MOB solo self rescue

[CFS Klopas]

Maybe not the speedos. I saw a YouTube cruiser try that once, she lost her bottoms.

But seriously, from what everyone has said, it's impossible to drag yourself up if the boat is moving more than 2 kts.

[thinwater]

Originally Posted by hodgmo

"So, while you are hanging at the end of that last chance line, what will you wish for? Actually, it's really, really simple. You want the boat to stop. So what do you wish you had in your pocket?" Thinwater

A parachute sea anchor/drogue that I could attach to the last-chance line and deploy while being dragged along. But, assuming I could do that, could a device that fit in my pocket be adequate?

That was exactly the though I had. I would want a sea anchor. But the last chance line is a light floating PP rope and would snap under the force.

Instead, make the last chance line into a rip cord for a full pre-packed system. You pull the line, the chute deploys, and the boat stops.


In fact, I have tested just this approach many, many times, including dropping drogues and chutes off the back of my PDQ at speed. I never broke anything and the boat slowed, the amount depending on the unit. There are really two things you need to size:
1. The rope. It must be able to absorb the required energy. A large part of the energy will also be dissipated by the motion of the drogue itself through the water.
2. The drogue It must generate enough force at 2-3 knots to restrain the vessel with the maximum likely driving force.


Give an engineer the required details and he can work this out. As a first approximation, it is similar to typical sea anchor specs. Not really coincidence, if you think about it.


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The idea of attaching it in such a way as to turn the boat is interesting. The bow could cause some real complications, but a slight windward turn might be helpful, reducing the required size of the drogue, which also reduces the size of the rope. You probably do not want to risk a tack or jibe.

[Deividas]

Simplest solution would be system that automatically release life raft mounted on rails. Boat will go her way. Bat sailor with PLB would have quite a huge chance to survive.

[Shorty]

The Weatherdock EasyOnes that I bought can trigger a couple things. One would be to shutoff the engine, the other to disable the autopilot so, if sailing, she'd presumably round up. If you're nicely balanced then, well, sorry.
But, basically, they can trigger an electronic switch so you could have it do any one of a number of things.

[hodgmo]

Originally Posted by thinwater

That was exactly the though I had. I would want a sea anchor. But the last chance line is a light floating PP rope and would snap under the force.

Instead, make the last chance line into a rip cord for a full pre-packed system. You pull the line, the chute deploys, and the boat stops.

In fact, I have tested just this approach many, many times, including dropping drogues and chutes off the back of my PDQ at speed. I never broke anything and the boat slowed, the amount depending on the unit. There are really two things you need to size:
1. The rope. It must be able to absorb the required energy. A large part of the energy will also be dissipated by the motion of the drogue itself through the water.
2. The drogue It must generate enough force at 2-3 knots to restrain the vessel with the maximum likely driving force.


Give an engineer the required details and he can work this out. As a first approximation, it is similar to typical sea anchor specs. Not really coincidence, if you think about it.

This is the most practical idea that I’ve heard on this topic, besides 'stay on the boat!'

But if I were the engineer this task were assigned to, I’d suggest we back up a step and trade the ‘remote trip idea’ with using the last-chance line as the parachute rode before committing to a design approach. For example, while it’s true that typical towed PP line is too small to survive long enough to be effective, there’s no reason it couldn’t be ~1 inch. One inch PP has about the same safe load limit as ¼” G43 chain which I’m guestimating is probably adequate to stop a ~40 sailboat under power (POP goes another spinnaker!). Then the human factors of the guy being dragged behind the boat: could the unfortunate deploy a parachute in those conditions? Is failing that difficult task more or less likely than the remote release fouling or malfunctioning? My going-in guess is that the remote release is more reliable, but I’d want to validate that in detail….

Anyway, I hope the marine industry, for example, a sea anchor parachute manufacturer, pursues this. Meanwhile, I’ll continue to use my tether!

[tdgaffney]

For those times when you are under engine power, Fell Marine makes a wireless MOB Kill Switch. The KILL is activated by submerging the xFOB in water or distancing the xFOB from the boat. https://www.fellmarine.com/

Under sail, I suppose a "sheet cutter" would be the direct approach. Just don't get your fingers in the loop.

[atlroofman]

2 ideas
What about somthing that would tell the autopilot to turn the rudder to one side
so the boat circles when the devise carried by the solo sailor is to far from the autopilot. Giving the solo sailor a chance to reach the tailing line.

Another way, have the life raft droped from the boat when the trigger carried by the solo sailor is to far from the boat or hits water.

Just some ideas,would like to hear any feed back on these ideas.

[John L. Cwierz]

Dear friends cruisers all,
Recently I saw a video where Robert Redford was the main protagonist. Picture's name: All is Lost.
He plays the part of a stupid sailor who does not know his priorities.
His boat was holed by a floating container, and instead of keeping the water out, he goes out and just does stupid things. Believe me, I got so disgusted seeing this flick, when time and again he was not doing the things correctly.
First. You should keep YOURSELF IN your boat at all times, and try to stay in it to the extreme that the whole mast is under water. Then, and only then are you allowed to think about the life-raft. But the poor sob didn't know that the best way to get water out of a boat is with a BUCKET. Poor ****. I'm so sorry for the person who wrote this script for his interpretation.
YOUR BEST LIFE RAFT IS YOUR BOAT. TRY TO STAY IN IT AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE.
The safety harnesses should be tied to the boat when solo at all times, and if you press me, even when you are getting some sleep. It is just a NO NO, YOU just do not find yourself overboard. When I got my bit of sailing, during 63 days from Marathon to Chipiona, through Azores(Horta)had my safety harness on and clipped onto the steel wire that stretched from bow to stern, and that was when I was transvassing the water from the watermaker to the water tank. Got TO BE VERY CAREFUL, YOU ARE SOLO.

[cj88]

In a man overboard situation when in solo mode, the NKE Gyropilot remote control/transmitter turns the boat into the wind if your instrument system includes a wind sensor or the rudder turns to the end stop on the opposite side if your instrument system does not include a wind sensor.

https://www.nke-marine-electronics.c...l-transmitter/

[cj88]

The Self Rescue Tether is one solution for getting back on the boat.

safety - San Miguel Design 4 Sea EIRL

[sv.antea]

I read through the thread to see if anyone came up with the drouge/parachute idea. Yup. Few did. I dreamed that one up long time ago, too, as purely mechanical solution. It probably wouldn't work, but I am not alone here suggesting a method with holes in it, ha. My boat is a 30 footer, so it seemed vaguely doable.
A parachute drouge on the transom, on a strong rode, most of its length flaked in the forepeak, led "outside everything". A long rope trailing behind the boat. A strong tug on the trailing rope yanks out the parachute, heavy bungee puts the helm over, another flips down the stern mounted boarding ladder. One or two lengths of knotted line with floats spliced onto the rode near the bow may give you something to hang onto when moving aft along the hull A lucky wave or roll may even bring you up to the life lines.

[sv.antea]

P.S. IMHO the most practical idea so far was Thinwater's one man liferaft that gets deployed un-attached to the boat but with a good sea anchor, on command from some electronic MOB automatic trigger.

[seandepagnier]

Some interesting ideas.. Another is to tie the last chance line to fishing line to boat then to the tiller. So if you pull hard the fishing line breaks and pulls the rudder hard over.

It is also no problem to set the autopilot to turn into the wind by remote even to have a heartbeat remote for this purpose that the autopilot triggers if out of range.


The problem with all of these systems is, like lifelines they can potentially not work as intended. So having a last chance line increases your chances of falling because of perceived safety.

[Icarus]

Not much sensible can be said except stay on the boat...

[paul2884]

I was just imagining being in a crowded Anchorage or marina friends and family on board, not all sailors. Someone knocks your life jacket with its plb in its pocket and the boat goes into rescue mode, starts the engine with people in the water near by, auto pilot starts to turn around through all the near buy boats. You are down below making lunch and cant get to the helm because of all the panicking crew in the companion way.
How many people would your boat kill whilst trying to save you?

Get a lanyard and some good jackstays it cheaper and very unlikely to be hacked by some spotty teenager who found a way into your electrics.