Enjoy Survival in disaster

Happy "chap-cheng" Danish, Oops that is my rusty Hokien for 10,000 (read ******* in "son of") not that for you just 1000 posts. Onya

 

Thanks, Masali. I think …

I'm going to get me one of those fisherman's float-coats, btw. I thought they were much dearer.

 

Better still, sail down here to the warmth of the tropics/sub-tropics? And on your way pick up Frosty so he can learn to fly and become closer to his God.

 

Nope, I can't think in the heat. I'd sooner be wearing survival suits and googles, if I have to choose.

Also, I think one should learn from mythology: Ikarus, need I say more? ("Nudge, nudge").

 

Year wax melts easily, but then let it run out your ear and feel clear headed. Of feathers & fluff, offer to anoint the lovely ladiess with coconut oil, an excellent recreational enterprise, all touchy feeley & an acceptable social activity?

Before the 70's there used to be an old bloke who had a stuffed bird on his hat & called himself the "mutton bird man" claiming to have some mutton-bird oil in his suntan mix which he sprayed and smoother for $2 a shot. Plenty of franchises available - see me for information!

 

Well, if it's only cleared out once a year, anyone would feel clear-headed.

Guess so, but I'd still prefer sailing in the cold. Noone around, especially those pesky water ski boats and other day runners. No sun burns, no sweaty people and sticky (from the inside) clothes.


Haha, if you knew me, that would be the last thing in the world I'd do. I'd much prefer to a trapper somewhere. Okay, bad examply, because that might actually be fun for a while, but you get the drift.

 

Well my boat is 38" and 31" Respectivily Both have a house on them thats roughly 8-10' above the waterline so if a wave is big enough to put the equavalent of pressure as 5' of water on the top of my pilothouse where the rafts are stored, Im going to most likely need my raft. If I dont. then I got really lucky, and most likely my raft is on the back deck. Yea I might lose it, but I would rather lose a $2500 raft then not have it when I need it.

Now if I have time to launch the raft myself, all I have to do is go to the top of the pilothouse and hit the slip link and I can self launch my raft. But I went with the hydrostats, for just the reason as I might not have time. Each raft is tethered to the boat by a 200' line with a 10lb "weak link" The idea here is if the boat sinks the raft stays attached to the sunken boat and dosnt blow away. If the boat sinks in more then 200' of water. the pressure of the inflated raft is supposed to be 800lbs, more then enough to break the "weak link".

 

I do not know this enthusiasm to deploy "life-rafts". Most well found boats I have encountered would encourage me to stay where I was. I do not fancy bobbing around trying to scramble onto a bouncing inflated thingy except as a LAST resort and my boat was gone. At the time of prayer and "should the captain go down with his ship" I would attach my lifeline to the liferaft & still wait! and be a little dryer and warmer.

 

I don't think so (assuming it's properly built, which I take for granted). If a wave can hit it (I'm thinking your house swaying from side to side, and getting hit by a big wave), then it doesn't take much speed before you have the equivalent pressure of a depth of five feet in still water.

Just to be clear, I am not playing on loosing it with my solution either. It's at least just as likely as my solution will have it be there when I need it as yours. In fact, personally, I fint it more likely that mine will, but my point is, you choosing to use an automatic version is not the logic way of ensuring it is there when you need it. Logic would dictate that you use a release when either the raft is too big/too heavy for the wimpiest crew member, and/or if you're worried she might go down faster than you (the crew) can react, as you say.

That actually brings me to another point. That weak link - imagine the raft being tethered, filled with water and your boat (or the raft) jerking wildly about.

Further, about thoese hydrostats: Any chance something like that will either corrode, or get jammed by salt water?

I don't know – I'm not saying my solution is better, I just find it a bit more trustworthy, even if it is a bit slower. I'd rather keep my liferaft, in as much as it will be there when I need it. I gather, that if a liferaft is prone to going overboard, it will do it in the worst possible scenario.

 

Haha, noone is "enthusiastic" about deploying life rafts. It's the last defence. You know, where your only other defence is the clothes you're wearing.
I think I even mentioned that somewhere - that I'd rather do it myself, as the very last step, just before she went under. Hell, I am thinking doing this either alone, or with one significant other. No 6 person crews. I don't like sailing like that.

I don't think anyone but "enjoysurvival" is enthusiastic about a situation like that: He's propably imagining that it's like waiting for the coach to the café – plenty of time for his latest Sony PSP-game.

 

I take no offense at your suggestions. I rather enjoy looking at all sides of any discussion. My first response is I have to set up my rafts this way, as the USCG requires it this way. However even with that said I still prefeer this way over yours. If my crew is incapacitated for any reason the raft stands a chance to come up on its own. The hydrostats, are inspected and generally replaced every 2 years. The rafts are also inspected every 2 years, USCG requires this as well, but its a good idea. The modern hydrostats are mostly plastic and stainless so with a 2 year maintaince cycle I have a lot of faith in them. It is true that the weak link could be broken after the vessel has sunk but I would rather that then have the raft drug under by a sinking boat. Im not saying your way is wrong either. I can see why you would want to self deploy. However if you cant. If you only have seconds, what is your backup?

I can self deploy if I have time, and if I cant, I can at least hope my hydrostats will work.

 

Enjoysurvival has read a book about being in a life raft at Lattitude 12N for 30 days. I have read the same book. Its generally 1-3' swells there and your biggest problem is water and saltwater soars. What he dosnt realize is just how violent a sinking can be, on both the body and soal. USCG says that 90% of the people that die in a boat sinking die in the first 30 mins. Due to mental anxiety. The stress of suddenly being thrown into a situation in which you have to give up all controll, is more then a lot of people are ready for, thus they give up and die.

Short answer he has no idea what he is talking about.

 

Good points.

My back up is actually the raft. The first line of defense in a sinking is a waterproof bulkhead. It's really far back (actually the boat is divided between the cockpit and the interior (no interior underneath the cockpit).
So unless I'm sailed down by a ship and totally wrecked in an instant, I plan on a bit more time. It may be optimistic, but sailing in a small (very small so far) engineless boat (deck is low compared to yours) mean I will not trust the automatic releases. A huge wave sweeping the deck, and off the raft goes (or so I fear), and the next thing you know, you need. Or, if I did it your way, it might still be attached, but working like a drogue. I don't want that, unless it's controlled.


Also, I have found I prefer sailing alone, and if I get unconscious, I can't see much need for it anyways. Fatalistic, perhaps, but still the reality.

If I ever get my gf to sail with on longer trips, then I might (but very unlikely) revise my plain. The thing is, we don't have lifelines (the ones with stanchions, just in case I translated that wrongly), and although I know that is yet another pandora's box we shall not open right now (I hope), so it will be rather easy to deploy the raft.

Other than that, I prefer sailing in cool to cold weather, and in february the water is pretty damn cold hereabouts and further north. I will do anything not to go into the water. I am pretty thin, and I am quite sure that hypothermia would set in rather quickly.

My hope is, that if ever need to into a raft, that I will have time to take thermarests etc. in order to insulate the bottom. Other things aside, hypothermia is a strong reason for somehow being able to use a rigid bottom – Not so sure about I will want to launch a heavy dinghy in rough seas, though.


However, I do believe this is a matter of choice, and that we each have our own ways of doing it. The first line of defence is having a plan. A good one. And I do believe we both have that.

If I could afford a much, much bigger boat, I'd have three or four watertight bulkheads, but still have a manually deployed life raft. I'd upgrade on that front instead.

 

Yep, read that too fifteen or twenty years ago or so too. Callahan and 74 days, right?

 

I must be tired, words missing and misspellings galore.