Instruction manual

PROFICIENCY IN SURVIVAL CRAFT AND RESCUE BOATS OTHER THAN
FAST RESCUE BOATS
5 3
loaded with its full complement of persons and equipment; brake pads shall,
where necessary, be protected from water and oil.
Manual brakes shall be so arranged that the brake is always applied
unless the operator, or a mechanism activated by the operator, holds the brake
control in the "off" position.
c. Float-free launching
Where a survival craft requires a launching to float free, the float-free
release of the position shall be automatic.
d. Launching appliances for free-fall lifeboats
Every free-fall launching appliance shall comply with the General
Requirements and, in addition, shall comply with the following requirements:
- The launching appliance shall be designed and installed so that it and
the lifeboat it serves operate as a system to protect the occupants from harmful
acceleration forces and to ensure effective clearing of the ship.
- The launching appliance shall be constructed so as to prevent
sparking and incendiary friction during the launching of the lifeboat.
- The launching appliance shall be designed and arranged so that, in
its ready-to-launch position, the distance from the lowest point on the lifeboat it
serves to the water surface with the ship in its lightest seagoing condition does
not exceed the lifeboat’s free-fall certification height.
- The launching appliance shall be arranged so as to preclude
accidental release of the lifeboat in its unattended stowed position. lf the means
provided to secure the lifeboat cannot be released from inside the lifeboat, it shall
be so arranged as to preclude boarding the lifeboat without first releasing it.
5.1.2 Gravity davits
Gravity davits are any davits which use the weight of the boat to do the
work required to launch the boat overside; they may operate on pivots or have a
carriage mounted on roller-track ways which are fixed either to the deck or
overhead.
The boat is launched by the lifting of a brake handle. The brake is
required to apply itself automatically immediately the handle is released by the
brake operator.
The rate of the boat’s descent is controlled by an independent centrifugal
brake.
These davits are all fitted with wire rope falls and winches.
They are required to be fitted with tricing pendants to bring the boat
alongside and bowsing-in tackles to replace the tricing pendants and keep the
survival craft alongside. The tricing pendants must always be released and the