ON
DECKILLUSTRATIONS BY DICKEVERITT.COMHere is how we get the person
back on board the boat: - Attach a block to a strong
halyard—main or spinnaker. - Run a hoist line, preferably
with a snap shackle on its
end, through the block on
the halyard and clip the snap
shackle to the D rings on the
LifeSling harness. - Pass the hoist line though a block on the deck that is positioned to
give it a fair lead to a primary winch. Sometimes a genoa lead block
is fine, but often such a block is too far forward. A block on the
toerail a few feet aft of the lifeline gate is ideal, as the MOB can be
brought through the gate. - Raise the halyard till the block is about 8ft to 10ft above the
deck. Open the lifeline gate. - Using the primary winch, which is hopefully self-tailing, hoist the
MOB back onboard. The 2:1 purchase, combined with the power of
the primary winch, should be sufficient for a weaker crew member to
hoist a fully clothed and dripping wet adult male on board.
By practicing this with a real person, you will gain a great apprecia-
tion for how much someone weighs in the water fully clothed, and how
difficult it is to move around in the water or climb on board. Factor in
the shock that comes with falling overboard, and that it’s all most people
can do to simply get into the Lifesling. You may think you can hoist up
the MOB by using the main halyard and a winch, but on most boats this
is difficult. (And I want my wife to be able to do this!)
In calm conditions the MOB could climb the stern ladder, but this will
be difficult or impossible in any kind of wind or seaway, which is why we
use the Lifesling. Using the engine is a great way to kill the MOB. The en-
In big waves some people
remove the lower guardrail
and rig the lifting line under
the top one. This prevents
the casualty swinging like
a pendulum once clear of
the water, but you need quite
a big gap between the deck and
the upper guardrail to retrieve a
casualty wearing an inflated
lifejacket. All manner of
problems crop up when
practicing, which is why MOB
drills are so important!In one drill a woman found she
could lift a light man using a
halyard on a 4:1 winch. She felt
safer holding onto the lowers,
tailing with her right hand and
ratcheting the winch handle with
her foot. If the halyard doesn’t
reach the water, you can extend
it with a line on the sling.56APRIL 2015No matter what the wind sends your way
RELAX! HARKEN IS ONBOARD.
MADE
IN USAElan photoBALL BEARING BATTCAR SYSTEMS
Harken Battcars are so robust and low friction
you usually don’t need a winch to hoist the sail.
And when bad weather comes your way, you
can drop or reef the main instantly, even while
reaching in a breeze.
- Use with existing mast, boom, and sail
- Costs far less than in-boom or in-mast furling
- Stands up to sun, salt, and time