Anyone have a Lifesling?

They are half price at West Marine today only ($99). Was thinking about picking one up.

Any thoughts? It's the Lifesling 2.

Thanks,
Mike

I have one. It came with the boat. I don’t see a use for it, but I have one.

I have one on the aft rail up on the dinghy deck. I think that if just my wife and I were cruising and she, bless her heart, fell off the boat while trying to get the dog to pee in the cockpit that I would be better off with a simple throw able ring with a line attached to it in the cockpit (where I would run first) if she yelled "I have fallen overboard and would you please go upstairs and throw me the Lifesling".


It is in a rather big box so I don't want to move it down to the cockpit rail.


Just my $.02.

I have one and coincidentally I just bought a new bag for it and will be repacking it today. And after discussion last night we are also going to add a block and pulley to it.

I do see a use for it in that some of my guests are quite "hefty" and after bringing them to the gate or swim platform still means getting them up. However, the problem for my wife will be if I go overboard and she has to manhandle me.

Now if we/she has the time and the right seas to get the swim steps down then we probably wouldn't need it.

If it hadn't come with the boat, would I have bought one? Don't know. We do a ton of cruising just on our own, and often off shore, so probably yes for the price.

best to use if you have some means of hoisting people aboard with it.

that said there are dozens of ways to skin that cat.

it was originally developed for recovering people when under sail.

with a powerboat, there are different techniques that can be better.

huge amounts of literature in "safety at sea" type pubs and articles.

MichaelB1969 said:

They are half price at West Marine today only ($99). Was thinking about picking one up.

Any thoughts? It's the Lifesling 2.

Thanks,
Mike

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I’ve got one on my current boat and have had one on the past two boats I’ve owned and it was on the boats that my father owned before that. I’ve never had to use it to retrieve a a MOB.

I’ve had it because it is an effective MOB retrieval system that is always ready to deploy. On my current boat, I ended up getting a hard shell case for it and it is mounted permanently on the aft bulkhead facing the swim step. I hope it ends up being wasted money and wasted effort.

We had one for the sailboat, brought it with us to the trawler. It really was made for sailboats that just can't instantly stop while under big sail. Don't have that issue with a power boat. I mounted it on the dinghy deck rail to appease the admiral.

They meet the USCG requirement for a throwable life ring, so yes, you need it.

Lifesling is a popular item here in BC. It will function effectively to do what it is designed to do, lift a person from the water, if paired with an adequate lifting mechanism and used as designed.

It does NOT satisfy the requirement to carry a Life Ring of an approved diameter, see Boating Safety Guide:http://www.tc.gc.ca/media/documents/marinesafety/TP-511e.pdf

menzies said:

I have one and coincidentally I just bought a new bag for it and will be repacking it today. And after discussion last night we are also going to add a block and pulley to it.



I do see a use for it in that some of my guests are quite "hefty" and after bringing them to the gate or swim platform still means getting them up. However, the problem for my wife will be if I go overboard and she has to manhandle me.



Now if we/she has the time and the right seas to get the swim steps down then we probably wouldn't need it.



If it hadn't come with the boat, would I have bought one? Don't know. We do a ton of cruising just on our own, and often off shore, so probably yes for the price.

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Great point about about a block and tackle. The PO of my boat had the lifesling on the aft rail of the boat deck. He also had a block and tackle hanging on the aft rail as well. His thought was that his wife would need it to get him on board. The problem was that after 6 years of being exposed to the weather the double braid line got too stiff to be workable. I removed the tackle. Also it done come in happy when I needed to move a couple 8D batteries.

I have yet to come up with an alternative but I need to. If my wife goes overboard, I will need some system to get her on board. However, I can come up with something very quick as long as she is secured to the boat. She would have a more difficult time with me. So, I will likely refresh the line for the tackle and try to find a location that is always ready to use but will be protected from the weather.

koliver said:

Lifesling is a popular item here in BC. It will function effectively to do what it is designed to do, lift a person from the water, if paired with an adequate lifting mechanism and used as designed.

It does NOT satisfy the requirement to carry a Life Ring of an approved diameter, see Boating Safety Guide:http://www.tc.gc.ca/media/documents/marinesafety/TP-511e.pdf

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Interesting. The PFD and Flare requirements for my size vessel are quite more stringent than in the US.

All done.

BTW, that's a bowline with the end tucked under a bend!

koliver said:

Lifesling is a popular item here in BC. It will function effectively to do what it is designed to do, lift a person from the water, if paired with an adequate lifting mechanism and used as designed.

It does NOT satisfy the requirement to carry a Life Ring of an approved diameter, see Boating Safety Guide:http://www.tc.gc.ca/media/documents/marinesafety/TP-511e.pdf

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It did the last 5 times we were boarded by the Coasties. Good to know it's different in Canada.

we have established several of us have it, but has anyone really used it?

While on the safety kick, I note that the low around the lunch hour today is a - tide -0.6ft at Fulford Harbour.
All of those hazards you rarely see will be exposed!
Be extra careful out there today!

koliver said:

While on the safety kick, I note that the low around the lunch hour today is a - tide -0.6ft at Fulford Harbour.

All of those hazards you rarely see will be exposed!

Be extra careful out there today!

Click to expand...

I admit that I am always a bit confused by the Canadian chart datum. This is silly since I think it makes more sense than the US system. So if the datum is Low Low Water Large Tide, isn’t it really unusual to have a minus tide?

Here the datum is Mean Low Water, so minus tides aren’t as unusual. Today I’m going to try and stay off the bottom at a -4 tide.

They don't do much good, and indeed have the potential for real harm, unless you practice using them. Start with a bundle of fenders and practice bringing the thing around without running over the MOB. Have your throwable with a lanyard and a PFD on hand as well to get to the MOB... use the "kitchen sink" approach to getting flotation to them.

Learning how to make it work while in the midst of a MOB is not good.

On alternative for some power boaters is to use the dinghy davit to hoist. If the person is OK, deploy the swim ladder. A critical part of the exercise is understanding when the engines need to be put in neutral or shut down.

I have always had one mounted on the stern rail but getting a hypothermic person back to the boat is only part of the problem. You will need block and tackle with an attach point or a good winch to bring them back on board.

I have several throwables, a crane, a large swim platform and a ladder.

SoWhat said:

I have always had one mounted on the stern rail but getting a hypothermic person back to the boat is only part of the problem. You will need block and tackle with an attach point or a good winch to bring them back on board.

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^^ this.

This is where there is a difference between warm and cold water boating.

I can't justify having one, mainly due to storage space. If the water was colder, or passengers were overweight, the priority would be higher.

But for now, its the swim ladder; Or if thats not possible due to injury or if unconscious I'd drag them to the swim platform with a life ring, then then winch them up using the boom and a safety harness.

The most important thing just having a MOB plan, and practicing your drills now and then so everyone knows their part, regardless of who may be overboard and what the situation is.
Safety devices do more than just meeting regulations.

Donna said:

we have established several of us have it, but has anyone really used it?

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I have had a ring for 20 years and never used it.

As the gun nuts like to say " Better to have it and not need it than need it and not have it." Of course you'd end up carrying a heck of a lot of stuff around if you took that literally...
I'm happy to say I have had life insurance for 40 years and never used it either.

I have paired a lifting strap with my lifting davit to provide emergency retrieval of an overboard crewmember. I haven't used it for this yet but plan to practice with it this summer.

I have a separate throwable to meet the USCG requirements.

dhays said:

I admit that I am always a bit confused by the Canadian chart datum. This is silly since I think it makes more sense than the US system. So if the datum is Low Low Water Large Tide, isn’t it really unusual to have a minus tide?

Here the datum is Mean Low Water, so minus tides aren’t as unusual. Today I’m going to try and stay off the bottom at a -4 tide.

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At this time of year, as we approach Summer Solstice, and when the moon is in the right alignment, we usually get a few days of - tides. Not so much the rest of the year.

Got one as part of an MOB plan. Our dinghy crane position is calibrated to swing to the side doir of the veranda or to the swim platform. Also, dinghy davits overhanging the swim platform both have hand crank winches. Twin inward opening transom doors should get the MOB inside. Final plan is an overhead electric winch on veranda ceiling. All this won’t replace practice.

Living in the northwest, hypothermia is a real problem in a MOB situation. We had a Lifesling class at our recent Nordic Tug Rendezvous and found that they are harder to use than we had thought, even with the 5:1 block and tackle, if you do not have an overhead boom and winch. No matter what you are using, it is nearly worthless unless your MOB drill is practiced and doable.

I agree about block and tackle being tough...

Not all tackles are created equal in terms of friction losses, but still......

..... even with the best tackle, a wet MOB weighing close to 200 pounds is hard work

Here in the PNW, we also believe in sizing the line appropriately for the task. That means, in some cases, 2” 3 strand for use with the Lifesling.

Even rusty old barges need a MOB system.

Used one once with drunk neighbors girlfriend. Held her until fire department got there. Tried to get her up our swim platform but she had no skills left. Idiots for neighbors.