Yellow Horseshoe Things

[FlyingSpud]

I doubt if there are many of us who do not have one or more of those yellow lifebuoy sets hanging in a wire frame on the back of the boat. Have you ever tried to put one round you?

I am not huge, 5’9”ish and about 12¼ stone but I could not get the thing round my chest standing up in a room, doubly difficult in the water I would guess.

Is it that I have acquired a set that is specially designed for midgets (sorry if any of you are midgets and this is seen as a midgetish question), or are they all useless if used in anger?


<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1>Edited by FlyingSpud on 31/10/2002 18:00 (server time).</FONT></P>

 

[byron]

I sold mine and bought a bottle of whiskey with it, they are just pretty toys, give me a good old fashioned large life ring any day.

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[FlyingSpud]

Ok, I can see the sense in throwing a bottle of whiskey at a drowning man (provided it doesn’t hit him on the head) but

1. is the bottle of whiskey in a wire frame on the back of the boat?
2. do you have a life line attached to it, so that the casualty grips the bottle in his teeth while you drag him back to the boat?
3. do you have one of those lights, that comes on when you turn it up the right way, attached to it?
4. should the whisky be malt, if so which?

 

[Joe_Cole]

Same problem with mine. I don't stand a cat in hells' chance of getting into it. To be honest I didn't even realise that it was supposed to fit round me until the RNLI chap pointed it out to me when I had a sea check.

I think that these things are made down to a cost......and sold up to a price.

Joe

 

[Guest]

Tried mine, doesn't fit either! They're probably only fit for those drunken games at the xmas party.

 

[FlyingSpud]

Made in China perhaps? Suppose they tend to be slimmer round the chest than us.

 

[Sirus]

Always wondered what those things were for, thought you used them if you had piles.

 

[Guest]

Waste a bottle of whisky on a drowning man (sorry, person).....come on lets get a grip on reality. Make sure there is a good rope tied to the bpttle in case he/she doesn't survive. You'll need it for the memorial service.....

 

[byron]

Now that's the first sensible idea I've heard /forums/images/icons/laugh.gif. Using them for Piles...

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[jimi]

Och I thought they were toilets seats for ra bucket ... or for gurning through .. and if you had two you could do both at the same time .. particularly if you had piles...

 

[dk]

If I remember rightly there is a model that opens up on a sort of hinge so that you can get into it easily, then you close it and it clips together.

 

[ThomasHome]

I have a plastimo one and it fits with no problems, although not sure how/if the light works.

 

[FlyingSpud]

To test light, grip light in right hand, then do one-handed cartwheel. If light comes on while you are upside down, it works.

How come yours fits? All these things look the same. Are you related to the 7 dwarfs? /forums/images/icons/smile.gif

 

[ccscott49]

They are all junk! Get a proper big round one! With rope round the outside and reflective tape etc.

 

[ccscott49]

They are all junk! not fit for any serious passage making. Get a proper big round one! With rope round the outside and reflective tape etc.

 

[ThomasHome]

Tried the light test and ended up with a sore head.

I have to admit that my life horseshoe is white not yellow, that could make all the difference.

Seriously though, I am 5 10 and 12 stone, the foam inside the horseshoe is in two pieces so it can expand to fit anyone, either that or its broken!!

Platismo - £29.95 from a chandlers at Port Solent, although make sure the light works before you buy!

 

[sailbadthesinner]

i do have to say they make useful emergency fenders.
we used McNicholas's in falmouth in the gale. if you fall overboard on that boat ask someone to throw the starboard 'shoe. the port one would disintegrate mid air.

Come on brain.get this over and i can go back to killing you with beer

 

[FlyingSpud]

I think if its in two bits, it is what is technically called ‘broken’

 

[ChrisSnushall]

I have a great deal of sympathy with your sentiment on the horseshoe lifebuoys. I posted on this subject a couple of years ago and got no realistic answers. I also had no feedback on how they should be deployed and with what rope attached - they come with no instructions at all. I tested mine under load in water and of course it didn't fit, but by forcing myself into it, around my waste, the lifebuoy split inside its cover at the apex of the 'u'. Having eased its dimensions it now fits, although it is a bit wobbly. I also attach 40m of floating line and trust it might do some sort of job in an emergency.
regards,
Chris

 

[Guest]

Post deleted by danfoley