Lifering or Llifesling?

I had the fortune to be present for a man overboard situation last year. Not my boat, but I was close to another boat where a customer went overboard. I was quick on the throttle and swooped in and assisted. I threw my life ring and watched as the poor guy struggled to use it. The inner diameter of the life ring was too small for him to get into it. He remained above water, but not without a real struggle. Eventually, we got him on board and after a short time, we got him back onto his vessel of choice.

That got me thinking.... I am a sport boat. I don't have all the real estate in the world to carry a life ring large enough to fit over an adult. It ended up quite a challenge. And I thought my life ring was sufficient. Well, it wasn't.

I've since bought a life sling and mounted it to the side of my center console right where the life ring once lived. It is a device designed to be wrapped around a person. It's flexible. So, think about your throwable..... Can a swimmer get into it? Is it too small for a person to slip it over their head and shoulders and keep afloat? Do you have enough floating line attached to it to reel in a man overboard?

Take your throwable and try to use it (even if only in the backyard) and see if it is practical. Mine wasn't. So I made a change.

Here's what I mounted on my boat:

Life Sling

Here's how I mounted the Life Sling on my boat.

Great Idea, thank you for sharing...

Very interesting (Good Find Martin!) and I was able to find some more information on them including the this video below


More information from West Marine on them here:

https://www.westmarine.com/buy/lifesling--lifesling2-overboard-rescue-system--357634

Stay Safe!
Dave