Some of us have been aware of this issue for a long time--probably those of us who have raced sailboats offshore are at greater risk. I fell overboard at sea at age 11--fortunately I was a good swimmer and already had preparation in what to do. My father and I were about 15 miles offshore, in his 26 foot sailboat, with high freeboad--about 3 foot aft--My father didn't believe in life lines, or non skid decks. I had gone foreward to tighten the jib halyard (a like which hoists the fore sail). In those times, the ropes were made of Manilla, a hemp like fiber which stretched with time, and had to be tightened by working it between a cleat and a hand. Althought I had one hand for the ship--a wave came onboard and over I went.
My father turned the boat immediately and came up along side of me (I was to leeward) and hoisted me aboard--he was strong and I was light, but still it was difficult.
I raced offshore for many years, and one of the requirements on my boats was that each crew member had his own safety harness, these safety harnesses had crotch straps, and a lifting point--as well as two tethers. One was 6 feet long, the other 3 feet long. If we were in rough weather we always clipped on "jack lines"--cables, covered with tubular nylon which were secured foreward and aft. We never clipped onto lifelines. There were strong points on the mast, bow pulpit and cocpit, as well as just outside of the cabin companionway. The shrouds and stays were also good attatchement points--capable of withstanding at least 5000 lbs of load. Best to prevent going over board.
We started to carry horseshoe rings in the 60's--along with Man over board poles--a 9 to 12 foot pole of fiberglass (first made from fishing rod blanks), with a flag on top, as well as a foam bouy about 3 to 4 foot up, and a substantial lead weight on the bottom. Attatched to these (2) were horseshoe bouys, strobe lights, dye packets, and floating line. There was quick release--usually reached from the helm. But hoisting aboard remained a problem, if a person went overboard. With a racing crew--we had 6 to 10 depending on the size of boat and lenth of race, getting a person back aboard was still not easy.
We heard of a number of hypothermic deaths even in S. Calif. There was no standard lifting tackle. The life sling was invented and improved. We carried it when it first became available. We found that most of the boats didn't have adequate lifting gear for short handed sailing. We experimented with jumping overboard and seeing if our spouse could get us back aboard. The best solution was a 5 to 6 part block block and tackle--the same conclusion that life sling came to.
US Sailing did a MOB symposium, and the one linked above was an extension of that one.
http://www.ussailing.org/safety/Studies ... dstudy.htm
http://www.ussailing.org/safety/Studies ... ps.htm#mob
http://www.sailingusa.info/sailing_safe ... er%20Board
Power boats and small boats were not perticularly looked at carefully. In larger boats, there is often a place where you can put a lifting point--we had a radar arch, aft on our Cal 46, slightly over 12 feet above the water, at the extreme aft end of the boat. An electric winch as well as block and tackle could be used with it to hoist a person onto the small swim platform we had built aft into the transom. On the Force 50, we had assumed that we would use a hallyard, all of which had winches, on them, or the anchor windlass, which we routinely used to hoist a person aloft to the top of the 62 foot mast with a spinaker halyard.
Getting a hook into the lifting point has always been a problem. With a trawler we considered using the crane davit. We had attached a very short line with a float on it--to the bottom of the Life Sling--again this hoist was 12 feet above the water. Why the distance? Because you have to get the person back on the deck--there will be a distance which the short lifting penent takes up, then you have to get the full length of the person aboard the boat. All of this is compounded by trying to snag the lifting point with a hook on a boat hook in rough water.
The C Dory type of boats have relitatively low freeboard--but still more than most of us or our spouses can bring a person over the side. Remember that a person in the water will be exhausted, possiably hypothermic and not able to climb a ladder. You can still pull or winch a person, even if you do not have the full 10 feet which is required. We put an outside handle on the aft corner of each of our C Dory boats' cabin house. I believe that you could lift a person up partway with a block and tackle (we keep one on each boat)--but to get a person fully aboard would be very difficult without a crane davit. The higher radar arches on the boats could be fitted with an 1/4" or 5/16" "U" ear welded outside of the aft part of the arch, which would be a better attatchment for a lifting point.
Bottom line--C Dorys are safer than most boats--the 22 has a very deep cockpit, the cabin keeps us secure, but there is always a chance of going overboard and we all have to think how we can get back aboard with help from our spouse or boat mate. I believe that someone suggested that a person could stand on the outboard, and the motor tilted up to help them aboard--or out of the water. I see some problems with this--but it also requires some strength from the person in the water....
This posting just looks really odd. I wonder if the forum software got the wrong author attribution attached to this post?