Sounds like something I've done, but to clarify don't ever bring a large fish in the cockpit, they can and have killed people before. No joke.1st Sail wrote:
There was an old post here year's ago about an individual that caught a 200+ Halibut on his way to Alaska. He tied a line to the tail and secured to the stern cleat and another line to the head and then winched up the side. He was unable to get the fish in the cock pit and ended using it for rail ballast as he sailed to port. Needless to say that would be a terrible way to secure an individual let alone fail to on board an individual.
I asked a golfer and she don't get it either.NiceAft wrote:Two posts of the golf joke, and I still don't get it
And nope, I'm not a golfer.
Ray
What he said.NiceAft wrote:1st Sail, good post.
I appreciate the need to focus on prevention, and we should put most of our energy and effort there, but, if ever confronted with an actual immobilized MOB, I will attempt the use of the mainsail, unhanked from the mast on the luff, but still attached along the boom, to slip under the MOB and attempt to winch him up far enough to get out of the water. (I would try to get the boom crutch under the boom so it would stay stationary and the force of weight was acting along the midline of the boat.) It is not necessary to get the person on board, if we can get him out of the water. (Assuming no airway obstruction and breathing is normal) It might even be best not to try. If there is a spinal or neck injury, movement as little as possible along with immobilization is needed. Wrapped in the "cocoon" of the mainsail, snugged up to the side of the boat, while we make all possible speed to rendezvous with professional help, seems like it would be worth a try. Blankets and towels or extra clothing can be placed over the MOB wrapped in the sail to help with hyperthermia, if indicated. If the sail has to be replaced, or parts of rigging repaired, it seems like a small price to pay for making the effort to save a life. You do what you can with what you've got. With due regard for not putting additional people at risk. I am not a paramedic, but I did stay in a Holiday Inn Express not long ago!Starscream wrote:What he said.NiceAft wrote:1st Sail, good post.
I think that it is IMPOSSIBLE for anyone to get an unconscious MOB back on an X, and REALLY hard for anyone to get a conscious and mobile MOB back in anything other than calm conditions where the MOB could use the ladder independently, and not get knocked out by a heaving and pitching outboard motor.
Interesting ideas on different ways to use the boom and winches, but I think these only work in flat calm conditions where the captain could position the boat with perfect precision, and even then I have my doubts about the strength of the rig...winches, boom, mast: Attaching and lifting 200 lbs at the end of the boom in windy and wavy conditions? Not gonna happen, methinks, and 1st Sail's story shows why. Maybe even if the MOB were somehow attached to a rig at the end of the boom, once any weight was put on the winching system the boat would heel over, and then the wind and the waves would toss the boat around and the end of the boom would thrash the victim into a bloody pulp.
If you are out in conditions where survivability in the water is questionable then the only solution is prevention. The thinking-effort is better spent on systems that keep people on board. Lines led to the cockpit. Single line reefing. Lifelines and harnesses. Training. Cold water survival gear. We simply can't afford to have anyone go overboard.
Seriously, I did train with paramedics in a 4th Marine Field Hospital Unit in the Naval Reserve for 3 years in the mid 80's and early '90's. We were trained to improvise. And, make the effort. 
