AU8155387A

AU8155387A - Person or article retrieving device for boats

Info

Publication number: AU8155387A
Application number: AU81553/87A
Authority: AU
Inventors: Soren Kenneth Agerholm
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1986-11-03
Filing date: 1987-11-03
Publication date: 1988-06-01
Also published as: WO1988003495A1; GB8626235D0

Description

PERSON OR ARTICLE RETRIEVING DEVICE FOR BOATS

The present invention relates to person or article retrieving devices for boats, and particularly, although not exclusively, to a device which can be used with yachts to assist in hauling a person aboard from the water.

It is, in general, not an easy task from a small boat to retrieve a person who is in the water. The sides of a boat are normally very slippery and it is not easy for a person in the water to obtain a hold. In addition, if the rescue is taking place along either side of the boat, the fact that the sides overhang, as seen by a person in the water, causes a serious problem since, even if a rope or net is thrown out to the person in the water, it is still difficult to pull him in. One of the main reasons for this is that the natural bending of a person standing on one rung of a net and holding onto a higher rung will tend to swing him underneath the overhang, and into a position from which it is very difficult to retrieve him by hauling in the net from the deck.

One of the ways of overcoming this problem is to pull the person in over the stern, which is usually a non-overhanging surface. However, it'can be difficult to manoeuvre a boat into a position in which the rescue can be performed at the stern, and in any case a rescue at this end of the boat cannot take place while the boat is under way, which may necessitate lowering the sails before undertaking the rescue. It is one object of the present invention to provide a device for retrieving persons from the water which at least alleviates the above disadvantages.

According to the present invention there is provided a person or article retrieving device for boats, having an elongate boom arranged to be swung out over the edge of a boat, and means, arranged to hold open a net under the boom. Preferably, the arms are pivoted on the boom, and have a stored position folded against the boom, and an extended position in which they extend below the boom, preferably approximately to the level of the water. Desirably, the arms hold open a leading edge of a generally rectangular net, and the net may be arranged to take up a scooped shape in the water, desirably by at least one of the trailing edges being supported by means of floats.

The boom may comprise an elongate housing- containing within it first and second elongate pivσted- arms, and a net attached at respective corners of one side to the distal ends of the arms. The floor of the boom may take the form of a trap door, so that, when the boom is swung out over the edge of the boat, the trap door opens, allowing the first and second arms to swing down beneath the boom, under the action of gravity, thus depositing at least part of the net in the water.

One or more guide cords (for example ropes, or chains) may be attached to the net, so that, once a person is contained within the net, the free edge may be pulled back onto the boat, so bringing the person with it. Desirably, when the net is of generally rectangular shape, the guide rope comprises a first portion which is attached to one free corner of the net and a second portion which is attached to another free corner of the net, the two portions passing through respective rope guide channels or fair-leads secured to the boat. The two portions of the guide rope may be connected together, and pulled in by means of a common winching rope, arranged to pass around a winch on the boat. So that the net can be pulled in without becoming caught up in the arms, it is also desirable that the net be releasably secured to the arms.

In a convenient embodiment, the device may comprise an elongate upper housing, containing first and second pivoted arms and a net, releasably attached at two of its corners to the distal ends of the arms, the upper housing overlying a lower housing, to which a near edge of the net is attached, and within which is stored at least a substantial part of the guide rope. The lower housing may be secured at one end to a stanchion, and at the other end to another stanchion, and is preferably telescopic so that the lower housing can be locked in position between the two stanchions when the device is to be used. The upper housing may be mounted for rotation in a horizontal plane through an angle of approximately 90° about the same stanchion to which the lower housing is attached, and means may preferably be provided for locking the upper housing, or the boom, in its extended position. These means may con._-.rise a retaining slot in the lower housing in which a part of the upper housing is arranged to be retained in use.

The present invention also comprises a person or article retrieving device for boats, including any one. or compatible combination of two or more, of the features described in the specific description, or mentioned in any other part of the specification. In particular, specific features of the two described embodiments may be combined and used in any compatible combination. The invention also extends to the method of operating the device and, more generally, to a method of retrieving persons or articles from the water.

The present invention provides a convenient way of retrieving people from the water. The device itself is relatively compact and may be conveniently attached to the saftey rail of a boat when it is not in use. Its simplicity makes it particularly useful for owners of small boats, for example yachts, for whom the device should represent a significant additional safety feature at small additional cost.

The device of the invention has the further advantages that it is simple to use, and that it can be used when the boat is under way. Furthermore, it operates well under almost any reasonable water and wind conditions.

The invention may be -carried into practice in a number of ways, and two specific person retrieving devices and a number of variations thereon will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a schematic representation, from above, of a yacht showing the general position of the device;

Figure 2a is a perspective view of the device in its stowed position;

Figure 2b is perspective view of the device in a position in which it is ready for use;

Figure 3 is a longitudinal sectional view through the device in the position of Figure 2b;

Figure 4 is a perspective view of the device showing deployment of the boom;

Figure 5 is a perspective view of the device in its operational position;

Figure 6 is a cut-away perspective view of the device, without the net, showing the trap door and the pendulum arms;

Figure 7 is a cross-section along the plane A-A of Figure 6;

Figure 8 is a cross-section along the plane B-B of Figure 3;

Figures 9a to 9k are side and top views illustrating the device in operation;

Figure 10 shows the storage position of a second embodiment of the invention;

Figure 11 shows the embodiment of Figure 10 in its deployed position, with the net being omitted for clarity; and

Figure 12 is a schematic horizontal section through the device, showing the locking mechanism for the pendulum arms.

A general view of the device is best seen in Figures 1 to 3; the device comprises an elongate fixed lower housing 10, mounted along one side of the deck, and surmounted by a pivoted elongate upper housing or boom 12. The upper and lower housings together form a streamlined shape, to reduce windage. Both the upper and the lower housing are located at their foreward end by being secured to a stanchion 14, the former by a mount which permits rotation about the stanchion, by an angle of approximately 90°, to enable the upper housing 12 to be^'swung out over the edge of the boat as is shown in Figure 1. It is convenient for the mountings to be arranged so that, when the device is not in use, it can be stored, lashed or otherwise attached to the bottom safety rail 16 as is shown in Figure 2a, and then can be pushed down the stanchion to rest upon the deck (as is shown in Figure 3) when the device is needed for use. In this arrangement, it is convenient to provide some means of holding the lower housing 10 in position along the edge of the deck; in the present embodiment this is achieved by providing a telescopic extension 18 to the lower housing 10. When it is desired to secure the lower housing in position, the extension 18 is pulled out and its V-shaped end 19 located on either side of a second stanchion 20, thus- locking the lower housing 10 into position between the two stanchions 1 and 20.

When the upper housing 12 is in its extended position, shown in Figure 1, it is locked in that position by virtue of the mounting portion of the upper housing 12 being received within a retaining slot 22, formed within .the mounting portion of the lower housing 10, as is shown in Figure 3. It would be possible (although it is not shown in this embodiment) for the upper housing to be spring-biased towards its extended position. Rather than moving the housing to its extended position by hand, all a user would have to do would be to release an appropriate latch, and let the device would automatically be deployed.

Within the upper housing 12, as is best shown in Figures 2 and 8, there are contained two elongate pivoted free-swinging pendulum or spreader arms 24, 26, which are mounted for rotation about horizontal axes 28, 30 respectively at the far and near end of the upper housing 12. Also packed within the upper housing 12 is a generally square or rectangular net 32.

As can be seen in Figure 8, the lower surface of the upper housing 12 comprises a trap door 34, which is arranged to be pivoted downwards when the upper housing is in its extended position, about an elongate hinge 36. In its closed position, shown in Figure 8, the trap door 34 does not completely close the lower edge of the upper housing 12, but leaves an elongate gap 38, through which the net 32 passes. One side of the net is positioned below the trap door 34, and is fixedly attached, along its entire length, to the lower housing 10, as shown by numeral 40.

Attached to the three corners of the net are respective first and second guide ropes 44, 44'. The other ends of the two guide ropes are joined together, and are attached to a common winching rope 46. In the stowed position, shown in Figure 8, the guide ropes are flaked down within an elongate channel 42 formed in the upper part of the lower housing 10.

This can .best be seen in the deployed position of Figure 5, the guide rope 44 passes through a releasable securement 59 at the end of the arm 24, and the leading edge of the net is similarly releasably secured to the lower end of the arm 26 by a releasable securement 61.

In one convenient arrangement (not shown) the releasable secure ents 59, 60, comprise flexible plastics material hooks, through which a ring passes, the rope 44 being secured to one of the rings and the leading edge of the net to the other. The hooks are shaped so that the rings will be pulled free if sufficient force is applied in the upward direction or a transverse direction.

The operation of the device will now be described. When it is desired to rescue a person or article from the water, the device is first securely positioned along the edge of the deck, as is shown in Figure 3, with the extension 18 being extended to the stanchion 20. The upper housing 12 is then swung out over the edge of the boat, and locked into its extended position. As the upper housing is extended, the net 32 is pulled out from the interior of the housing 12 through the gap 38 (see Figures 4 and 9d). The guide ropes 44, 44' follow, being kept apart by their passing through respective rope guide channels or fairleads 48, 50, at either end of the lower housing 10. When the upper housing is in its fully extended position, t.he trap door 34 falls open under gravity, allowing the pendulum arms 24, 26 to swing downwards, thus dropping one edge of the net into the water as is shown in Figure 9f. Stop means (not shown) are provided to hold the pendulum arms 24, 26 in the vertical position, once they have been deployed. The winching rope 46 is now taken around a winch, conveniently the main winch on the side of the boat opposite the device, next to the helmsman, and the boat is steered so that the person in the water is drawn into the net (see Figure 9g) . It has been found in a practice that this is best carried out by taking the boat into the wind.

To ensure that the net takes up a suitable configuration, when deployed, for a person to be received within it the side and/or rear free edges of the net may be provided with floats 52. These help the net, when deployed, to take up a suitable "scooped" shape.

When the person is safely in the net, the main winch is operated, tightening the guide ropes 44, 44'. When the guide rope 44 becomes sufficiently tight, it detaches itself from the securement 59 at the lower end of the arm 24, so that the person becomes wrapped within the net as is shown in Figure 9. Continued pulling on the winching rope causes the distal edge of the net to be pulled in, bringing the person with it, the upward force of the net on the securement 61 allowing the net to be freed from the lower end of the arm 26. If the person is conscious, the boarding can be made easier by instructing him first to take up a crouching position, grabbing the net above his head (Figure 6h) , and then, as the net is drawn in, flexing his knees and bending in the middle, so as to pass underneath the bottom safetly rail 16.

If the per'son is not conscious, it is most convenient to pull the net in until the far free edge reaches the deck, and then attach the free edge to the body of the net to produce an enclosed sling. The¹ person can then be drawn in by continued pulling on the winching rope -46. This method prevents the unconscious person being caught up in the holes of the net, which would be likely to happen if the "rolling method", recommended above for conscious persons, were to be used.

A second embodiment of a person or article retrieving device is shown in Figures 10 to 12. Since the overall structure is very similar to that of the first embodiment, only the major differences will be described in any detail.

Figure 10 shows the device in its stowage position. It will be seen that in this embodiment, instead of being attached between stanchions, the device^• is held in a cantilever fashion from a purpose- made stanchion assembly 62 which is bolted to the deck. This has the advantage that the position of the device is not limited to the position of existing stanchions on the. boat, neither is the ultimate strength of the device limited by the strength of the existing stanchions.

In the stowage position of Figure 10 the upper and lower housing 12, 10 are positioned towards the upper end of a vertical slot 64 in the stanchion assembly 62. In this position, the housings may be protected b a. cover (not shown) which could be either of a hard plastics material or of a soft material, for exa ple; canvas. The cover may be provided with a handle, thereon (not shown) which can be pulled to remove the cover when the device is to be used. A padded canvas cover, permanently secured at one edge to the lower housing 10 is advantageous since such a cover can be laid out over the deck, when the device is in use, to cover any obstacles there may be and to provide a more comfortable landing for the person being rescued. The cover can be provided with an elastic securing means, enabling it to be attached to the winch (see Figure 1).

When the device is to be used, the upper and lower housings 12, 10 are pushed downwardly within the vertical slot 64. The upper housing 12 may then be moved to its extended position (or may automatically be biased to that position by a spring, not shown) by virtue of a laterally-extending aperture 66 in the slot 64. The boom may be held in its extended position by means of sprung-spiggots (not shown) received within corresponding apertures (not shown) of the stanchion assembly 62.

Turning now to Figure 11, it will be seen that in this embodiment the upper and lower housings 12, 10, differ slightly from those of the first embodiment in that the net (not shown in Figure 11) is held, when the device is in its stowage position, behind an elongate retaining rail 68 of the upper housing 12. The net may be held in position by retaining clips 70 on the lower housing 10.

The pendulum arms 24', 26' are telescopic in this embodiment, and include extensions 72, 74 which drop downwardly, under their own weight, when the device is actuated. Such extensions, with appropriate releasable securement means at their lower ends, enables the forward edge of the net to be held well below the water level, thus making it easier for the person or article being collected .to be drawn into the ^'net as the boat moves past.

The extensions 72, 74, shown in Figure 11 as being received within the main pendulum arms 24', 26', could also be received outside them. Such an arrangement enables each of these extensions to carry a handle (not shown), such a handle enabling the respective arm to be pulled back in again, after use, with a boat hook.

Figure 12 shows an illustrative mechanism for retaining the pendulum arms 24', 26' in their vertical position, once they have been deployed. Without such a retaining mechanism, it is found, particularly with the far arm 24', that there is a tendency for the arms to swing inwards, during operation, so reducing the ease with which a person or article can be collected.

The retaining mechanism comprises a horizontal bar 80 pivoted about a vertical axis 82 on the upper housing 12. The bar is spring-biased at 84 in an anti¬ clockwise direction so that, when the arm 24' is deployed (that is, when it rotates about the axis 28 so as to move to a position into the plane of the paper). It is held in that position by a protrusion 86 at one end of the bar 80. The arm 26' may be similarly held in its vertical position by the distall end 88 of a second bar mounty which is pivotally mounted at one end 92 to the bar 90 and part way along, at 94, to the upper housing 12.

Claims

1. A person or article retrieving device for boats, having an elongate boom arranged to be swung out over the edge of a boat and means arranged to hold open a net under the boom.

2. A person or article retrieving device for boats as claimed in Claim 1 in which the means comprises two arms depending from the boom.

3. A person or article retrieving device for boats as claimed in Claim 2 in which the arms are pivotally mounted on the boom for movement between a stored position folded against the boom, and an extended position in which they extend below the boom.

4. A person or article retrieving device for boats as claimed in Claim 3 in which the arms are telescopic, and are longer in their extended position then in their stored position.

5. A person or article retrieving device for boats as claimed in any one of Claims 2 to 4 in which the net is releasably secured to the distal ends of the arms.

6. A person or article retrieving device for boats as claimed in any one of Claims 2 to 5 in which the arms are arranged to hold open a forward edge of a generally rectangular net, a perpendicular edge of which is secured with respect to the boat.

7. A person or article retrieving device for boats as claimed in any one of Claims 2 to 6 including means, secured to a free edge of the net, for pulling in the net.

8. A person or article retrieving device for boats as claimed in Claim 7 in which the means for pulling in the net comprises first and second cords, secured to the free edge of the net, and passing through respective cord guide means which are fixed, in use, with respect to the boat.

9. A person or article retrieving device for boats as claimed in any one of Claims 2 to 8 including stop means arranged to hold the arms in their extended position.

10. A person or article retrieving- device for boats as claimed in Claim 9 in which the stop means comprises a spring-biased stop arranged to abut an edge of at least one of the arms in its extended position.

11. A person or article retrieving device for boats as claimed -in any one of Claims 1 to 10 in which the boom is mounted for rotation about a generally vertical axis on mounting means arranged for securement to the boat.

12. A person or article retrieving device for boats as claimed in Claim 11 in which the cou ting means comprises a stanchion of the boat.

13. A person or article".retrieving device for boats as claimed in Claim 11 in which the mounting means comprises a vertical support, arranged to be secured to a deck of the boat.

14. A person or article retrieving device for boats as claimed in any one of Claims 1 to 13 in which, in a stored position, the boom is adjacent and generally parallel to an elongate mounting member to which the net is secured, swinging the boom with respect to the mounting member effecting deployment of the net.

15. A person or article retrieving device for boats as claimed in Claim 14 when dependent upon Claim 8 in which the clawed guide means are spaced on the mounting member.

16. A person or article retrieving device for boats as claimed in Claim 14 or Claim 15 in which, in the stored position, at least a substantial portion of the net is stored between the boom and the mounting means.

17. A person or article retrieving device for boats as claimed in any one of Claims 14 to 16 in which the mounting means is telescopic, and is arranged for abutment at .at least one end thereof against a stanchion of the boat.

18. A person or article retrieving device for boats as claimed in any one of Claims 14 to 17 in which, in the stored position, the boom overlies the mounting means.

19. A person or article retrieving device for boats as claimed in any one of Claims 14 to 17 in which the boom and mounting means are together vertically moveable on a support, between a lower operational position against a deck of the boat to which the support is attached, and a raised position clear of the deck.

20. A person or article retrieving device for boats as claimed in any one of the preceding Claims including a plurality of floats secured to one edge of the net.

21. A person or article retrieving device for boats as claimed in any one of the preceding Claims including means for locking the boom in the position in which it extends out over the edge of the boat.

22. A boat having a person or article retrieving device as claimed in any one of the preceding claims.

23. A boat as claimed in Claim 22 in which the arms- are arranged to hold a forward edge of the net below the water level.