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What kind of safety equipment do you have on your boat?

Discussion in 'General Yachting Discussion' started by Grace Mary, May 31, 2017.

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Do you have an AED on your boat?

  1. Yes!

    7 vote(s)
    53.8%
  2. Nope, I dont see the need

    6 vote(s)
    46.2%
  1. Grace Mary

    Grace Mary New Member

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    Hello Everyone!

    My parents are heading out on longer trips recently and I want them to have an AED, automated external defibrillator, on the boat for emergencies (my dad has had heart issues in the past). I was wondering if they are very common or if people have strong opinions on what kind of safety equipment to have on the boat?

    Thanks!
  2. AMG

    AMG YF Moderator

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    I have had it on some boats since 25 years, but it is necessary to learn how to handle it (even the automated)...
  3. olderboater

    olderboater Senior Member

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    We have it and we are trained in it's use. Hope to never have to use one and realize if far from shore the odds are still very much against you.
  4. Norseman

    Norseman Senior Member

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    AED?
    Never even thought of having one onboard.
    Not sure if I am naive or optimistic, but at 60 years old with a healthy hearth,
    I don't see an AED in my near future.

    Speaking of heart failure.
    In a country far away, the King had his private B-747 with an operating room onboard and a living heart donor traveling alongside the King at all times:
    A healthy 19 year old male.
    The expert surgeon did not travel on the plane all the time, but he was on the King's speed dial if a quick divert was needed.
    The King is dead now and hopefully the heart donor is alive.
    Sounds far fetched?
    Not in the Middle East where the same B-747 had gold bath tubs and gold faucets.
  5. olderboater

    olderboater Senior Member

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    And none of your charter guests have ever had or could ever have heart problems?
  6. Norseman

    Norseman Senior Member

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    No idea if they ever had heart problems, I suppose anybody could have future heart issues. Nature of the beast I guess:)
    Since I never take my charter guests more than 2 minutes from the nearest dock with available ambulances and EMTs, it does not seem like a big concern for my charter operation.
    What are you suggesting here Mr. Olderboater? Should I carry AED equipment on my boat in case one of the passengers ever had a heart condition, or may have one in the future?
  7. olderboater

    olderboater Senior Member

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    I'm suggesting perhaps when you move up and start taking them further away from hospitals and medical care, then it might be worth a consideration to get medical training and a full medical kit plus AED. No, I'm not suggesting where you take them now you need one.

    AED's are debatable as needed and the odds against success, even with training. However, we do travel far from land and just feel more comfortable that we can try. We also have access to trauma MD's to advise us as we do attempt to provide care.

    Fortunately, we've only encountered small, easily handled medical issues to this point.
  8. Norseman

    Norseman Senior Member

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    Not planning to move up, did all that in previous career.
    Now I am happy being small. Only take easy charters, half day at the most.
    If I was to employ nude dancing girls on my charter boat, I probably should get heart defibrillators in case it gets too exciting for my older gentlemen customers, but not there yet.:D
  9. AMG

    AMG YF Moderator

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    I have seen James Bond using it on himself, but in reality it is to help others where the heart has stopped. Drowning is one reason, choking from the olive in the Dry Martini is another! They say every minute reduces the chances of survival by 10 percent, so having the CPR knowledge and equipment at hand is a good insurance. They are doing tests with drones flying out AED:s to the scene, but this is again, a little too much James Bond to be commonplace...
  10. MountainGuy

    MountainGuy Member

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    Can only talk about extended diving trips on boats. We ALWAYS travel with lots of equipment, pharmaceuticals and things like needles, iv kits, plus... Even we cannot apply an iv it is very likely that you do find some doctor, but they might not have "clean" equipment, or at least we did not trust them (e.g. in SE-Indonesia, Mozambique, ...) We have been in one situation when someone else o the boat needed that all, and had "radio-doctors" guided us through... So if space and weight is not too much of an issue, I'd prefere to oversupply...
  11. Norseman

    Norseman Senior Member

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    I worked for the first airline in the US to place defibrillators on the planes.
    They have saved lives over the years.
    The flight attendants got trained to use them, but the we always ask if there is doctor onboard over the speakers. (On every flight I have been on with a medical problem, or an emergency, there is always a doctor onboard. Guess they like to fly)
    If there is no Doctor, nobody dies on an airplane, the flight or cabin crew is not qualified to declare a person dead. Hence they die after landing when the Emergency Medical Crew comes onboard to check for vital signs.
    Old airline rule, nobody dies on the plane while enroute.
  12. Wally

    Wally New Member

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    We have 3 on my current boat. Two onboard and one on the tender. I actually used one on a stranger that collapsed on the dock next to the boat many years ago. It saved his life. The prices have come down over the years so there's really no excuse not to have one. Cheap life insurance. Bought one for my parents even though they are perfectly healthy.