RNLI You Tube - Drogue

Miss Guided · 13 March 2021, 07:02

Hi Folks, can you help me?

I remember seeing an RNLI You Tube video of their RIB getting totally stuffed, the engines flooded and stalled and it was blowing a hooley.

They put out a drogue which held them bow into the waves.

Without the drogue, they would have been beam on and with the wave height, would have capsized.

Oddly, in the SOLAS safety equipment a drogue is suggested but not mandatory, which seems a bit daft to me.

If you know of other relevant videos, that would be good too!

MGx

SixtyNorth · 13 March 2021, 08:12

This one? I don't remember seeing any other ones recently.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n1dag24dEVo

willk · 13 March 2021, 10:05

I see where the video is annotated and described as a drogue deployment.

Watching it carefully, particularly when marking the boat position and drift in relation to the marks on the horizon, one could be forgiven for assuming that they had deployed an anchor that was slipping in the surge....

Fenlander · 13 March 2021, 10:15

Even though a mere sibber I always carry one. When suffering a dead engine and deploying an anchor isn't possible they give you extra stability while you work out options.

Steve509926 · 13 March 2021, 10:55

So being a but a mere novice, I have a question - would you need a different size of drogue for different sizes of RIB/SIB? or is it one size fits all?

Fenlander · 13 March 2021, 11:02

Yep sized by craft length usually in the smallcraft range... we don't have to worry about tonnage much.

Fenlander · 13 March 2021, 11:04

https://www.force4.co.uk/item/Lalizas/Sea-Anchor/TBJ

Just one example.

I've carried one because many of my seagoing thoughts echo back to an upbringing on liveaboards decades ago. Then our drogues were heavy canvas with a galvanised ring that kept the throat open.

Steve509926 · 13 March 2021, 11:16

Thanks David. Useful bit of safety kit which will be ordered. I suppose it could also be used whilst fishing?

beerbelly · 13 March 2021, 11:36

i have one of these gives a very strong pull https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/SEA-ANCHO...AAAOSwVupTnw3q

Oldman2 · 13 March 2021, 14:18

Shouldnt you have 2 ropes on these, 1 to collapse it for retrieval?

Fenlander · 13 March 2021, 14:35

I think large parachute style sea anchors often had trip lines as their drag is massive... but these smallcraft cone shape drogues are quite easy to recover just hauling back in.

GuyC · 13 March 2021, 16:57

Tying a fender on to a line and deploying that will also act as a drogue - anything to provide a bit of drag.

I can see it working for fishing by keeping you head to wind rather than beam on.

On sailing boats they tend to stream them from the stern to stop the yacht surfing down waves and potentially broaching at the bottom.

Fenlander · 13 March 2021, 17:01

>>> anything to provide a bit of drag.

The Mrs??

Steve509926 · 13 March 2021, 17:34

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fenlander

>>> anything to provide a bit of drag.

The Mrs??

Brave man

Fenlander · 13 March 2021, 17:38

It'd be fine... I mean her LJ would inflate.... and it's a chance to change that out of date inflation cylinder.

Maximus · 13 March 2021, 18:39

I've carried one for years never had to use it in anger.....but anything as cheap lightweight and easy to store and that actually could help from going Beam on in a Big Sea is worth HAVING in the locker in my view

.....

Not that I make too much of a habit playing around (purposely) inshore in rough-ish conditions ....anymore than is necessary.
Offshore in open Sea when it is ROUGH on passage is the place to be ....with a bit of depth and space is pretty much ALWAYS preferable!....
and a Drogue (Sea Anchor) will have a much better chance of deploying and working properly/effectively too

Matt · 13 April 2021, 12:47

This is relevant to the solent crew too. The solent is a confused & crappy bit of water with waves coming from all directions. Once you get south of the island though, round the needles or past nab tower, you might get big waves, but they have a much longer wavelength and from a uniform direction that that you can set the boat up to ride nicely.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Maximus

I've carried one for years never had to use it in anger.....but anything as cheap lightweight and easy to store and that actually could help from going Beam on in a Big Sea is worth HAVING in the locker in my view

.....

Not that I make too much of a habit playing around (purposely) inshore in rough-ish conditions ....anymore than is necessary.
Offshore in open Sea when it is ROUGH on passage is the place to be ....with a bit of depth and space is pretty much ALWAYS preferable!....
and a Drogue (Sea Anchor) will have a much better chance of deploying and working properly/effectively too