Quote:
Originally Posted by colblinky
The Royal Navy launches ribs like this all the time however in addition to the bow steadying line they also use what is known as a boatrope which is secured from the port shoulder of the ship to a bridle at the front of the rib attached via a soft eye and toggle arangement.
When the rib is at 1m height from the sea the crane is stopped the rfd is cocked then lowered until the hull meets the water at this point it release's because the weight has been taken off the unit. Now the rib is being towed on the boat rope with engines running this is perfectly safe and runs no risk of capsize (even when the OOW cant manage a lee for you)and is carried out up to 12 knots.
The fault of the capsize lies mainly with the guy on the bow line as he fails to keep the bow in to the side of the ship therefore when the rib touches the water the drag of the rib is greater preventing the quick release unit from working as intended and this is the reason it broaches and capsizes
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Photo recently taken on a training session when returning to the mother ship, the he is just inserting the toggle ready to fall back, attach the lifting gear and be lifted out. Look out for an article in Sports Boat and RIB soon!
