Ask the experts
SAFETY AT SEA
SAILS AND RIGGING
Q
I have just replaced my
danbuoy, horseshoe
lifebelt and light. I could connect
all these items together as they
were in the original installation,
but I wonder if that is the
best solution? If they are all
connected together, then for
as long as one of the items stays
attached to the boat, whatever
has already been released into
the sea is simply being dragged
through the water, potentially
taking it out of reach of the
casualty. Obviously, if any
item gets jammed, the benefit
of the whole arrangement is
negated as it follows the boat
rather than remaining in the
water near the casualty.
Now, if the items weren’t
connected together, the crew on
board could systematically eject
each of the three: the danbuoy
simply dropped into the water,
the horseshoe lifebelt thrown to
the casualty and the light unit
thrown in his or her general
direction. (I’m suggesting that
order because it reflects the
increasing distance between
casualty and boat.)
It may be that I am simply
questioning an arrangement that
has already passed into disuse,
but if that is the case, why are
these safety items continuing to
be sold with loops for attaching
lines? And one final thought:
with all these lines in the water,
there must be a very real risk
of lines being tangled around
the keel, rudder or even
the propeller.
Ian A McColl, by emailKEITH COLWELL REPLIES:
Unless you are sailing under ISAF
racing regulations, there are no
hard and fast rules about how you
set up your MOB gear. So it’s
best to look at the function of each
piece, and when and how you are
going to deploy them, before
deciding which items should be
linked or not. I would suggest
joining the lifebuoy to the lifebuoy
light – and adding a drogue –
but not the danbuoy. In addition,
I would also recommend adding a
rescue sling and throw-line to your
boat’s equipment. Of course, other
measures can also be taken, such
as using an EPIRB, PLB, AISpersonal rescue beacon,
handheld VHF DSC and day/night
flare to help raise the alarm and
locate the MOB.
Five key extra points to remember:
■ Fit the danbuoy on the
starboard side of the stern since a
SAR helicopter winch-man will
always enter the cockpit from the
port quarter.
■ Mark all buoyant fittings with your
boat name or call sign. If they are
found, they can be used to help in
calculating the MOB’s location –
but only if they can be identified as
coming from your boat.■ Add retro-reflective tape
to floating items (lifebuoy, danbuoy
and even the light) – it makes them
much easier to see in the beam of
a searchlight.
■ Regularly practise the MOB
manoeuvre and your preferred
recovery method with your crew.
■ Best of all – don’t fall in. Clip
on with a safety lanyard the right
length to prevent going over
the side.■ Keith Colwell is the
RNLI’s Community Incident
Reduction Manager.Q
Two years ago, I bought
a Fantasia 2 7. The
mainsail reefing is a system
I had not come across before:
I have to go up to the mast
and take out sliders from a
cut-out in the mast.
These are normally
prevented from falling out by
a plastic catch blocking the
cut-out. Once I have taken out
two sliders in the case of the
first reef, I can then put the
cringle onto the horn. It’s a
right mess of a procedure to
return to the cockpit and haul
in the main halyard sufficiently
to keep the cringle on the
horn, then go back to the mast
to winch in the reefing lines
before finally returning to
the cockpit to tighten the
main halyard.
Is there a way I can bring the
lines back to the cockpit with
this mast arrangement? I sail
single-handed 99 per cent ofCan I reef from the cockpit?
The mainsail reefing system on
Colin Paterson’s Fantasia 27Stainless hooks welded onto the
reefing horns secure the cringlesthe time, and ideally I would
prefer to stay in the cockpit
and not have to venture on
deck at all.
Colin Paterson
Isle of ButeMIKE COATES REPLIES: It
should be possible to alter your
system so you can control the
reefing from the cockpit. You would
have to fit turning blocks on the
deck for each boom reefing line
so it can be led aft to a suitable
jammer or cleat. The reefing
hooks for the luff cringle would be
dispensed with and replaced with
tack lines: the bitter end of the
line would run from an eye on the
mast level with or just below the
gooseneck on one side and
through a similarly-placed bull’s
eye on the mast on the other
side. This would lead the line to a
deck turning block and aft to the
cockpit: the bull’s eye and fixed
eye near the gooseneck would
prevent the tack line and cringle
eye riding aft when the reef is
pulled down, ensuring foot tension
is maintained. A separate tack
line would be required for each
reef. Hopefully if using tack lines
there would be no necessity toremove the sliders from the
mast as the sail is lowered to
put in the reef.
As an interim measure, fitting a
tight piece of flexible polythene
tube onto the reefing hook just
touching the mast will prevent the
reefing cringle falling off while
you winch in the reef before
reapplying halyard tension.
Alternatively, if you decide to
keep the current reefing system
you could improve it by having
spring mallion hooks welded to
the reefing hooks to clip
onto stainless rings secured
with webbing through the
reefing cringle eyes.The horseshoe lifebelt and light (circled) are linked on board Hantu BiruMaking all the right connections