72 BASIC POWERBOATING. SAFETY & RESCUE FOR SAILING INSTRUCTORS SWAMPED BOAT RESCUES


Your first concern is ensuring the safety of the people in the boat and in the water. If they are not wearing life jackets, instruct them to put them on and provide flotation (cushions, life rings) to those in the water.


PUMP EQUIPMENT


This portable DC electric pump can be connected to a safety boat’s battery and can de-water a boat at a rate of 4,000 gallons per hour (GPH).


If a safety-rescue boat is expected to “de-water” (bail out) swamped boats, it should be fitted with a powered pump. There are a number of options: electrically-driven; mechanically powered by a small portable gasoline engine; or belt-driven off a boat’s inboard engine. If an electric pump is wired to the battery of an outboard motor, there will be limitations on pump size. An example of a belt-driven system is the one used by a community boating center that has a 2-inch, 83 gallons per minute (GPM) pump that can pump out a swamped 17-foot sailboat in three minutes.What- ever power system you choose, it is suggested that the pump be capable of de-watering a 15- to 20-foot boat within five to ten min- utes. Pumps are generally rated by GPM or gallons per hour (GPH). The following is a comparison of times it would take to pump out 24 cubic feet of water (e.g., 8 feet x 3 feet x 1 foot): 500 GPH (8.3 GPM) takes 22 minutes 1,000 GPH (16.7 GPM) takes 11 minutes 5,000 GPH (83.3 GPM) takes 2 minutes


Another consideration is the length of the intake line on the pump. It should be long enough to get into the bilge of a swamped boat.


RESCUE METHODS Pump-Out Method


Sailboat-Specific Point If you are rescuing a swamped sailboat with a centerboard or daggerboard and the opening of the top of its housing trunk is below the surface of the water, plug it with rags or cushions to keep the water from flooding in while pumping out.


If a boat has filled with enough water to swamp it and is floating upright with its gunwale or coaming above the surface of the water: 1 Bring the safety boat alongside and tie the two boats together, making sure there are enough fenders between the boats to prevent damage.


2 Bring people aboard the safety boat and make sure they are wearing life jackets.


3 Pump out. If there are two safety boats, another method is to position the swamped boat between them and rig two slings which can be used to raise and stabilize the swamped boat as it is pumped out.


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