Where to put the life raft cradle?

[ChrisE]

On our Rival 38, the liferaft sits on a wooden mount held down with quick release webbing straps under the boom in front of the cockpit. I'm about to upgrade to a cage with depth set auto opening and was wondering where to put the cage. I'd like to have a clear foredeck partly for visibility and partly because it is a bit exposed to a big sea coming from the side and sweeping said raft off.

Back of pushpit is where I'd like to put it but don't particularly want another 60-80lbs of weight right at the stern.

Thoughts please and thanks in advance.

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[ParaHandy]

Overweight at the stern ...

Atkins diet for you, my boy ... should solve the problem?!!

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[Robin]

Chris

It must be my day for talking to you! We have ours (6 man cannister) mounted in a S/S cradle on the pushpit, IMO the best place for it since it can be launched by one person with a simple shove as opposed to needing an adrenalin rush or Superman to throw it over the rails from on deck. Given the weight of your Rival and that I think like us you are mostly 2 handed, the excess weight aft is much less than an extra person in the cockpit? Our cradle is mounted vertically rather than horizontally BTW, it was easier to fit and in a small way keeps the weight closer to the centre line whilst in our case keeping access to stern ladder/swim scoop steps clear.

Robin

<hr width=100% size=1><font size=1>Sermons from my pulpit are with tongue firmly in cheek and come with no warranty!</font size=1>

 

[bedouin]

Why are you looking to move it?

Unless you have a modern boat with a dedicated space for liferaft stowage then any other location is going to be a compromise. On my boat there is no way I would mount it on the pushpit because I think it would be too vulnerable to being swept away (along with the pushpit).

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[ChrisE]

Robin,

We must stop meeting like this or people will talk!

Yes, I kind of agree with your logic and that would be the argument had we not just stuck 40 kilos of Monitor on the back as well. I think that you may be right though with all the rest of the weight a little bit more won't make much difference.

Chris

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[ChrisE]

I take your point, my reasoning for moving it is similar to Robin's and, on balance for our boat, I reckon it's more vulnerable to a surge of green water over the front or side (which we have experienced) than a pooping (which we haven't). But as you say, unless there is a dedicated location then anything will be a compromise.

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[ChrisE]

Pot-kettle syndrome

PH, if that wee jumping mannie is a true representation of your good self then I'd be looking at the crispbreads if I were you...

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[Robin]

Or move something else forward, like the outboard maybe or heavy stuff in cockpit lockers? I'm not sure about Bedouin's reasoning either, over 30 years or more we have had solid water over the bows and the sides many times (ripped off a sprayhood in the Raz De Sein on our W33 and there was a half inflated Avon on the coachroof in front of it to break the force) but although we have filled the cockpit it has never been with the force of solid water (yet, touch wood). Also heavy weather IMO is but one possible reason to launch a liferaft, and I would have to be stepping up into it to prefer a paddling pool with a lid to a 41ft boat, fire or collision are others and the priority then is a rapid launch maybe even into a calm sea.

I could e-mail a pic if you want to PM me with your e-mail, I don't have anything I can put on here.

Robin

<hr width=100% size=1><font size=1>Sermons from my pulpit are with tongue firmly in cheek and come with no warranty!</font size=1>

 

[Robin]

On your lovely Centurian perhaps it is a bit too heavy right aft, but on deck the cradle would IMO need to be very substantially mounted or there is a risk of pulling the whole lot off and a bit of coachroof with it. Penny washers under mounting bolts/nuts may not be enough to spread the load of solid water getting under the raft and therefore between it and the coachroof, that is huge leverage. As always on boats it is all a compromise.

Robin

<hr width=100% size=1><font size=1>Sermons from my pulpit are with tongue firmly in cheek and come with no warranty!</font size=1>

 

[tome]

Robin

We have an 8 man raft mounted vertically on the pushpit. I'm not overly concerned about the weight or of it being swept away. Agree with others that you are far more likely to see the decks swept by green water than be pooped to the extent that it would carry away the raft. Not saying it couldn't happen, just that it seems the best compromise.

It's very easy for a single person to launch from its current position, and I wouldn't want to see it on deck or buried in a locker.

Tom

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[bedouin]

My real concern on the Centurion is simply that the pushpit is not sufficiently well attached to the deck to take the force of a wave over the stern on a liferaft. Of course this has never happened to me, but then I've never needed the liferaft either /forums/images/icons/smile.gif

From that respect the coachroof would be better - firstly because I can reinforce the mounting and secondly because the likely force is much lower (smaller profile to waves, shorter moment...)

At the moment the liferaft lives in the lazarette on the grounds that the greater security outweighs the extra time it takes to get to the rail. Can't fit an auto-deployment trigger though /forums/images/icons/frown.gif

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[tome]

Robin

Here's a picture. The liferaft is to port and partially obscured by the ensign

You can see that there is space below the raft to allow water through, but it may not survive a huge sea from behind in extremis. Nor may I! I have no worries about the strength of the pullpit, and this is my best compromise.

Tom

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[Robin]

Tom

Yep, same place as ours except our cradle is vertical and our pushpit is part of a gantry/goalpost climbing frame with wind genny, solar panel and radar scanner.

Who was it overtaking you with the camera BTW? /forums/images/icons/smile.gif

Robin

<hr width=100% size=1><font size=1>Sermons from my pulpit are with tongue firmly in cheek and come with no warranty!</font size=1>

 

[tome]

<Who was it overtaking you with the camera BTW?>

It was an HR49. Pictures taken off Portland Bill, we had to drop the main to allow them to catch us for the shot.

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[dulcibella]

I too had to take mine off the pushpit to make room for a Monitor. Fortunately the Rustler has an unbolt-and-lift-out thwart, under which I bolted the raft cradle to the cockpit sole. Well protected but also instantly accessible. However, changing your boat could be a slightly radical solution ...

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[pyrojames]

I had similar problems looking for somewhere to store my raft on an old 34 footer. I had a Monitor on the stern, and following the loss of a raft from a 45 footer's stern deck, I was loathed to put it anywhere that solid water could get to. In the end I fitted it in the front of the cockpit, under a dedicated timber grating that also acted as its lock down mechanism.

I think that it was a good choice. On passage in the Indian Ocean, I lost cowls vents and lifebouys from the stern deck while running, and had enough solid water passing through the cockpit to have my girlfriend pulled up at the end of her life lines. My feeling is that a raft has to be in the most secure place you can find for it, because it is the one item that you can not afford to have swept away. If conditions are getting bad enough to rip a liferaft off, then they are bad enough to make it the one piece of kit you can not afford to loose. Pushpits are in no way strong enough to hold a raft in the event of a roll or major pooping. The "it can be launched easily" is a spurious argument, if you are only going to step up to a raft, there is no need to lift it anywhere, it should float out.

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[Robin]

Personally I have no desire to be rolled over or pooped in the Indian Ocean or anywhere else, and if I were then I might still not need a liferaft as seems to be true in your case! However I might need it if I ran into a semi-submerged container in a foggy flat calm, was run down by a ship or if there was a sudden major fire below. In these cases I would prefer that it could be launched quickly and easily, even perhaps by a sole injured crew.

There is no single answer to this question IMO, chose the best compromise that suits your circumstances.

<hr width=100% size=1><font size=1>Sermons from my pulpit are with tongue firmly in cheek and come with no warranty!</font size=1>

 

[tome]

Agreed Robin, there's no right or wrong way. It's the best compromise for the type of sailing you do. I might view this differently if faced with a long Ocean passage.

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[BlueSkyNick]

Ummmm.....sorry to ask a stupid question... what's a Monitor?

(Please don't tell me its the bit of a PC which you look in to!)

<hr width=100% size=1>WANTED - For House and Boat Maintenance - A large supply of round tuits.

 

[Robin]

Nick

See the Monitor here

<A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.selfsteer.com/>http://www.selfsteer.com/</A>

Robin

<hr width=100% size=1><font size=1>Sermons from my pulpit are with tongue firmly in cheek and come with no warranty!</font size=1>