Let's face it: Boats sometimes sink. Yes, it can even happen to YOUR boat - despite your vast experience, excellent skills, chart plotter, backup GPS, radar, AIS, fire extinguishers and all the other systems, procedures and equipment you have put into place to avoid that ultimate disaster. The fact is that you might run into a half submerged container in the middle of the night. Or your engine might catch fire. Or your rig might be blown overboard in a storm - and then puncture your hull.
Admittedly a catamaran is far less likely to sink than a monohull, mainly because it isn't dragging around 5 tons of lead bolted to it's keel, but even so, it is prudent to be prepared for the worst, to have a backup plan to all the other backup plans.
So, if the worst does happen, and your boat does sink, what safety equipment do you need?
There are two important goals you need to consider:
1. You need to stay alive until the rescue services can find you.
2. You need to be rescued as quickly as possible.
Clearly the amount and type of equipment you need for survival depends in large upon how soon you will be rescued. With that in mind, lets look at what equipment you need:
First, you need a liferaft. If you don't have one of those you are going to be swimming for a long time! We have a Viking RescYou. Make sure you get it serviced regularly. Make sure it is stowed where you can get to it. And make sure you know how to operate it. When you are buying one, or getting yours serviced, have a good look at one that has been deployed so you can see exactly what is in it.
Then you will want an abandon ship bag. You will want to have this pre-prepared and ready to go, filled with the essential life survival equipment.
Make sure that your ditch bag is waterproof and that it floats. Many of them are not fully waterproof, which can be a problem if you have to through it into the sea while you are clambering aboard your liferaft.
Essential too that the bag, with its contents, actually floats. Again, test it out, so you don't have a nasty surprise watching your essential supplies descend to the depths just when you need them most.
We use one of my kayaking dry bags for this purpose. These are tube-like rubberised bags that are sealed by rolling up the mouth of the bag. Even nicer if you get the see-through ones, so you can see what's inside, or else a bright red or orange one so you can find it. You can also buy custom made ditch bags but these are more expensive and usually aren't even fully waterproof.
Finally, the bag must be stored where it can be easily reached. Remember, the chances are that you will need it in a hurry, in the middle of the night, in the middle of a storm, with your boat either on fire, full of water, or upside down. You don't have time to be digging deep into your under-bed storage locker.
Admittedly a catamaran is far less likely to sink than a monohull, mainly because it isn't dragging around 5 tons of lead bolted to it's keel, but even so, it is prudent to be prepared for the worst, to have a backup plan to all the other backup plans.
So, if the worst does happen, and your boat does sink, what safety equipment do you need?
There are two important goals you need to consider:
1. You need to stay alive until the rescue services can find you.
2. You need to be rescued as quickly as possible.
Clearly the amount and type of equipment you need for survival depends in large upon how soon you will be rescued. With that in mind, lets look at what equipment you need:
First, you need a liferaft. If you don't have one of those you are going to be swimming for a long time! We have a Viking RescYou. Make sure you get it serviced regularly. Make sure it is stowed where you can get to it. And make sure you know how to operate it. When you are buying one, or getting yours serviced, have a good look at one that has been deployed so you can see exactly what is in it.
Then you will want an abandon ship bag. You will want to have this pre-prepared and ready to go, filled with the essential life survival equipment.
Make sure that your ditch bag is waterproof and that it floats. Many of them are not fully waterproof, which can be a problem if you have to through it into the sea while you are clambering aboard your liferaft.
Essential too that the bag, with its contents, actually floats. Again, test it out, so you don't have a nasty surprise watching your essential supplies descend to the depths just when you need them most.
We use one of my kayaking dry bags for this purpose. These are tube-like rubberised bags that are sealed by rolling up the mouth of the bag. Even nicer if you get the see-through ones, so you can see what's inside, or else a bright red or orange one so you can find it. You can also buy custom made ditch bags but these are more expensive and usually aren't even fully waterproof.
Finally, the bag must be stored where it can be easily reached. Remember, the chances are that you will need it in a hurry, in the middle of the night, in the middle of a storm, with your boat either on fire, full of water, or upside down. You don't have time to be digging deep into your under-bed storage locker.
About the Author:
Noel Swanson is cruising around the Caribbean in his 42ft Leopard sailing catamaran. For details and a checklist of all the equipment you need for your abandon ship bag visit his blog: Sailing World
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