Man-Overboard Recovery Gear: Throwables, Lifesling, Ladders and MOB Alarms

Federal rules require a USCG-approved throwable on boats 16 feet and longer (except canoes and kayaks). The BoatUS Foundation explains:

• It must be immediately available, near the helm or in the cockpit, not in a locker.
• A ring buoy needs at least 16.5 pounds of buoyancy and a cushion at least 18 pounds.
• It's meant to be thrown and held, not worn, and it's not enough for an unconscious person, a non-swimmer or a child.
• Don't sit or kneel on a throwable cushion or use it as a fender: that crushes the foam and reduces its flotation.

Inspect it: no torn cover, no hard or waterlogged foam, straps and grab line intact, approval label readable. Replace a faded or damaged one.

A ring or cushion floats the person but doesn't connect them to the boat. Tie a length of floating line to the ring buoy or carry a throw bag (a bag of floating line you throw by the handle so the line pays out). Practical Sailor notes that if you can toss a dock line to someone on a fuel dock, you can usually reach a swimmer 15 feet away, which saves you from having to put the boat right on top of them. US Sailing's quick-stop method finishes by getting a heaving line or throwing sock to the person and attaching them to the boat.

At night or in waves a head in the water is almost invisible. A water-activated light on the ring buoy or on the life jackets marks the spot; Practical Sailor points out that a water-activated strobe for a life jacket costs only about $20. Test the light's switch or test button and check the battery date each season.

A Lifesling-type device is a buoyant horseshoe sling on a long floating line (typically well over 100 feet) that stays tied to the boat. You drop it astern and circle the person until the line reaches them; they put the sling over their head and under their arms; you stop the boat and pull them alongside. It was developed by the Sailing Foundation and is especially useful when only one other person is aboard to do the rescue. Boating Magazine notes that with a block-and-tackle it can also be used to hoist the person aboard, and that swim platforms and boarding doors make it easier on powerboats.

Check it each season: the case opens easily and isn't strapped shut by a seized buckle, the line isn't sun-rotted, the sling's foam isn't crushed, and the hoisting tackle is aboard and complete.

Rescuers in Practical Sailor's trials found the hoisting tackle tricky to set up and sometimes too weak for boats with small winches, and delivering the sling took more than 10 minutes for some crews. The fix is practice. Figure out now where the top block goes (a halyard, boom, davit, tower or other high strong point), which winch or cleat you'll use, and keep the tackle where you can reach it fast.

A person in the water must be able to deploy and climb the ladder alone. Check:

• Can it be pulled down from the water? If it folds up out of reach, add a pull strap or a ladder that drops with one tug.
• Does it reach deep enough? Boating Magazine notes that many stock two-step ladders are too short for a tired or older person to climb; extensions add steps below the water.
• Are the steps wide and flat, with something solid to hold at the top? Center-rail dive-style ladders that lean out at an angle are easier for a winded person.

Test it at the dock or anchored in calm water, engine off: have a crew member climb in from the water wearing a life jacket.

Small boats without a swim platform (jon boats, small inflatables, open fishing boats) need extra thought. The BoatUS Foundation notes that most boating deaths happen on boats under 20 feet, and that some victims drowned because they couldn't get back in. In its re-boarding tests on small boats:

• A ladder that worked well on one boat often failed completely on another, so test yours on your own boat.
• Long, floppy rope ladders swung under the hull and pushed the climber off balance; short one- or two-step stirrups worked best, with the bottom step roughly 20 inches below the surface on the small boats tested.
• A plain loop of line with a foot loop, adjusted to the right length, was a favorite with many testers.
• Plan where the ladder clips on (a cleat, D-ring or a line run around the inside of the boat) and stow it where a person in the water can reach it.

Practical Sailor's trials found a fixed platform can act like a hammer in waves and ladder legs like spears, so in rough water a hoist or a parbuckle is safer than a ladder. A simple parbuckle, as described by Boating Magazine: tie two corners of a tarp or bed sheet to the rail or cleats, float the rest in the water under the person, and haul on lines tied to the outer corners to roll them up and in. Grabbing a life jacket's shoulder straps gives you a much better grip than a wet arm.

• GPS/chartplotter MOB button: find it now and practice pressing it. It saves the spot so you can steer back even after you lose sight of the person.
• Wireless engine cut-off fobs: many combine the legal kill-switch function with an alarm when someone wearing a fob goes in.
• AIS MOB beacons: worn on or inside the life jacket, they send the person's position to AIS receivers and chartplotters nearby, including your own boat. In Yachting World's tests, units in the water were picked up a few miles away on open water but only about half a mile in a harbor. They don't use the satellite system, so for solo sailing a 406 MHz PLB is still the better choice.
• Follow each device's setup and test instructions exactly (some need your boat's MMSI programmed, and you must not send real distress signals as a test).

Falling into cold water causes a gasping reflex and uncontrolled breathing in the first moments, then a steady loss of strength in the hands and arms. The National Center for Cold Water Safety warns that in near-freezing water a person can be incapacitated within minutes, even a strong swimmer. That's why recovery gear has to be fast to deploy and why the person may not be able to hold a line or climb. Once aboard, treat for hypothermia (see the first-aid kit guide) and get medical help.

Everyone aboard should know these, including guests:

1. Shout "Man overboard!" and which side.
2. Throw the throwable (and anything that floats) toward them.
3. One person points at them and never looks away. US Sailing stresses the spotter should never take their eyes off the person.
4. Press the MOB button.
5. Driver turns the boat back and slows down.

Powerboats: Turn toward the side the person fell from (this swings the stern and propeller away from them), then come back slowly. In BoatUS Foundation trials, a fast, wide turn back at cruising speed threw up so much wake and foam that the crew lost sight of the target; slowing right away and returning at low speed took no longer and was calmer. Approach heading into the wind or current so you can stop easily, put them on the driver's side where you can see them, go to neutral before you reach them, and shut the engine off once they're alongside. Never back down toward a person in the water.

Small boats: Discover Boating warns that a small boat can turn unstable if everyone rushes to one side to help. Have the passengers stay seated and spread out while the driver makes a slow, steady approach, and let one person handle the pickup. In rough water, get flotation to the person first and worry about bringing them aboard second.

Sailboats: Learn the quick-stop maneuver as taught by US Sailing (turn into the wind right away and stay close), and slow to almost nothing on the final approach. Practical Sailor saw many crews sail past the person at three knots or more, which makes a pickup dangerous and unlikely.

Use your fender-and-bucket "victim" on a calm day. Practical Sailor recommends rotating everyone through each job (driver, spotter, gear) and practicing in different conditions, including at night once you're comfortable. Time how long it takes to get a line to the target and to rig the hoist. If it's slow, move the gear closer to where you'll need it.