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
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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
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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
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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
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Lookouts
Fend-off the boat
Handle lines
Cast off
Boat Engineer
• Maintain the engine
• Normally and Engineman
Boat Officer
• Embarked
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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