SAVER i
LIFE
CAPTAIN MICHAEL HOWORTH EXPLAINS WHAT A SOLAS COMPLIANT RESCUE BOAT CAN AND CANNOT DO AND LOOKS AT SOME OF THE MAIN SUPPLIERS IN THE MARKET TODAY
t is hard to believe how quickly the role and the appearance of the SOLAS rescue boat as carried on board a superyacht has changed in the last decade or so. Gone is the ugly orange blob of an inflatable that together with its own dedicated launching gear cluttered up
the foredeck of every superyacht required to carry one. Not only where they nasty to look at, but their very position on deck where they could be swept overboard in exactly the same weather conditions as they were likely to be used, caused many
Superyacht Captains to have
nightmares. Yet Flag States seeking to impose commercial ship regulations on superyachts thought they knew better and it was only when threatened with the potential loss of income as yachts sought to reflag that they caved in and, hey voilà, we have the rescue boat as it exists today in all its glory.
Rescue boats built in the 21st century now come in a variety of shapes, sizes and colours and can be rigid, inflatable or hybrid RIB type craft. The self explanatory name; rescue boat explains its ‘raison d’être’ and describes it’s innate ability to recover persons from the water when they are unable to do so unaided. Under SOLAS Rescue Boats must also be capable of marshalling and towing liferafts that would otherwise be left to drift helplessly.
40 | WINTER 2019 | ONBOARD
Rescue boats must be between 3.8m and 8.5m overall and be capable of accommodating at least five persons all of who must have room to sit together with a casualty strapped into a standard SOLAS stretcher. Seats for those occupants except the helmsman can be on the deck or floor of the craft but cannot be on the buoyancy tubes, gunwhales or transom. Motive power can be provided by a fixed or outboard engine.
Under SOLAS rules boats must also be either self-righting or capable of being righted manually by two persons. Under the same regulations they can count towards any lifeboat carrying provision providing it meets the performance standards for both craft.
With safety regulations requiring a SOLAS rescue boat on many large yachts, boat manufacturers have sought out a number of ways to satisfy the legislative requirements whilst still producing a practical tender for transport and even sports boat purposes.
With traditional SOLAS rescue boats being somewhat agricultural in both looks and function a number of custom boat builders and specialist tender suppliers have worked hard to create rescue tenders that can double up as comfortable guest transport
or water sports boats and also match the look of the mother ship.
There are a wide variety of options available depending on whether the main vessel is under or over 500 gross tonnes. White SOLAS tenders are available from a number of tender suppliers, that are certainly more acceptable than dayglow orange when considering superyacht and guest use in general. SOLAS compliant rescue boats can be supplied ex-VAT but only if solely used by the yacht for rescue purposes.
Yachts built to the passenger yacht code are obliged to carry two rescue boats, one on either side of the vessel but superyachts below this size need only carry one. Rescue boats must be equipped with certain items and stores needed for their rescue role. All you have to do is seek them out and our guide should help with that task.
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112 |
Page 113 |
Page 114 |
Page 115 |
Page 116 |
Page 117 |
Page 118 |
Page 119 |
Page 120 |
Page 121 |
Page 122 |
Page 123 |
Page 124 |
Page 125 |
Page 126 |
Page 127 |
Page 128 |
Page 129 |
Page 130 |
Page 131 |
Page 132 |
Page 133 |
Page 134 |
Page 135 |
Page 136 |
Page 137 |
Page 138 |
Page 139 |
Page 140 |
Page 141 |
Page 142 |
Page 143 |
Page 144 |
Page 145 |
Page 146 |
Page 147 |
Page 148 |
Page 149 |
Page 150 |
Page 151 |
Page 152 |
Page 153 |
Page 154 |
Page 155 |
Page 156 |
Page 157 |
Page 158 |
Page 159 |
Page 160
