the swim platform,

Rich will I'm sure give you his views on the subject, but there are a
couple of reasons some people don't like to carry a dinghy on the
swimstep.  One is that in that position--- depending on the
configuration of the boat's stern, swimstep, and the dinghy itself--- in
rough water the dinghy could scoop in water.  This sudden increase in
weight and shock could break the dinghy mounts, the swimstep, etc.  I
can certainly understand this being a concern if one cruised in open
ocean water with waves on top of swells.  So far, we have not come
anywhere near this condition even in the four to six foot wind waves we
have gotten into on a few occasions but we don't have swells on the
inside waters and with a sheltered port or bay always within easy reach
it's not likely we'd be caught out in a nasty storm.  But the "scoop
water" issue is definitely something to consider if you anticipate
boating in places where this could occur.

Two, a swim-step mounted dinghy can block all access to the boat from
the swimstep.  No big deal in most GBs since there is no transom door
anyway in most of them and the freeboard is such that all but the
largest models are easy to board from the side and the side decks are
relatively wide.  But some boats use the swimstep and a transom door for
normal boarding, so a dinghy mounted on the step would block access.  I
have seen swimstep mounted dinghies on boats like American Tugs where
the dinghy is mounted in such a way that a person can step between it
and the transom to board through the transom door.  But this requires a
pretty wide swimstep which many boats don't have.

C. Marin Faure
Producer/Director, Boeing Video Services
telephone (206)650-5622
fax: (425)965-4253
e-mail: marin.faure@boeing.com

Marin,

How do you do a Man-Overboard recovery with the dink on the swim platform?

Kevin

swim platform?

The short answer is, we don't.  On our boat we would not do a MOB
recovery using the swimstep anyway even if we didn't have a dinghy on it
because of the extreme difficulty of getting a person onto the swimstep.
We have a large pivoting ladder on the swimstep but if a person is
unable to assist themselves that's of no value. Anyone who thinks
getting an incapacitated adult from the water onto a swimstep is easy
should think again.  We had to try this in the USCG Auxiliary boating
course we took way back when, and no one in the class could do it.  The
weight is too much and the leverage too poor.  But even if a person
could be gotten onto the swimstep, there is the difficulty of getting
them up over the transom on a GB.

So we would do an MOB recovery from the side of the boat.  We have a
LifeSling and would use it to recover the person using the GB's boom.
We've actually practiced this and it works very well.  A GB36 has a
relatively low freeboard so it's not difficult to hook the fall to the
harness.  Both the boom and the fall are fitted with double-sheave
blocks and lifting 200-300 pounds is very easy.

However, if one had a reason to get someone aboard at the stern, with
the dinghy on Weaver Davits it would be easy to simply unclip the
standoffs and let the dinghy fall back into the water but remain
attached to the boat and pull the person into the dinghy, or at least
lash them to it while the boom lift was being set up.  We have a
hardshell dinghy so it's easy to hang onto the side, or if the person is
incapacitated, there are plenty of attach points on the dinghy to tie
the LifeSling line to that would keep the person's head out of the
water.

Both these methods would work fine on a boat like a GB32, 36, 42 or even
46.  But on other boats with other configurations or higher freeboard or
that don't have a mast and boom the side recovery might not work at all.
The stern of the boat may be the only option in which case a
stern-mounted dinghy would be a problem unless it was mounted in such a
way that it could become part of the MOB recovery system.

C. Marin Faure
GB36-403 "La Perouse"
Bellingham, Washington
Marin,

How do you do a Man-Overboard recovery with the dink on the swim
platform?

Kevin

recover a MOB due to the hinging action keeping the outboard side of the
dink lower to the water as opposed to the swim platform charging up and
down.

Another issue to consider is if the boat is pitching up and down there
is the risk of the person being recovered getting some or all of his/her
body underneath the swimstep as it comes down.  A wallop on the head
from a swimstep is not likely to do anyone any good.  The side recovery
eliminates this particular risk although there are plenty of other risks
in an MOB situation.  Recovery into a lowered dinghy attached to the
boat also avoids the potential of getting whacked by the descending
swimstep.  Not that a recovery into a dinghy doesn't have its own
problems, but being clobbered by a platform attached to the descending
end of a 26,000 pound boat isn't one of them.

C. Marin Faure
GB36-403 "La Perouse"
Bellingham, Washington

Marin,

My GB is a little older than yours and the mast and boom are original.  I
did outfit the boom and fall with new double-sheaves and 3/8" line but
admittedly I struggle a bit to lift our 125 lb hard dink.  My wife
absolutely could not do it if I was the MOB.  I am afraid to try and lift
anything heavier for fear of snapping the boom or risking a hardware
failure.  I thought the new double-sheaves would make it easier, and it did,
but not significantly.  Perhaps they are to small.  I have been thinking
about installing two geared hand winches on the aft cabin top at the cockpit
for the boom and fall operation.  Could you describe the double-sheaves that
you are using?

Thanks,

Andy

Andy & Linda Woods
Grand Folly
1970 Grand Banks 36 Classic
Georgetown, MD.
grandfolly@hotmail.com