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SAVING A LIFE


mrsmelly

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Now I have caught your attention. After reading a thread about Martyn " Nightwatch " falling in which has woken me sufficiently and made me buy a folding ladder I just though that some of us have much more experience than others but experience doesnt always count for everything. I am starting this thread hoping it doesnt collapse into opinions which we all have but more for peeps to post what safety equipment they carry aboard such as Rachael " Naughty Cal " and her ladder.

I have a lifering, lifejackets, smoke and carbon monoxide alarms several rope lengths and all the usual obligatory stuff.

What do you keep onboard for emergency use? Your info could well save a life.

 

Taa

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Now I have caught your attention. After reading a thread about Martyn " Nightwatch " falling in which has woken me sufficiently and made me buy a folding ladder I just though that some of us have much more experience than others but experience doesnt always count for everything. I am starting this thread hoping it doesnt collapse into opinions which we all have but more for peeps to post what safety equipment they carry aboard such as Rachael " Naughty Cal " and her ladder.

I have a lifering, lifejackets, smoke and carbon monoxide alarms several rope lengths and all the usual obligatory stuff.

What do you keep onboard for emergency use? Your info could well save a life.

 

Taa

Thermal blanket (not got one myself, but on my next boat.....)

 

Tony

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Now I have caught your attention. After reading a thread about Martyn " Nightwatch " falling in which has woken me sufficiently and made me buy a folding ladder I just though that some of us have much more experience than others but experience doesnt always count for everything. I am starting this thread hoping it doesnt collapse into opinions which we all have but more for peeps to post what safety equipment they carry aboard such as Rachael " Naughty Cal " and her ladder.

I have a lifering, lifejackets, smoke and carbon monoxide alarms several rope lengths and all the usual obligatory stuff.

What do you keep onboard for emergency use? Your info could well save a life.

 

Taa

Unless you have a gas-free boat, you are lacking a gas alarm, IMO...

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As well as the bathing ladder we also have onboard two sharp knifes, one in the cockpit and one in the anchor locker for cutting ropes in an emergency.

 

We also have an emergency rescue sling for recovering people in the water.

 

As well as the usual array of fire extinguishers, fire blanket, smoke alarm and carbon monoxide alarm.

 

We have had our boat 8 years and there was a smoke alarm fitted when we bought it. We never relied on it as we bought a new one but we decided last weekend to take the old alarm down. Good job we were not relying on it as it wouldn't have worked!

 

20170205_185947.jpg

 

20170205_185833.jpg

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A good thread.

 

We have all the usual alarms etc. We now have a ladder appropriately positioned to deploy.

 

I like the idea of a sling/strop. At least you could keep someone afloat until more help arrives.

It appears that they don't make the rescue sling we have anymore but it is very similar to this one:

 

https://marinestore.co.uk/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=PL27027&Category_Code=mob-recovery&Store_Code=mrst&gclid=Cj0KEQiA_eXEBRDP8fnIlJDXxsIBEiQAAGfyoRPKleOhZ1Z8Ce4R7VKCloHEUlRZAti_RTwjV7LScUUaAkjv8P8HAQ

 

It live in the cockpit of the boat tied off to the rails and is ready to deploy when needed.

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Unless you have a gas-free boat, you are lacking a gas alarm, IMO...

 

Thankyou and Yes you are quite right we dont have a gas alarm on this boat. We had one on the last boat and it has completely passed out of my thoughts for this boat. I will now rectify this immediately.

Keep em coming.

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Sharp knife is good. Only used it once, in France when a hireboat in our lock got a mooring line jammed in the coping stones (many French locks have a metal plate running along the edge to protect the edge / stop ropes jamming - not this one though). Most French locks are automatic and dropping the paddles is not possible. I hopped off the boat and cut the line leaving the French crew a bit puzzled as to why a mad Englishman should cut their rope. I mimed that throat cutting thing with the knife and pointed to the boat and then mimed being hung by a noose and they left the lock flat out and we never caught them up or saw them again. Dunno why.

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Sharp knife is good. Only used it once, in France when a hireboat in our lock got a mooring line jammed in the coping stones (many French locks have a metal plate running along the edge to protect the edge / stop ropes jamming - not this one though). Most French locks are automatic and dropping the paddles is not possible. I hopped off the boat and cut the line leaving the French crew a bit puzzled as to why a mad Englishman should cut their rope. I mimed that throat cutting thing with the knife and pointed to the boat and then mimed being hung by a noose and they left the lock flat out and we never caught them up or saw them again. Dunno why.

 

Yes a good point. For years I carried an axe next to the steering position and when I was a newbie got hung up in a lock and parted the jammed rope with it just in time. I carried an axe as when in the RN we always carried them for emergency break aways as even a steel hawser under immense strain will part with the blow of a large sharp axe against a steel deck, ropes part instantly also. I dont carry one now, dont know when or why I stopped.

As we tend to moor in unlit places I hang a small torch on each fire extinguisher and these are placed at both ends of the boat and a third in the middle.

 

Yes torches with good batteries we have in several places.

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Sharp knife is good. Only used it once, in France when a hireboat in our lock got a mooring line jammed in the coping stones (many French locks have a metal plate running along the edge to protect the edge / stop ropes jamming - not this one though). Most French locks are automatic and dropping the paddles is not possible. I hopped off the boat and cut the line leaving the French crew a bit puzzled as to why a mad Englishman should cut their rope. I mimed that throat cutting thing with the knife and pointed to the boat and then mimed being hung by a noose and they left the lock flat out and we never caught them up or saw them again. Dunno why.

 

From my Offshore days I have one of these to hand when at the helm:

 

 

1365098837-53107800.jpg

 

http://www.swiss-store.co.uk/large-pocket-knives-c84/victorinox-skipper-swiss-army-knife-blue-p667

 

Has proved invaluable on several occasions.

 

The beauty of these is they have a life time guarantee, if you break a blade Victorinox will replace the whole knife.

Edited by Ray T
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Now I have caught your attention. After reading a thread about Martyn " Nightwatch " falling in which has woken me sufficiently and made me buy a folding ladder I just though that some of us have much more experience than others but experience doesnt always count for everything. I am starting this thread hoping it doesnt collapse into opinions which we all have but more for peeps to post what safety equipment they carry aboard such as Rachael " Naughty Cal " and her ladder.

I have a lifering, lifejackets, smoke and carbon monoxide alarms several rope lengths and all the usual obligatory stuff.

What do you keep onboard for emergency use? Your info could well save a life.

 

Taa

Axe each end of the boat 4 CO Alarms CO2 extinguisher as well as all the Mandatory ones

 

 

3 metre ladder with Clamps,3 Metre Gangplank 2.9 Metre Inflatable Boat permanently attached to the Stern

 

CT

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All of the above plus a short length of 16mm rope (slightly less than a meter in length) with eye splices at each end (one larger than the other). Slip the small splice over a dolly or tee stud and you have a very lightweight 'step' at the other end. If single handing I usually have the small splice over one of the dollies at the stern end and the remainder coiled on the tipcat. Never had to use it but am sure it would work well especially on an older boat with no baseplate overhang.

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As well as the bathing ladder we also have onboard two sharp knifes, one in the cockpit and one in the anchor locker for cutting ropes in an emergency.

 

We also have an emergency rescue sling for recovering people in the water.

 

As well as the usual array of fire extinguishers, fire blanket, smoke alarm and carbon monoxide alarm.

 

We have had our boat 8 years and there was a smoke alarm fitted when we bought it. We never relied on it as we bought a new one but we decided last weekend to take the old alarm down. Good job we were not relying on it as it wouldn't have worked!

 

20170205_185947.jpg

 

20170205_185833.jpg

Arrived at the boat this week and our smoke alarm was chirping, stopped in Lymm and bought a new battery but it still kept chirping, first off convinced the chap sold me a crap battery so took the battery out of the water leak alarm and that chirped as well. so now before next trip its a new smoke detector. As for gas detectors, I spent many years working with these on an industrial scale and the attention they required to keep them working satisfactorily I wouldn't even consider a cheap one, these cost hundred, I am sure if £50 ones worked better we would have used them.

 

From my Offshore days I have one of these to hand when at the helm:

 

 

 

The beauty of these is they have a life time guarantee, if you break a blade Victorinox will replace the whole knife.

Didn't know that, snapped the tip off the blade on mine years ago so bought a new one.

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Bag of salt to pour down the chimney for if the stove should ever roar away out of control.

Gas mask for protection from the chlorine gas that can result from the use of salt on a fire...

biggrin.png

Edited by PaulG
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some good ideas and a good thread in general.

We have:

All the usual alarms but no gas alarm yet.

Breadknife good for cutting ropes in emergency.

Agree with CT about CO2 extinguisher.

Lifejackets (for dogs too.)

Many torches (I seem to be a collector of same.)

Am seriously considering an emergency ladder.

Edited by Guest
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Tweezers for splinters, these should be added to the Swiss army knife instead of the tool that is supposed to remove stones from horses hooves which I think is really a Marlin spike for rope work.

A First aid kit is very important, complete with a big selection of safety pins to hold up your pants when the elastic snaps. Strong bandages for restraining aggressive crew members and for binding up arms broken by Swans wings. A comprehensive kit of surgical and dentistry tools and a bottle of rum for performing the odd Tonsil, Appendix, and tooth operation. Plus, pills, ointments, embrocations, Kaolin poltices, TCP.

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As well as the previously mentioned fire extingushers, torches, cutting devices etc. we also found it useful to have some agreed actions to take in case of an MOB incident, plus special precautions for boating on big rivers, tideways and Broads. We were Broads based for 17 years.

 

  • Person on the tiller is in charge
  • Steer stern away from casualty - if you do not know how to then you shouldn't be steering
  • Stop propeller as soon as possible

 

  • Life jackets to be worn on big waters - decide for ypurself elsewhere
  • Front cabin doors to remain closed on big waters

 

OK there are lots of 'what ifs?' that can be confected but these are some ideas.

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Tweezers for splinters, these should be added to the Swiss army knife instead of the tool that is supposed to remove stones from horses hooves which I think is really a Marlin spike for rope work.

A First aid kit is very important, complete with a big selection of safety pins to hold up your pants when the elastic snaps. Strong bandages for restraining aggressive crew members and for binding up arms broken by Swans wings. A comprehensive kit of surgical and dentistry tools and a bottle of rum for performing the odd Tonsil, Appendix, and tooth operation. Plus, pills, ointments, embrocations, Kaolin poltices, TCP.

Cripes, that sounds like a holiday from hell. Oh don't forget one of those rubber rings that they used to advertise in the back of the 'News of the World' for sufferers of haemorrhoids .

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