displacement speed. I hope you and crew don't suffer from seasickness!
 
Perhaps Dan would do better asking people who are out on boats rather than indoors on a forum. I don't think anyone is denying the billion to one chance that a wave could swamp the boat and it immediately sinks. There are two lifejackets on board for just such an occasion and I'm sure they're worn. Extending that risk out almost to the point of building a pier to the fishing location is unhelpful. The boat is more than capable of these trips, the type is often used for such situations, and this example seems well maintained and well equiped.

I guarantee there are worse boats with less safety gear being used every day for this purpose quite safely. He's more likely to get hit by a car on the way to the boat than any of these far fetched safety concerns.
 
jwilson said:
The OP wrote "i had to remove the buoyancy foam from under deck as it was soggy. So if i get swamped im going down. "

That puts a very different light on it. If the boat/engine combo had positive buoyancy, even a tiny bit, they could hang on aboard and use a waterproof VHF and/or flares etc. Not that I am approving relying on rescue - I truly and deeply hate that attitude.

Sudden bad squall, or a huge wash from a powerboat, and they may be swimming in seconds. I once saw green water over the deck of a 34 ft cruising yacht motoring in a near-glassy-calm ass a result of wash from nuclear submarine going by fast on the surface! Have seen nearly as bad wash generated by inconsiderate muppets in big powerboats.

I'm usually very supportive of those who think through the current elf-and-safety nonsense and make a reasoned judgement as to what to do, but a 14 ft dory, 40 hp engine, two big humans and no buoyancy is not that well reasoned for 6 miles offshore, let alone a mile offshore, unless they are superb open water swimmers. 6 miles may not seem that far and be quite quick out and back at fast planing speeds. A bit longer if cold, wet and swimming.
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Like most boats if sh1t hits the fan they are going down....the purpose of this thread was to ask advice on extra equipment to HELP me if i ever ran into any problems. At the end of the day a boat can sink 10yards out of harbour or 100miles from land.

Basically what your saying is unless you spend 20k + on a huge yacht with 4k worth of safety gear then you shouldn't be at sea.

Any boat can get into any trouble at any time...i was looking for advice for more safety gear to be SAFER not to put me off and put my setup on ebay.
 
lustyd said:
Perhaps Dan would do better asking people who are out on boats rather than indoors on a forum. I don't think anyone is denying the billion to one chance that a wave could swamp the boat and it immediately sinks. There are two lifejackets on board for just such an occasion and I'm sure they're worn. Extending that risk out almost to the point of building a pier to the fishing location is unhelpful. The boat is more than capable of these trips, the type is often used for such situations, and this example seems well maintained and well equiped.

I guarantee there are worse boats with less safety gear being used every day for this purpose quite safely. He's more likely to get hit by a car on the way to the boat than any of these far fetched safety concerns.
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Thank you ? (y)
 
It is not the distance from shore that is the key issue but the conditions. I can think of many locations where I would not want to be even 1 mile offshore in certain conditions. If you took a line from the Needles to St Albans the point furthest away from the coast would be about 5 miles in the middle of Poole Bay. Consider a nice summer day with a F2-3 SW wind. At that point conditions would be benign in that location with a slight swell running. Follow the coast 1 mile off with a spring ebb tide running and you would get at least 4 places where you would not want to be in a boat like that - Needles Channel, Christchurch Ledge, Old Harry and Anvil Point.

The crude distance from shore rule is just that - crude, even though in other countries that determines the legal limits for operation of particular types of boats and often gets trotted out as a determinant of what is safe and prescribes what safety equipment should be fitted.

Your original list looks fine for a well founded boat used in conditions it was designed for. There is really no excuse for getting into trouble with this boat if you know its (and your) capabilities and pay attention to the weather and tides for the period (usually only a few hours) that you intend being at sea. I know conditions can turn out different, but on a summer day with an up to date forecast, a tide table and knowledge of the tricky areas you should be fine if you avoid going out in marginal conditions.
 
Hands up everyone who can row a 14ft Seahog, fitted with a 40hp outboard, 6nm back to the slip in F3 with a running tide.

If anyone has his hand up, i suggest he contacts Dan for a trip out to 6nm and row it back. I'd further suggest that Dan offers a substantial wager against success. If there are a few hands up Dan could quickly win enough money to buy a bigger boat (y)

Seriously though, on a nice day the East coast is peppered with Seahogs and the like, fishing, up to at least 8 or 9 miles offshore.

I'd forget oars, a 2hp 2 stroke weighs 9kg, mix a tank of 2 stroke and keep some oil onboard, mix more if you need to, using the main fuel tank. If need be, rig a way of getting fuel out of the main tank. Total added weight, 11kg ish.

Get a DSC handheld VHF, wear it.

Cut whatever holes you need to and fit these in them: Inspection Hatches | Boat Hatches | Force 4 Chandlery

Fit the under deck voids with play pit balls.

jwilsons concerns about the buoyancy are valid.
 
PaulRainbow said:
Hands up everyone who can row a 14ft Seahog, fitted with a 40hp outboard, 6nm back to the slip in F3 with a running tide.

If anyone has his hand up, i suggest he contacts Dan for a trip out to 6nm and row it back. I'd further suggest that Dan offers a substantial wager against success. If there are a few hands up Dan could quickly win enough money to buy a bigger boat (y)

Seriously though, on a nice day the East coast is peppered with Seahogs and the like, fishing, up to at least 8 or 9 miles offshore.

I'd forget oars, a 2hp 2 stroke weighs 9kg, mix a tank of 2 stroke and keep some oil onboard, mix more if you need to, using the main fuel tank. If need be, rig a way of getting fuel out of the main tank. Total added weight, 11kg ish.

Get a DSC handheld VHF, wear it.

Cut whatever holes you need to and fit these in them: Inspection Hatches | Boat Hatches | Force 4 Chandlery

Fit the under deck voids with play pit balls.

jwilsons concerns about the buoyancy are valid.
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Well my plans are to fill the inspection hatches i have with 11kg of 2 part closed cell foam.

That should run into every crack and crevice under the deck and fill up the cavity with foam rather than potentially water.

If i can get the full 11kg of foam in, It will give me a total of 298kg of positive buoyancy.

Coupled with a few parachute flares, backup propulsion oars/motor i havnt decided yet. And my phone round my neck in a waterproof case with "what3words" app, A life jacket, handheld clipped to the jacket then im going to leave it at that.

Like mentioned above plenty of other less seaworthy boats go out alot further than i intend to and with alot less saftey gear.

Im not stupid or irresponsible and stick to the motto of "if in doubt...Dont go out"

As long as i check my tides and conditions and stay smart then the rest is down to the gods.

Thanks everyone for all your advice and comments (y)
 
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Nine times out of 10 a small boat just goes up over a wave or wash and down the other side with no more than maybe a splash inside.
It's short enough that it can't bridge two waves at once.
The solent when rough has very short and steep wave frequency compared to the waves in the channel but a small boat sinking due to waves is a rare occurrence when taking into account how many go out there !
If it's a nice summers day and nothing nasty is predicted go out and enjoy yourself !
 
Dan208 said:
Well my plans are to fill the inspection hatches i have with 11kg of 2 part closed cell foam.

That should run into every crack and crevice under the deck and fill up the cavity with foam rather than potentially water.

If i can get the full 11kg of foam in, It will give me a total of 298kg of positive buoyancy.

Coupled with a few parachute flares, backup propulsion oars/motor i havnt decided yet. And my phone round my neck in a waterproof case with "what3words" app, A life jacket, handheld clipped to the jacket then im going to leave it at that.

Like mentioned above plenty of other less seaworthy boats go out alot further than i intend to and with alot less saftey gear.

Im not stupid or irresponsible and stick to the motto of "if in doubt...Dont go out"

As long as i check my tides and conditions and stay smart then the rest is down to the gods.

Thanks everyone for all your advide and comments (y)
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You certainly sound sensible and i think you've got it pretty much covered. Do try rowing for half a mile, get your mate to do a video, be a big hit on YouTube :)

My only other comment on the above would be about the flares. You've got 2 VHFs, 2 GPS (4 if you count phones) and 2 phones, i think flares are a waste of your money, buy some bait with it instead :)
 
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