CONCEPTION AFTERMATH - COAST GUARD ISSUES NEW RULES/REGULATIONS

[Scared Silly]

Requiring compliance with §§ 116.500 and 177.500 will ensure that all existing vessels with overnight accommodations for passengers will maintain at least two independent means of escape that allow for free and unobstructed egress from any point in a vessel to an embarkation station

I will be sending a comment regarding the proposed rules. Bluntly having two independent means of escape does not do a damn bit of good if there are 30 plus people in the bunk area. The number of exits needs to be tied to the number of passengers:

For instance, here are the FAA rules for small commercial aircraft. For 20-40 seats there are four exits.

(3) For a passenger seating configuration of 10 to 19 seats, there must be at least one Type III or larger exit in each side of the fuselage. (4) For a passenger seating configuration of 20 to 40 seats, there must be at least two exits, one of which must be a Type II or larger exit, in each side of the fuselage.

Further FAA rule requires that a plane can be fully evaluated in 90 seconds. If the primary exit is blocked from the sleeping berths there is little chance that 30 people will be able to exit up a ladder exit as I have seen as recently installed.

Point being the Coast Guard needs to take a page out of the FAA rules.

 

[TuckerIdaho]

Point being the Coast Guard needs to take a page out of the FFA rules.

I don't know who the FFA is but feel free to share your naval architecture drawings of a vessel that meets FAA rules.

 

[Manatee Diver]

I don't know who the FFA is but feel free to share your naval architecture drawings of a vessel that meets FAA rules.

He is making it pretty clear he means the 90 second evacuation rule. Which is a major factor in aircraft design, rows will be omitted, exits added, and all kinds of other changes to comply with the rule.

Imagine trying to get a disabled person up one of those escape trunks.

 

[Scared Silly]

I don't know who the FFA is but feel free to share your naval architecture drawings of a vessel that meets FAA rules.

Have you not seen the flying boats???

 

[drrich2]

Bluntly having two independent means of escape does not do a damn bit of good if there are 30 plus people in the bunk area. The number of exits needs to be tied to the number of passengers:

For instance, here are the FAA rules for small commercial aircraft. For 20-40 seats there are four exits.

An important additional factor is how wide the escape route is. If 2 people can go up a stairway side-by-side, that's much different than if only 1 at a time can get through. Another is how fast people can move outside that bottle neck.

On a plane, the interior setup and narrow openings lend themselves to a bottle-necked, single file, rather slow progression. Plus planes are apt to have people in wheel chairs and other marked physically impaired passengers less likely to be found in numbers on a dive boat. On a boat where if all else fails people can run and leap over the side into the water, then swim toward a small rescue boat, the evacuation rate ought to be a good deal faster.

The point on a plane where you are stuck in line waiting with slow progress to get out can be quite long. In a boat situation, the only point you're likely in that situation is on a stairway, ladder or doorway, and that should be a shorter bottleneck.

Richard.

 

[rjack321]

A coastwise vessel is allowed to sail from US port to US port with no foreign stops between. The only exception is Key West. You do not need a coastwise certificate to sail from key west to another US Port.

I know Margaritaville is special, and I am from the West Coast so a world away, but... Why would Key West be a coastwise exception? Last I heard it was a US port too

 

[Wookie]

I know Margaritaville is special, and I am from the West Coast so a world away, but... Why would Key West be a coastwise exception? Last I heard it was a US port too

It’s the only coastwise exemption. And only for cruise ships because they can’t go to Havana. So key west is open for that reason specifically. If Havana opens to cruise ships again, the exemption will go away.

 

[rjack321]

It’s the only coastwise exemption. And only for cruise ships because they can’t go to Havana. So key west is open for that reason specifically. If Havana opens to cruise ships again, the exemption will go away.

Oh I see.
So they can operate go from Key West to other US ports while not having a coastwise registration or Jones Act waiver (right?)

 

[Wookie]

Oh I see.
So they can operate go from Key West to other US ports while not having a coastwise registration or Jones Act waiver (right?)

Correct, although it may be strictly key west to Miami.

 

[Eric Sedletzky]

It would be very difficult to retrofit and modernize some of those boats. First, it would take a marine architect to design the retrofit, it’s not something the boatyard and crew can do, just get their sawz-alls out and start hacking away. Bulkheads have to be maintained, there’s structural components, fuel tanks, etc.
Many of those boats were built out of wood/plywood and glassed over. There was a yard in Santa Barbara that built a number of those boats in the late 70’s early 80’s. The Peace is the sister boat to one in the Truth Aquatics fleet.
Glassed over plywood is a nightmare. When I had my marine repair business I has to fix a lot of rotten crap under many layers of structure on boats that seemed otherwise sound. In fact a licensed marine surveyor missed some critical stuff that I was suspicious about and sure enough when we opened it up it was completely rotten. Fiberglass has a way of hiding a lot of nasty stuff going on underneath. Those old plywood charter boats are no exception.
Some of them may not be able to be retrofitted without running into a whole lot of hassle. It may not make financial sense to do it and that will be the end of them.
I fear there might not be enough money running dive operations in California to commission a build on all new up to date vessels.