You might want to think about rigging a drogue that deploys when you
release the dink as the boat may well drift faster than the MOB can
swim. Or, You might experiment with having a really long floating
painter that you can deploy so that it will circle the MOB when you do
a quick stop (like a life sling)...

Have fun,

-- Tom

wrote in message
oups.com...
You might want to think about rigging a drogue that deploys when you
release the dink as the boat may well drift faster than the MOB can
swim. Or, You might experiment with having a really long floating
painter that you can deploy so that it will circle the MOB when you do
a quick stop (like a life sling)...

Have fun,

-- Tom



It would be interesting to see what the tradeoff is between complexity and
usefulness. The previous COB workshop I believe showed that simpler tends to
be better.

--
"j" ganz @@
www.sailnow.com

"Capt. JG" wrote in message
...
wrote in message
oups.com...
You might want to think about rigging a drogue that deploys when you
release the dink as the boat may well drift faster than the MOB can
swim. Or, You might experiment with having a really long floating
painter that you can deploy so that it will circle the MOB when you do
a quick stop (like a life sling)...

Have fun,

-- Tom



It would be interesting to see what the tradeoff is between complexity and
usefulness. The previous COB workshop I believe showed that simpler tends
to be better.

--
"j" ganz @@
www.sailnow.com


I think I'm going to try a variation on one of the previously-mentioned
ideas: Short painter (three boat lengths, or 100 feet for good measure) but
additional MOB line (same polypropylene or other floating line) on a spool.
Quick release on the spool would allow the rest of the painter (as MOB line)
to pay out while the boat encircles the MOB. I think it's worth
experimenting with. The inflatable stays attached to the boat, as does the
line.

"KLC Lewis" wrote in message
et...

"Capt. JG" wrote in message
...
wrote in message
oups.com...
You might want to think about rigging a drogue that deploys when you
release the dink as the boat may well drift faster than the MOB can
swim. Or, You might experiment with having a really long floating
painter that you can deploy so that it will circle the MOB when you do
a quick stop (like a life sling)...

Have fun,

-- Tom



It would be interesting to see what the tradeoff is between complexity
and usefulness. The previous COB workshop I believe showed that simpler
tends to be better.

--
"j" ganz @@
www.sailnow.com


I think I'm going to try a variation on one of the previously-mentioned
ideas: Short painter (three boat lengths, or 100 feet for good measure)
but additional MOB line (same polypropylene or other floating line) on a
spool. Quick release on the spool would allow the rest of the painter (as
MOB line) to pay out while the boat encircles the MOB. I think it's worth
experimenting with. The inflatable stays attached to the boat, as does the
line.




How are you planning on trying it?


--
"j" ganz @@
www.sailnow.com

"Capt. JG" wrote in message
...
"KLC Lewis" wrote in message
et...

I think I'm going to try a variation on one of the previously-mentioned
ideas: Short painter (three boat lengths, or 100 feet for good measure)
but additional MOB line (same polypropylene or other floating line) on a
spool. Quick release on the spool would allow the rest of the painter (as
MOB line) to pay out while the boat encircles the MOB. I think it's worth
experimenting with. The inflatable stays attached to the boat, as does
the line.




How are you planning on trying it?


--
"j" ganz @@
www.sailnow.com




Oh, I figure I'll pick up an expendable crewman at the marina and toss them
overboard. That's what Captain Kirk would do.

wrote in message
oups.com...
You might want to think about rigging a drogue that deploys when you
release the dink as the boat may well drift faster than the MOB can
swim. Or, You might experiment with having a really long floating
painter that you can deploy so that it will circle the MOB when you do
a quick stop (like a life sling)...

Have fun,

-- Tom


I take it we're talking a REALLY long floating painter -- half a mile's
worth? :-)

On Mon, 12 Feb 2007 18:13:42 -0600, KLC Lewis wrote:

In the past, I tended to agree with the old view that towing a dink behind
the mothership was "lubberly," and ill-advised. I still tend to think that
way when a hard dink is involved, but recently purchased a 9 foot Genesis
(Walker Bay) inflatable. With this monster sitting, inflated and assembled,
in our dining room last evening, it suddenly occurred to me how much like a
very large PFD this dinghy is, which has me reconsidering my standard MOB
routine.

No thoughts, but a couple Stories:

First, many single-handers will trail a floating line behind them in case
they fall overboard. One guy I knew was trailing iirc 100ft of line when
he fell in. Swimming as fast as he could, he JUST made it to the end of
the line. Now he tows 200 ft... (in open conditions, of course! In a
crowded waterway that line is guaranteed to foul in someone's prop...)

Second, I was running "chaseboat" for some canoeists paddling across the
Strait, and when changing crews we decided to use an inflatable: we'd
trail the inf. back to the canoe, they'd roll into it, we'd pull it up,
and they'd get into Far Cove. Worked OK until the wind came up... One
paddler swore her handprint was imbedded in the stern of Far Cove when she
was fending it off while trying to board, and the whole procedure was
abandoned when a gust of wind picked the dinghy up and dropped it
upside-down on top of the canoe. (we just didn't worry about scratched
gelcoat and got everybody off the canoe at that point)

And that was just 20-25knots in Georgia Strait!

druid

"druid" wrote in message
news
On Mon, 12 Feb 2007 18:13:42 -0600, KLC Lewis wrote:

In the past, I tended to agree with the old view that towing a dink
behind
the mothership was "lubberly," and ill-advised. I still tend to think
that
way when a hard dink is involved, but recently purchased a 9 foot Genesis
(Walker Bay) inflatable. With this monster sitting, inflated and
assembled,
in our dining room last evening, it suddenly occurred to me how much like
a
very large PFD this dinghy is, which has me reconsidering my standard MOB
routine.

No thoughts, but a couple Stories:

First, many single-handers will trail a floating line behind them in case
they fall overboard. One guy I knew was trailing iirc 100ft of line when
he fell in. Swimming as fast as he could, he JUST made it to the end of
the line. Now he tows 200 ft... (in open conditions, of course! In a
crowded waterway that line is guaranteed to foul in someone's prop...)

Second, I was running "chaseboat" for some canoeists paddling across the
Strait, and when changing crews we decided to use an inflatable: we'd
trail the inf. back to the canoe, they'd roll into it, we'd pull it up,
and they'd get into Far Cove. Worked OK until the wind came up... One
paddler swore her handprint was imbedded in the stern of Far Cove when she
was fending it off while trying to board, and the whole procedure was
abandoned when a gust of wind picked the dinghy up and dropped it
upside-down on top of the canoe. (we just didn't worry about scratched
gelcoat and got everybody off the canoe at that point)

And that was just 20-25knots in Georgia Strait!

druid



As to the trailing line bit, we did that on a run down the coast of Cal to
Cabo, but we only did it at night. During the day there were plenty of crew
on deck, but at night only two people. They were supposed to be tethered,
but you never know.

--
"j" ganz @@
www.sailnow.com

KLC Lewis wrote:
In the past, I tended to agree with the old view that towing a dink behind
the mothership was "lubberly," and ill-advised. I still tend to think that
way when a hard dink is involved, but recently purchased a 9 foot Genesis
(Walker Bay) inflatable. With this monster sitting, inflated and assembled,
in our dining room last evening, it suddenly occurred to me how much like a
very large PFD this dinghy is, which has me reconsidering my standard MOB
routine.

At this time my standing MOB Rule is that upon crew going aglub, the first
thing to do is to toss them a horseshoe with floating line attached, keeping
an eye on them (or trying to) while coming about for rescue attempts. Other
than retrieving "Oscar" in the Navy (for non-squids, "Oscar" is a stuffed
manakin made of sailor clothing wearing a PFD, used for Man Overboard
drills) and PFD's or rings tossed overboard, I've not had the misfortune (so
far) of having to actually rescue an actual person.

But this inflatable dink has me rethinking things. By towing the dink when
weather allows, if crew should go overboard the dinghy could be cut loose
immediately. This would provide conscious MOB with a boat to swim towards,
and give rescue crew another marker (though one with more windage) to help
with locating the missing crew. The floating line in the water would also
give the MOB something to grab, and its streaming direction would offer
clues as to the current and rate of drift, assuming it's not being trailed
behind a wind-driven dink.

And, of course, trailing a dinghy in the water in fair weather could become
a handful if the wind picks up.

Any thoughts?

A lot of people seem to think that towing a dinghy
is a bad idea, and I've never tried it even in
benign conditions. The times I've been offshore
we've kept the inflatable lashed down upside down
on the front deck, and the outboard on the stern rail.

Just the same, I think your idea may have some
merit with the appropriate rig. You would need a
good cover or self-bailing system to keep the
inflatable from filling with water and becoming a
towed sea anchor. You would also need some
floating line, and plan on trailing the dink 100'
or so behind the boat to give the MOB a chance to
catch it on the way by. Now, some line loops on
the side and back of the dink would give a
conscious MOB a pretty good chance of grabbing the
dink on the way by, and possibly hauling
themselves aboard.

You might experiment with this during the summer
by jumping overboard while the boat is going 7kts
and seeing how hard it is to grab the dink as it
goes by.

If you plan on casting loose the dink, I'd suggest
a one-way parachute drogue on the line to stop the
dink from blowing away when you release it.

Let us know what you find out.

Don W.

"Don W" wrote in message
news:ahbAh.9596

You might experiment with this during the summer by jumping overboard
while the boat is going 7kts and seeing how hard it is to grab the dink as
it goes by.

I can tell you now, Don, that grabbing a dink doing 5 kts was impossible.
Trying to drag my clothed body thru the water was far too much for my grip
to last more than a few seconds. Quite apart from the hell of being rolled
over by taking a bad grip in the first place . . .

JimB