What safety gear do you carry and why

[ukmctc]

I have flares for ocean passage, 6 man liferaft for same, DSC radio, Grab bag with loads of kit in it along with fully charged mobile(ok if signal)and some dried energy foods, Eperb, 1 large first aid kit and 1 medium sized one in each cabin (3). Cutting knife in each cabin (3) and one on deck, heavy duty torches all float and waterproof x 3. Life jackets for us x 2, 3 man dinghy and outboard.

being an ex soldier, I also have a couple of good survival tins in our jackets, don't take up much room at all, the size of tabacco tins.

I'd like a satphone, I think I'm covered for most things on my world cruise.

forgot the ring and danbouy, floating line and light, to me thats all safety gear, which can if need be used as emergency gear.

 

[prv]

My "safety" gear is up-to-date charts, a Yeoman to make navigating on them easy, a plotter to back up the mark-one eyeball during pilotage, good bright LED nav lights and a BFO torch kept plugged in and ready on deck at night, a relatively lightly-loaded rig that I take down, inspect and maintain each year, which is easily reefed, has nothing to jam or stop working, and is mostly held together with lashings and shackles rather than unobtainable special fittings. Also a reasonable set of oilies, a tillerpilot designed for a much bigger boat hence working well within its capability, plus a spare tillerpilot, a rudder mounted on the sternpost with good big bearings at each end, driven directly by a tiller with no steering cables etc to let go. A well-maintained engine which I understand quite well, with all-new systems (water, fuel, exhaust) which I understand very well having designed and fitted them. Enough tools and consumable spares on board to keep said engine running, short of catastrophic failure.

Hopefully, if the "safety" gear does its job, I will never have to call on the "emergency" gear.

My "emergency" gear is fairly simple, because I'm never far from civilised land. A basic liferaft, a pack of flares, a pair of bolt-croppers (yes they can cut my rigging wire, I've tried with an offcut), a pair of rigger's gloves, a basic first-aid kit, wooden bungs, a simple sling for lifting someone out of the water using the running-backstay tackle. That all lives in a single "emergency locker" next to the companionway. There is also a Jon Buoy on the port mizzen stays, a horseshoe on the starboard stays, and a handheld VHF next to the chart table. There's a throwing line under the thwart at the aft end of the cockpit; it's a coil of normal rope rather than a special bag, so it can be readily coiled and thrown again. It's held in place with a pair of bungees which stop it getting tangled; I've occasionally needed it in a hurry to help with mooring cockups (both mine and others') so I know this stowage works.

Hmm, bit of a ramble there...

Pete

 

[testmonkey]

I have flares for ocean passage, 6 man liferaft for same, DSC radio, Grab bag with loads of kit in it along with fully charged mobile(ok if signal)and some dried energy foods, Eperb, 1 large first aid kit and 1 medium sized one in each cabin (3). Cutting knife in each cabin (3) and one on deck, heavy duty torches all float and waterproof x 3. Life jackets for us x 2, 3 man dinghy and outboard.

being an ex soldier, I also have a couple of good survival tins in our jackets, don't take up much room at all, the size of tabacco tins.

I'd like a satphone, I think I'm covered for most things on my world cruise.

forgot the ring and danbouy, floating line and light, to me thats all safety gear, which can if need be used as emergency gear.

why not just pick the appropriate category and do a checklist against this: http://www.sailing.org/tools/documents/OSR2012Complete05012012-[11765].pdf

 

[ukmctc]

why not just pick the appropriate category and do a checklist against this: http://www.sailing.org/tools/documents/OSR2012Complete05012012-[11765].pdf

Yes the RNLI do a free "Boat safety Check" too and you can get their list locally.
They cover all aspects of the journey or type of sailing you're doing.

My question was really, what do YOU carry on YOUR boat, that may be different to someone elses. It appears that people all see safety features differently and fit accordingly.

 

[prv]

My question was really, what do YOU carry on YOUR boat, that may be different to someone elses. It appears that people all see safety features differently and fit accordingly.

Part of that is because we all use our boats differently. You mention "ocean passage" and "world cruise", whereas on Kindred Spirit the Scuttlebutt cruise to Cherbourg last year felt like a long voyage.

Pete

 

[Slycat]

A wetsuit

The range of options open to you expands dramatically with even a cheap wetsuit.

I can be quite comfortable in the water for 5+ hours in winter in a wetsuit but 5 mins without would be a nightmare.

 

[KellysEye]

A full list of what we carried is here: http://www.landfallnavigation.com/safetycheck.html. From memory this is what the ARC requires.

 

[Conachair]

A steel boat and a very strong feeling of unease being within 30 odd miles of hard things. Like continents or other boats.

I really think for offshore nearly all of the enegry should go into making sure the boat stays afloat and you will be able to move it with some vague control over direction no matter what.

Then maybe think about safety gear.

 

[William_H]

Safety gear

As said there are standards around. The RYA will do a list for ocean racing which would be a good guide.
An advantage being that by meeting a known and respected standard you are seen to be doing the right thing. A defence if things go really bad. ie lose someone.
As said a wet suit weight belt mask and snorkel can be really valuable for work under water. Of course you need to be comfortable using them. But very good for freeing prop or rudder of ropes. Have emergency steering options.
Good anchor systems are part of safety gear. A good restraint system to keep crew on board is vital. Harness and jackstays. (short enough so thye can not go over the side.) good luck olewill

 

[ukmctc]

As said there are standards around. The RYA will do a list for ocean racing which would be a good guide.
An advantage being that by meeting a known and respected standard you are seen to be doing the right thing. A defence if things go really bad. ie lose someone.
As said a wet suit weight belt mask and snorkel can be really valuable for work under water. Of course you need to be comfortable using them. But very good for freeing prop or rudder of ropes. Have emergency steering options.
Good anchor systems are part of safety gear. A good restraint system to keep crew on board is vital. Harness and jackstays. (short enough so thye can not go over the side.) good luck olewill

its amazing what you treat as standard, I have emergency steering too, but I like the wet suit idea.

 

[SHUG]

"With sufficient planning, any difficult task becomes impossible"

There is a bit of that about safety equipment. It is some of the most expensive kit you can buy but you hope you will never have to use it. At some stage you just have to GO!

 

[Conachair]

Another one to add to the mix....


http://johnvigor.blogspot.com/2012/01/think-inverted.html

 

[Bosun Higgs]

What safety gear? A natural built in sense of fear.

 

[photodog]

What safety gear? A natural built in sense of fear.

A keen eye,
A steady hand,
A braveheart,
And a fear of the unknown!

 

[William_H]

Standard safety gear

its amazing what you treat as standard, I have emergency steering too, but I like the wet suit idea.

When I refer to a "standard" I mean a list given by a respected authority. Such that if you are ever criticised you can say I did my best at providing safety gear by complying with the requirements of ......
In my case it would be Australian Yachting Federation Racing Rules of Sailing appendix for category 1 ocean racing. (or a category appropriate to what you are doing) Plus of course what you consider necessary.
NB this AYF standard includes requirement for recent MOB training Life Raft and emergency training, first aid training and experience level for some of the crew.
I did not mean that there is a standard list of safety gear. Although our authorities give minimum legal safety gear list but even that varies with distance form shore. olewill

 

[rogerthebodger]

This is the list of the minimum equipment we have to carry in South Africa depending on the distance allowed off shore

http://www.centralboating.co.za/sailingregs.htm

We are inspected every year to ensure we have the required equipment and it is in date.

 

[millbeach]

"DEPTH FINDER" Is most helpfull...
Given sinkin of that liner.

 

[ukmctc]

"DEPTH FINDER" Is most helpfull...
Given sinkin of that liner.

LOL, that and having a Clue!

Paddy thought it was quiet considering the captain announced there was "a band on ship!"