Small Boat Ops and Weather

By

LT Fullan

Types of Boats

• Motor Boat– closed compartment fwd and possibly aft– Captains gig red stripe– Admirals barge green stripe

• Motor Whale Boat– 26’ boat used for liberty, ready life boat– being replaced by the rhib

Types of Boats

• Lightweight and fast

• Reliable inboard engine

• Carry fewer passengers than MWB

• Used as ready life boat

• Good for interdiction opns

• Requires less complicated davit

Types of Boats

• Personnel Boats– look like a utility boat with seats– used for liberty launches– can have a canopy

• Utility– large cargo carrying– large number of personnel

CREW

OOD

• Control– 3 gongs = 10 min– 2 gongs = 5min– 1 gong = 1 min– shuts down the boats because of weather– supervises the loading– gives departure and return orders

Senior Line Officer

• Never overload

• Ensure everyone has life preservers on if necessary

• Give orders to avoid danger

• Maintain discipline

Coxswain

• In charge of the boat crew

• Drives the boat

• responsible for the passengers

• Responsible for the boat’s and crew’s appearance.

• Subj to the orders of the OOD and senior officer enbarked

• Enforces Boat etiquette

Bow and Stern Hook

• Lookouts

• Fend-off the boat

• Handle lines

• Cast off

Boat Engineer

• Maintain the engine

• Normally and Engineman

Boat Officer

• Embarked– at night– heavy weather– first run of the day– first run in new port– with senior officers and dignitaries– when deemed by the OOD

Boat Lines• Boat Falls - support the weight of the boat

• Steady Lines - fwd, amid, aft used to keep the ship parallel to the ship

• Monkey Lines - personnel use these when lowering the boat into the water.

• Frapping Lines - used to steady the boat when lowering and raising

• Sea Painter - attached to fwd inboard side. Used to keep the boat alongside while disconnecting\connecting the lines

Operations

• 50% during inclement weather

• No standing

• No smoking

• Enough life preservers for capacity

• Must have charts, compass, fog signaling equipment

• Follow the rules of the road

Operations

• Ship is slowed to steerageway and turned to create a lee

• boat is made ready for lowering (boat and davit crew)

• Boat is lowered to the deck’s edge

• boat is loaded (personnel hold monkey lines)

• Boat is lowered to waters edge, motor started

• Release after fall, forward fall, sea painter

Boat Etiquette

• Saluting– Coxswain salutes

• officers enter or leave

• officers pass nearby

• colors

• when passing another small boat– junior boat will slow to idle, coxswain and senior officer

embarked will stand an salute

– senior boat maintains course ad speed and returns salute

Boat Etiquette

• Embarking– Junior first on\last off and sit forward– Senior last on\first off and sit aft– Sit at attention

Boat Hails and Replies

• When a small boat approaches. The OOD questions the coxswain by– day - raised clenched fist– night - “boat ahoy”

Boat Hails and Replies• Coxswain Replies by:

– day • 8,6,4,2, wave off

– night• United States

• Defense

• Navy

• Naval Operations

• Name of command

• Aye, Aye

• No, no

• Hello

Weather

Terms

• Dew Pt. - temperature at which vapor condense

• Relative Humidity - amount of water vapor in the air at a given temperature

• Psychrometer - measures the humidity

• Anemometer - measures the relative wind speed and direction

Terms

• Clouds– Cirrus– Stratus– Cumulus– Cumulonimbus

• Atmospheric pressure - weight of the atmosphere in relation to that of sea level

Terms

• Air Masses - large volumes of air with the same temp and humidity

• Pressures– High - air flows out– Low - air flows in– Based on density and humidity

Terms

• Fronts– warm- warm overtakes the cold

• overcast skies

• steady rain

• poor visibility in front of the warm front

• Steady or lowering barometer

• warmer temps after it passes

Terms

• Fronts– cold - cold displaces the warm air mass

• Thunderstorms

• heavy rains

• sudden wind shifts as the front passes

• drop in temp

• rise in pressure

• rapid clearing sky

Terms

• Cyclones – low pressure areas– spin clockwise in the north and counter

clockwise in the south– called typhoons, hurricanes, cyclones

Storm Types

• Tropical depression - <= 33 knots of wind

• Tropical storm - 34 -63 knots of wind

• Hurricane - > 63 knots of wind

Hurricane

• Facing the wind the eye will be to the right in the north. The opposite in the south

• Falling barometer

• In the North the storm will track to the NW and then the NE. In the south the storm will track to the SW then to the SE.

Hurricane Evasion

• Determine the path of the storm in relation to your location

• Determine navigable and dangerous semicircles– place yourself at the storm center facing the

direction of movement - dangerous is to the right and navigable is to the left

• storm can turn into you

• storm speed is combined with wind speed

Hurricane Evasion

• Stay away from the center– strongest winds are near the eye

• Navigable Semicircle– Put the winds on the STBD quarter in the north

and the port quarter in the south

• Dangerous Circle– Put the winds on the stbd bow in the northern

hemisphere and the port bow in the southern hemisphere

Conditions of Readiness

• Cond 4 - possible destructive winds in 72 hrs• Cond 3 - anticipate destructive winds in 48 hours

– get fuel and rig for high winds• Cond 2 - anticipate destructive winds in 24 hours

– terminate liberty and prepare to get underway in 4 hours

• Cond 1 - anticipate destructive winds in 12 hours– sortie or extra lines

Other info

• Gale warnings - 34 -37 knots

• small craft warnings for winds up to 38 knots

• STOW FOR SEA