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Engineering
and Prototypes |
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The Sea Fish Industry Authority had worked with Rob Reid on various
other projects over the years and
on receiving an
invitation
to
see a demonstration
of the man overboard rescue cage from a large fishing vessel
in Peterhead harbour they readily agreed. From the demonstration
it was obvious that the man overboard cage was an effective
means of rescue, as it not only provided the means of lifting
the casualty back on-board but it also provided a ‘safe
haven’ for the person in the water that one had to
simply swim into to be safe.
Given that the idea was good
in principle, Seafish agreed to help as part of their safety
related work for the fishing industry. They produced
detailed drawings and quotations were sought for commercial manufacture.
North East Fabricators from Banff were the most competitive
tender and were commissioned to build the first commercial
man overboard cage prototype. The cage was delivered to
Seafish
in Hull for testing to take place in the wave and wind
tank at Lowestoft Maritime College.
Problems were encountered immediately with the waves which had
not been seen in calm water and it was obvious to all that it
was back to the drawing board for the rescue cage.
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Initial
Setbacks
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Rob Reid, Alan Dean of Seafish
and James Kerr of North East Fabricators all worked as
a team, with expertise in different areas, to try to resolve
the problems. Another man overboard prototype cage was
manufactured and once again sent off for testing. This cage
resolved many
of the initial problems but in doing so created new ones
which once again would have to be resolved.
 The
team once again burned the midnight oil and tried to come up
with solutions to the problems encountered and at no time
did the thought of giving up ever cross their minds. Some radical
changes to the design were implemented which resulted in the
manufacture of a simple, lightweight but strong aluminium cage.
This man overboard cage took only seconds to erect, was very
compact and the team sent it off once again for testing. Some
days later the results and film footage of the tests came back.
The man overboard cage had passed all tests better than the team
could have hoped. Great stability in the worst conditions that
the Lowestoft Wave Tank could produce, supported two men and
rode the waves in harmony with the casualties. The rescue cage
was very rigid which allowed easy
and unrestricted entry by casualty or rescuer to pull a person
into, even with a life-jacket on, and protected the casualty
in the cage from buffeting against the side walls of the tank.
More - completed solution and
deployment>> |
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"A
versatile rescue cage that is suitable for use from all vessels,
especially high sided ones, for the recovery of persons from the
water."
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