MOB Recovery Gear

SAFE T Y The carbon-fiber pole helps hold the Seascoopa open. Weighted line keeps the leading edge immersed underwater. winch is often the easiest to use. One problem with sling-type devices such as the Lifesling is that the victim could suffer secondary injuries during a vertical lift. Risks of a vertical lift include: a semi-drownedperson ingesting more water, a spinal-injury victim suffering further injury during the lift, and a potentially fatal loss of blood pressure (particularly in a victim suffering hypothermia). With care, these risks can be mitigated, but an ef- fective horizontal lifting device could be a boon to rescuers. MOB Recovery Gear Another drawback to the Lifesling and most other lifting devices tested at The Seascoopa fine-tunes the parbuckle the 2005 symposium was that they were ineffective with unconscious victims. for heavy lifting in a man-overboard rescue. Even expert swimmers had trouble don- ning the Lifesling while they were wear- esponding to our recent report on gear appeared in the January 2006 is- ing an inflatablelifevest . (The inflatable Rman-overboard recovery maneu- sue, in which noted marine writer John version of the Lifesling is very difficult vers (PS January 2010), several readers Rousmaniere examined 12 different to get on over an inflated PFD). Not only asked about the next stage of recovery, devices tested during the 2005 Crew will the unconscious victim be more dif- getting the victim on board. As diffi- Overboard Retrieval Symposium on ficult to spot and make contact with, but cult as it is to make contact with a per- San Francisco Bay. hauling a limp 160-pound body aboard son in the water (PS May 2008), getting The products tested in San Francisco a modern slab-sided monohull in a sea- the person back on board, particularly could be generally categorized as lad- way makes piano-moving look easy. on today’s large, high-freeboard cruis- ders, slings, or nets. Although some ers, is no less daunting. devices were better suited for certain THE PARBUCKLE Over the years, Practical Sailor has circumstances, our testers agreed that Most of the symposium-tested devices examined this subject from many dif- Lifesling2, a modified horseshoe buoy that worked for unconscious victims ferent angles. meant to be dragged behind the rescu- were described as parbuckles. In its most Our most recent ing vessel, was the most versatile. It ef- basic form, a parbuckle is a rope that is detailed report fectively served as a device for making looped under cargo (such as a barrel) for o n m a n - first contact with the victim, and as a lifting. The sailor’s version is usually an overboard sling for hoisting them back into the extra sail. recovery boat. An improved (with reflecting tape) When used as a rescue parbuckle, two Lifesling3, which has the International corners of the sail are fixed to points on Sailing Federation stamp of approval, is the rail of the boat (stanchions, for ex- now available. ample), and the third corner is attached Once the victim is securely in the to a halyard or topping lift. The sail is Lifesling and alongside, he can be lowered into the water, and the victim is winched or hauled—either manually maneuvered into this makeshift net and or using 5:1 lifting tackle—back onto then hoisted back aboard and “rolled” the boat. Halyards and toppinglifts are onto the deck. often suggested for lifting,but a cockpit In action, this type of rescue is not as simple or elegant as it appears on paper. PS has tested the Lifesling2 on several occa- A sail is not a net. It doesn’t easily sink, sions. A newer version, the Lifesling3, has reflec- and it tends to fill with water when it tive tape and other improvements. is lifted. 26 MAY 2010 WWW.PRACTICAL-SAILOR.COM SAFE T Y VALUE GUIDE SEASCOOPA vs. LIFESLING RATINGS MOB DEVICE PRICE TYPE CONSTRUCTION EASE OF EASE OF UNCONSCIOUS THE SEASCOOPA INSTALL USE* RECOVERY Designed by Bob Wright, an experienced SEASCOOPA NA Parbuckle Good Good Fair Good sailor and director of Horseshoe/ intensive care at St. LIFESLING2 $100 sling Good Excellent Good Poor Vincent’s Public and Recommended *Includes making contact and recovery. Private Hospitals in Sydney, Australia, the Seascoopa is still in the development ker pole is an interlocking carbon-fiber practice and preparation, and prefer- phase. Wright hopes it solves many pole joined by a bungee. High-quality ably, extra crew. After several practice of the problems of similar parbuckle- stainless steel hardware and cordage is runs, it took our testers at least 3 minutes type devices. Most of the parbuckle- used to secure the net to the boat. Poly- to convert the Seascoopa from stowed type devices evaluated in the San propylene handholds are positioned on bag to a deployed net, too long in our Francisco symposium were deemed the perimeter and inside net, and poly- opinion. “complicated,” with the rescue times propylene rope at the leading edge has (the time from when contact was made, a weighted core to keep the rescue net TEST RUNS to getting the person on board) rang- underwater while it is being dragged. A more useful approach would be ing from at least 2 minutes to as long The net, three-piece whisker pole, to keep the Seascoopa device in the as 10 minutes. and all the necessary guys and hardware “ready” mode. PS used this setup dur- What sets the Seascoopa apart from pack into a heavy-duty PVC trifold bag ing on-the-water tests. In this con- the other devices is its compact, light- measuring 36 x 6 x 12 inches and weigh- figuration, the whisker pole is pre- weight packaging and an interlocking ing 25 pounds. The bag is meant to fit in assembled, lifting lines and foreguy three-piece carbon-fiber whisker pole the cockpit locker of a cruising boat. are pre-set, and the Seascoopa is re- that holds the trapezoid-shaped net out To deploy the Seascoopa from the packed in its bag. This time, however, at right angles to the boat. fully packed configuration, you unfold the bag is unfolded to its full 8.5-foot The ultimate goal of the device is to the bag, attach the lifting line (usually length and stowed along the rail of the make it possible for a single person to a topping lift or spinnaker halyard) to boat. Although the bag can be well se- safely secure and lift a much heavier the lifting strop atthe “head” of the Sea- cured in this location, it would likely person aboard with minimal effort. In scoopa. You must also attach the two take a thumping on a monohull with addition to reducing some of the risks corners of the Seascoopa to stanchions low freeboard going to windward on a associated with a vertical lift, the Seas- or fixed points on the boat, assemble long, wet beat. coopa aims to simplify making contact the whisker pole, and secure the fore- To deploy, you open the Velcro clo- with the victim. Because it can be em- guy. The whisker pole must be fixed to sure at the bag’s center to reveal the ployed while the vessel is slowly making a ring at the lifting strop a certain way, lifting strop and foreguy. Attach a hal- way, the recovery involves less stationary depending on the side of the boat used yard to the lifting strop and hoist to a bobbing, when the boat is at the mercy of for rescue. Usually this is determined in preset height. This causes the bag to wind and waves. (An underway recov- advance, and the pole is pre-attached ac- burst fully open, freeing the pole and ery, raises other risks, discussed later.) cordingly. allowing you to set the foreguy. In this Although a rescuer could deploy the configuration, deploying was accom- CONSTRUCTION AND DESIGN Seascoopa from this packed configura- plished in less than a minute. Keeping The Seascoopa’s design and construction tion in an emergency, doing so quickly details show that a lot of thought and test- and effectively would require lots of Continued on page 28 ing has gone into the device. The yacht Seascoopa model that PS tested was de- veloped from an earlier model designed for small rescue RIBs. The inflatable boat Seascoopas are now being marketed for rescue craft in Australia. The net itself is made of heavy-duty polypropylene, reinforced at the edges with heavy-duty PVC canvas. The whis- The victim can be rolled onto the deck. Ideally, the lower lifelines would be loos- ened and raised. PRACTICAL SAILOR MAY 2010 27 CHANDLERY Shedding Light on Safety recent ocean race—aboard a Cape lines and their proper setup, check out ADory 25 sans lifelines in 30- to 40- “Hooked Up,” PS April 2007.) knot winds and 5- to 10-foot seas—pre- The jacklines can be tailored to the de- sented a good opportunity to sea-trial sired length by sliding the forged stain- Wichard’s Lyf’Safe jackline kit. less adjusters. No cutting is necessary, so Wichard Inc., which is based in France the jacklines can easily be used on mul- and has an office in Vermont, has been tiple boats in a similar size range. Two making marine hardware and accesso- plastic, photoluminescent casings are ries for more than 30 years. Its Lyf’Safe supplied as covers for the metal adjust- kit offers a ready-to-go jackline setup and ers. Testers found that these made it easy comes with everything needed to install to spot the end of the line at night, and the system.

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