liferaft launching device MCA / ABS

Does anybody here know whether an MCA-approved tender crane can be counted as a liferaft david?

We are required to have a dive-launched liferaft if we want to be MCA compliant so I wonder about the above AND, whether the MCA would allow one big MCA-approved crane on one side instead of 2 small cranes on each side?

Does anybody also know the rules of ABS regarding to this issue?

I would not find it in their rule 62 on large yacht. Most of their online PDF documents are scanned versions of old documents and not searchable.

Thorwald

davids / free fall storage racks

Thanks for the fast reply.

Well, the distance between the raft in the water and embarcation deck is well over the allowed 4.5 m. to get away without davids. However, what I don't understand is that for instance Viking offers free-fall storage racks so what is easier than to release a raft from a rack instead of hooking it up to a crane - specially in bad weather.

Now I just noted these kind of davids launched rafts are supposed to be boarded on the embarcation deck and THEN lowered into the water. That means a very strong (expensive) crane for a 35-pax raft.

I see what you mean regarding stability but well, less rafts means less space and less things to check each year..... We'll always carry at least 60% of a raft's capacity I anticipate.

raft issues

So 2 rafts out there on deck and 1 locked - one each side.

Why not a 25-pax and 35-pax raft and be done with it?

At any case, we'll have up to 36 people on board so I thought about one 50-person raft on each side and a 10-person raft in the center. Or if we travel with less than 34 people, just carry the two biggies.

But still, my problem is the davids. I seem to be missing something because I see lots of mega yachts with their rafts well above the 4.5 m. from the water line and no davids launching system...

Thorwald

Below what MCA LY2 says. Indeed, I've never seen a yacht with Davids either. Maybe new rules? Well, I just fired off an email to the MCGA so we'll see what they say.


13.1.5 Liferaft embarkation arrangements should comply with the following:
.1 Where the distance between the embarkation deck and the top of the liferaft
buoyancy tube exceeds 1 metre with the vessel in its lightest condition, an
embarkation ladder is to be provided. A means for fastening is to be provided
and ladders are to be readily available for use at all times.
.2 Where the distance between the embarkation deck and the top of the liferaft
buoyancy tube exceeds 4.5 metres with the vessel in its lightest condition, davit
launched liferafts and at least one launching appliance for launching are to be
provided on each side of the vessel.

Well, of course, not nearly as ideal a location but it can be done. I'll wait for the MCGA to reply before we start to move things around.

After all, under Panamanian flag we are NOT legally subject to MCA so if a future owner wants to fly a red ensign flag, he can move the rafts to a deck below. Our goal is to be safe. With the right cradle, it's possible to get the raft in the water safely. Then just jump from the deck below.

Thorwald

Solution?

It just occured to me that the LAUNCHING deck where the rafts are stored does not have to be the EMBARCATION deck!

So, you launch the rafts, using a free-fall device, why all people on board are waiting on the deck below to jump into the raft! At that deck, they are well within the 4.5 m. limit.

Thorwald

MCA feedback

I checked with the MCGA today and they confirmed that I need 100% capacity on each side + the possibilty to have that 100% of one raft becomes unusable . This may be done by moving one raft to the other side.

So, if we have max. 25 persons on board, we need 2 25-pax rafts (or 2-10pax and 2 15-pax).

They also recommend now to have an additional 10-pax raft available for crew during ferries (assuming for a moment the crew is up to 10 pax). This because being in a 25-pax raft with 10 people isn't much fun.

The other issue that was now clarified is that indeed the embarkation deck and launching deck can be two different decks. So in my case I'll only need an approved embarkation ladder on each side.

Thorwald