RIBbing for the disabled...

[redhed]

OK, I am guessing this is not a common question. But - any advice?

On the bright side, the disabled person will just be a passenger. So it's just a question of getting her on, getting her off, and making sure she doesn't fall out. She can climb if well supported. She isn't good at holding on.

So, my plan was to chuck her in the RIB before launching, and stick her on a bench seat sandwiched between the tube and another person. Haul her out again after recovery.

Is there anything else I can do? (Other than make sure she has a DAMN good lifejacket...)

[Polwart]

redhed,

there was a thread some time back about a guy who was trying to fit wheelchair access to his rib. Redbay have also made an 11m cabin rib with full wheelchair access from pontoon to helm - but I guess that won't fit in your garage!

If she's not good at holding on - would you be happy with her finding and pulling the toggle on an auto lifejacket if the auto mechanism fails to fire - so consider something with permanent buoyancy?

In many ways what you describe is a bit like Ribbing with kids. The issue is making sure they stay where you left them! There are some threads on that too - but nothing that I recall which provided a perfect solution. I'm not convinced that some sort of "seat belt" is a totally crazy idea - the main argument against is "what if you capsize the boat" - but you've done something really wrong if you capsize a rib with vulnerable passengers on board.

There are different designs of bench around - and one with "arm rests"/"wraparound" sounds like it might be more secure for you.

[willk]

Polwart is probably right about the wraparound bench seat. In a small RIB, the tubes are too low to provide outside support on a bench seat. If there was space, it should be possible to have a "booster seat" designed to drop onto the bench - that way you could have whatever security she needed and be able to remove it when she wasn't onboard.

Not knowing the individual makes it hard to know, but I'm sure you're aware that launch and particularly recovery can be high tension moments and sometimes require quick and decisive actions. There can be a lot of banging, shouting and revving. Consider how your passenger will cope with this. Personally, it gives me the willies!

Redhed - does He-red have a passion for Land Rovers, by any chance? "Older" forum users will know why I ask...

[redhed]

Um, no, afaik He-red has no interest in Landys. Unless he has been keeping a guilty secret quiet for the last fourteen years. Why do you ask?

The passenger (DD1 fwiw) will regard any banging, shouting and revving as highly entertaining. She will probably join in. You should see her at the fireworks.

Re: wraparound seats - I've noticed that various manufacturers seem to re-use the same seat designs. Does that mean that it might be possible to ask them to provide a wraparound bench where one isn't listed as an option? Or would it be a retrofit?

Polwart - absolutely agree re: the old-style jacket, my shopping list has automatic ones for everyone else and a Mae West for DD1.

The seatbelt issue is a tough one. I'm fairly certain I could make one which would self-open in a capsize. In theory. (Velcro lap belt with weight attached to tab at end of velcro) The issue is it would be hard to test, as . I suppose I could get a plank, something the weight of DD1, the velcro contraption and a swimming pool. But the lifeguard might raise reasonable objections...

[Polwart]

Originally Posted by redhed

Does that mean that it might be possible to ask them to provide a wraparound bench where one isn't listed as an option? Or would it be a retrofit?

it will depend on the manufacturer. Some will fit almost anything you want (at a price) and others are pretty much "list items only". You may find them slightly more flexible in your circumstances.

The seatbelt issue is a tough one. I'm fairly certain I could make one which would self-open in a capsize. In theory. (Velcro lap belt with weight attached to tab at end of velcro) The issue is it would be hard to test, as . I suppose I could get a plank, something the weight of DD1, the velcro contraption and a swimming pool. But the lifeguard might raise reasonable objections...

Mmm... not sure? if the velcro is easy enough to release with weighted end (without the weight being a hazard in normal operation) then I think it might not be strong enough to hold a person on a bouncy boat. You might find a cooperative pool for testing provided you don't use DD1 as the weight or a dirty old scaffolding plank! If you can't find a suitable pool and really want to test it then perhaps a call to the RNLI at Poole - indeed they might even have some suggestions on how best to do it.

However I'll go back to my earlier statement - if you capsize a RIB you were either out in stupid conditions (not a place I would be taking someone who can't hold on properly) or driving like an idiot (or possibly both). The risk that a "vulnerable" passenger (whether that is a child or disabled person or older person) falls overboard in e.g. a sharp turn is much higher in my opinion and so it would be reasonable to me to secure the passenger for that relatively likely scenario than to leave them unsecured because of a tiny risk that you may capsize and then they may not be able to release themselves.

[Nos4r2]

Hammar Hydrostatic Release System for Liferafts

Any use?

[Polwart]

Originally Posted by Nos4r2

Hammar Hydrostatic Release System for Liferafts

Any use?

that was my initial thinking but as far as I can see they trigger at 4m of water depth. That means they are essentially useless for freeing a passenger in an upturned but floating rib.

[willk]

Originally Posted by redhed

Um, no, afaik He-red has no interest in Landys. Unless he has been keeping a guilty secret quiet for the last fourteen years. Why do you ask?

Because your posts remind me a lot of those of "Knot Yet"- which is a good thing. "Knot Yet 2" was a keen Land Rover fan and a crap ribster

Knot Yet (Knotty/Jean) brought a certain something to the Forum. Civility perhaps - I miss her input...

[redhed]

Originally Posted by Polwart

that was my initial thinking but as far as I can see they trigger at 4m of water depth. That means they are essentially useless for freeing a passenger in an upturned but floating rib.

Wot Pol said. And misusing a lifejacket auto-inflate won't work either because the passenger will effectively be floating (albeit restrained) just under the surface stuck under the RIB so the "float" won't be able to travel far enough to release anything. Which was why I was going for the simple weight option. Well, that and the lack of moving parts to break down.

Pol - the only way the velcro plan would work is if it's an incredibly big velcro overlap. DD1 has a similar fixing on a lap belt on a chair she has; the velcro part is 30cm by 4cm on each side; it's effectively a seatbelt sandwich with velcro in the middle. Obviously I can undo it v easily with one hand if I lift one end. But if I were to do it up all along its length and then try to pull up on it as if the person were being bounced around - I'm just not strong enough. Not if I stand on the seat, hold it with both hands and put my back into it. The bolts holding it on would tear out of the seat first. If you get a long enough bit of velcro, it's much much stronger laterally. The thing concerning me is how to attach the weight so it goes straight down without wrapping itself around her legs first.

Will contact RNLI, definitely.

[willk]

Originally Posted by redhed

Pol - the only way the velcro plan would work is if it's an incredibly big velcro overlap.

I made a pool-use weight belt like this for myself once - it had very similar active velcro areas and worked very well. It could be released with a finger pinch but held many pounds of weights in place.

Originally Posted by redhed

The thing concerning me is how to attach the weight so it goes straight down without wrapping itself around her legs first..

Place it in an open topped pouch on the BCD?