[C38] Overboard

[Joseph Launie]

*Steve,
    Thanks for the tip. I have already asked my attorney to find a 
patent attorney. Joe
*
Steve Smolinske wrote:
> Joe,
>  
> Great idea and it should be easy to develop, a negative buoyancy 
> activated switch, a helium canister and ballon with reflective tape 
> all attached to a lanyard.  Possibly even including a water activated 
> strobe.   (negative buoyancy so that your crew isnt deploying ballons 
> rounding a mark during a heavy rain LOL).  GET A PATENT on the idea, I 
> regularly see inventors come through my door with ideas and 
> non-disclosures, the saddest story was a machinist who came through 
> with a neat idea for keeping the straw attached to his WD-40 can,  
> really novel inexpensive idea.   Have you seen WD-40s new can with the 
> articulating straw? I shook my head when I saw that on the shelf the 
> first time, poor guy had presented his idea was turned away then the 
> large company set their engineering dept loose on a solution.   No 
> royalties or payout to the inventor.  A patent attorney can help you 
> define the broad definition of the invention and give you protection 
> for variants, then a company like mustang or another safety company 
> could buy your patent and develop the product they could market and 
> manufacture.   Along the same ideas as the inflatable MOB pole system 
> only one step better.   Great Idea!!
>  
> Steve
> Peregrine #312
> Seattle
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
> *From:* Joseph Launie
> *Sent:* Tue 8/5/2008 7:25 PM
> *To:* Catalina 38 Listserve
> *Subject:* [C38] Overboard
>
> *Hi,
>     The Santa Barbara King harbor race produced an overboard story 
> that is full of lessons for all of us. I wrote about this subject in 
> the February 2007 Mainsheet.
> An Antrim 27 with 4 gals on board rounded up putting 2 of them in the 
> water at twilight in 30 knot winds and big seas. One of them drifted 
> away from the boat with no flotation and was picked up by another boat 
> after being passed  by two boats. the story is attached.
>     I have given visibility of overboard crew a lot of thought. A 
> personal strobe light and a whistle (good luck with the noise level of 
> the seas) are easy and obvious. We had a similar incident here in 
> Oxnard where the overboard person during the afternoon was only 
> recovered because they drifted close enough to an oil platform to be 
> spotted. The boats were all looking in the wrong area. Wind and 
> current can be difficult to estimate.
>     I wonder if it would be feasible to develop an orange 18 inch 
> metalicized helium filled balloon on a 6 foot tether to be packed into 
> the collar of your inflatable jacket and automatically deployed. That 
> would give you a chance of being seen. What do you think? Joe Launie, 
> Macavity
>
> *I attempted to include the story from the sailing scuttlebutt. Thanks 
> to the gate keeper you will have to find it for yourself
>
> No virus found in this incoming message.
> Checked by AVG - http://www.avg.com 
> Version: 8.0.138 / Virus Database: 270.5.12/1592 - Release Date: 8/5/2008 6:03 AM
>   
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> _______________________________________________
> Listserve mailing list
> Listserve at catalina38.org
> http://catalina38.org/mailman/listinfo/listserve_catalina38.org
>   
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://catalina38.org/pipermail/listserve_catalina38.org/attachments/20080805/7af4af75/attachment-0001.htm>