Great ideas have always been scoffed.
But, you know I'll get rich - and the time will come
when Anna K will be sitting in MY cockpit.
And while I muddle with her pumps we'll be
scoffing apple knocker martinis
and be admiring life saving flotation devices over
a platter of haut hors doeuvres
Of course you're going to need more than one boat, maybe a Friendship 40.
Wait a minute...look at that cockpit...a deathtrap!
Cancel my order.
Anna has been taking some sailing lessons with Ellen McArthur for 'ya ebb
Always had something for fast women
Somebody should have pointed out that:
total vessel displacement is to the load waterline.
Emergency bouyancy is the minimum extra to keep the vessel from sinking.
Am I correct in thinking, that once completely swamped the boat reverts back to its actual total material weight? IE, using the classic illustration, pushing a basketball into the water requires more effort the deeper one pushes. But if the ball broke, it would take little effort (weight) to immerse.
Once totally flooded, awash, only actual total weight of vessel plus occupants needs to be kept afloat for rescue.
To float boat above the sheer much more flotation is required.
Therefor the reserve flotation airbags (noodles) idea put forth here should be attached below the sheerline and calculated to provide enough bouyancy so that the swamped vessel could pumped out and 'refloated' at sea. That's what I had in mind.
Poof!
As to the original problem. These days, after decades of forced air-holding boats and fabric, there shouldbe something, some air bag, that is tough enough to be expanded into a void with sharp protrusions such as the lazarette (viz ob motor) to act as space filling reserve bouyancy.
Last edited by ebb; 02-06-2005 at 08:19 AM.
Now I get ya Ebb.
How about airbags strategically placed in these "emergency" voids, which could be deployed when needed, then repacked when all is well... Kind of like an air bag in a car.
I understand that styrofoam has better floatation than the equivalent volume of air - makes me wonder if it wouldn't be better to permanently attach enough of the stuff in the nooks and crannies to make the boat positively buoyant - if that's possible.
Although, the styrofoam option would take up a constant amount of volume, whereas the airbags in their deflated state would take up much less valuable volume...
Last edited by mbd; 02-06-2005 at 08:13 PM.
Mike,
Personally don't see how enough foam could be squirelled away in an A/C cruiser to make significant difference. But there's no reason emergency bouyancy bags couldn't be secured inside the boat, placed in a way the inflation of the bags wouldn't hurt or smother an occupant below, and leaving some room to manuever. Maybe the bags could be inflated in a totally swamped situation to void enough water to get the vessel to float on its own again.
[There you'ld be, soaking wet and cold, still alive after the worst night of your life. The bouy bags are keeping the boat afloat at the sheerline, but waves are still washing aboard over the stern into the cockpit. Looking into the companioway there is only water below upto the bridgedeck. You reach in, push a switch and in a series of hisses and whooshes the water below erupts out of the companionway. Instead of water there are tan pillows in the space. Suddenly the boat is floating a foot higher and the raildogs are flopping now but keeping the waves out. You find a snickerdoodle bar in the emergency bag and the sun breaks thru the clouds.]
Check out the site below. Just found it. One comentator described this as 'emerging technology.' The outfit targets small boats and puts the self-inflating airbags down on the spray rail in speed boats. But it certainly is the right idea, my comment being that if the vessels they depict overturn the placement of the bags might float the boat but probably upside down.
Keeping a displacement ocean going sailboat in trouble afloat will require a lot of serious and clever development of a system - but it's an idea that's already here! Nothing new under the sun. I'ld have more faith in the outcome if, instead of this company being in Colorado, they were located in Coronado.
www.goboatingmag.com/main/article.asp?id=3555
Last edited by ebb; 02-07-2005 at 07:36 AM.
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