MARINE HARNESS

Abstract

A marine harness (1) comprising a tow attachment (2), the tow attachment being such that a person wearing the harness can be towed along by way of attaching a tow line to the attachment, and the tow attachment arranged rearwardly of the harness.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a marine harness.

BACKGROUND

Falling from the back of the boat is many sailors' worst case scenario. This fear is compounded when the boat is travelling fast and at night. All sailors are trained to clip onto the boat using a lanyard and the clip on their life jacket/safety harness, however it is questionable how effective such measures are if a sailor falls overboard. With modern age fast racing and cruising boats sailing at much faster speeds, conventional technologies of the past fail to protect modern sailors.

We seek to provide improved safety should a man overboard situation occur.

SUMMARY

According to the invention there is provided a marine harness comprising a tow attachment, the tow attachment being such that a person wearing the harness can be towed along by way of attaching a tow line to the attachment, and the tow attachment arranged rearwardly of the harness.

The tow attachment preferably comprises a loop formation or eyelet. Preferably the loop/eyelet is of substantially D-shape.

The tow attachment is preferably arranged to be detachably connectable to the towing line.

The harness preferably comprises a first portion arranged to extend around the wearer's torso.

The harness preferably comprises second portions arranged to extend over a wearer's shoulders.

The tow attachment preferably comprises an extension arranged to extend rearwardly of the harness.

The extension is preferably fixedly attached to a rearward portion of the harness.

The extension preferably comprises a length of webbing or strapping.

The extension is preferably arranged as a bridle between eyelet and the rearward region of the harness. In that embodiment, the extension preferably passes through the eyelet. Alternatively, the extension may comprise a single component which extends from the rearward region of the harness and is attached to the eyelet.

The structural integrity of the tow attachment with the harness is preferably such as to withstand pulling forces resulting from the wearer being towed whilst wearing the harness. Preferably the structural integrity of the tow attachment with the harness is such that a wearer can be vertically lifted from the water using the tow attachment.

Preferably the tow attachment extends from an upper region of the rearward region of the harness.

In addition to the tow attachment being ultimately fixedly attached to the harness, additionally the tow attachment is preferably detachable connected in a stowed condition to the harness, such as to allow the wearer to manually detach the attachment into a deployable condition.

The tow attachment is preferably detachably connected to the harness in a stowed condition.

Preferably the tow attachment is preferably detachably connected to a side portion of the harness.

The harness is preferably a lifejacket harness. The harness may be an integral part of a lifejacket.

The harness preferably comprises a positive buoyancy arrangement capable of maintaining a wearer afloat.

The harness preferably comprises a connecter piece arranged to be situated at the rearward region of the harness, and which laterally connects respective rearward upwardly extending portions of the harness.

The harness preferably comprises a crotch strap arranged to provide a connection between a user's legs from a front portion of the harness to a rearward portion of the harness.

When worn by a user during towing, the harness is arranged to apply an even pulling force around the user's torso, without compressing the user's chest.

The above aspect, or further aspects, may comprise one or more features in the detailed description and/or the drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Various embodiments of the invention will now be described by way of example only, with reference to the following drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a front view of a marine harness;

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the marine harness of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a side view of the marine harness of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the marine harness worn by a user;

FIG. 5 is a front view of the marine harness worn by a user;

FIG. 6 is an upper view of the marine harness worn by a user; and

FIG. 7 is a side view of the harness worn by a user being towed whilst in water.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

With reference initially to FIG. 1, there is shown a marine harness 1 which, as will be described below, comprises a tow attachment 2 which advantageously allows the wearer of the harness to be safely towed whilst in the water.

The harness 1 comprises a continuous length of webbing 3, the distal ends of which are detachedly connectable by way of a manually operable fastener 4 (such as a buckle). The webbing 3 is preferably a high tensile strength material. The harness 1 further comprises shoulder straps 5 which at lower distal end portions are attached to a front portion of the webbing 3, and the opposite distal end regions are attached to respective rearward portions of the webbing 3. Specifically, said opposite distal ends are attached to upper rearward portions of the webbing 3.

At each of the lower rearward portions of the webbing 3 there is provided a connector piece 6 which laterally connects said lower rearward portions of the webbing 3.

The tow attachment comprises a loop formation 10 (such as an eyelet, carabiner or webbing strop formed as part of component 3) which is fixedly secured to the harness by way of the webbing 3 which passes through or forms an integral part of the loop. From the points of connection to the shoulder straps 5, that portion of the webbing 3 which extends rearwardly of the harness forms an extension. The extension is arranged in the form of a bridle. It will be appreciated, however, that in an alternative embodiment the extension may comprise a single length of webbing/strap (such as a single strap) which at one distal end is fixedly attached to the eyelet 10. The opposite distal end of such an alternative extension would be attached centrally to a rearward region of the harness.

It will be appreciated that when the harness is worn by the user, the webbing 3 (or at least the lower portion thereof) and the connection piece 6 serves to encircle the user's torso. The shoulder straps 5 extend upwardly of the wearer's torso and pass over his shoulders.

Although the figures show the tow attachment 2 in a deployed condition, initially it is detachably connected to a side region of the harness, so as to allow the wearer to manually remove the tow attachment from the stowed condition to a deployable condition. The detachable connection may be achieved by way of a low-strength stitching which is designed to become detached when the wearer applies a manual pulling force thereto. It will be appreciated, however, that alternative forms of detachable connection could be employed to reasonably maintain the tow attachment in a stowed condition, such as hoop-and-loop materials.

In use, the harness 1 operates as follows. The user initially puts the harness on and attaches the buckle 4. In the event that the wearer falls overboard, the tow attachment 10 is broken free from its stowed condition due to the load imposed thereon by the user's safety line. The load in the safety line then proceeds to tow the user in a backwards direction. Alternatively, in the situation when the safety line is not attached to the tow attachment, the user manually detaches the tow attachment from the stowed condition. A tow line (20 as shown in FIG. 7) is then thrown from the vessel to the wearer. The wearer then connects the tow line 20 to the tow attachment 10. As the vessel moves, the user is towed along in the water, as shown in FIG. 7. Advantageously, the user is towed backwards in a ‘seated’ position. Being backward facing to the direction of movement ensures that bow water does not flood/cover the wearer's face. This is of particular importance not only for the user's comfort during towing but also from a safety perspective if the wearer is unconscious and has his mouth open.

In the region 30 in front of the user, a low pressure region is formed which ensures a lower water level is presented to the front of the wearer. By causing the wearer to be in a seated position, the pressure on the wearer's lower back and legs is reduced, enhancing both safety and comfort for the wearer. The webbing 3 being continuous ensures high structural integrity, reducing the risk of mechanical failure during towing. During towing the front portions of the webbing 3 and the shoulder straps 5 cause a force to be evenly applied across the user's chest and lower torso.

It will be appreciated that the harness 1 may be embodied as a lifevest and be provided with positive buoyancy features (such as air-inflatable cells). In that regard, the wearer's body advantageously becomes naturally self-righting when under way due to the positive buoyancy and dynamic pressure. It will be appreciated that the harness 1 is such that a conventional lifejacket may be worn over the harness.

In a further embodiment, the harness 1 comprises a crotch strap which is arranged to be worn between the user's legs, and which connects a front portion of the harness to a rearward portion of the harness. The crotch strap comprises two Y-shaped components, each formed of strapping or webbing, in other words each may be described as comprising a single element which bifurcates into two elements. One end of each of the strap components is (fixedly) attached to the harness adjacent to a respective intersection/junction between the webbing 3 and the connector 6, at the rear of the harness, and detachably connected by way of a respective buckle or strop arrangement) to the front region of the harness at the junction between the respective shoulder strap 5 and the webbing 3. In conjunction with the shoulder straps 5, the crotch strap effectively forms two continuous loops, which each enclose the wearer's shoulders and the wearer's crotch. Advantageously, this allows a wearer to detach the buckle 4 (for example to use the toilet) and still ensure that the harness remains securely attached to him.

Once the man overboard has been pulled aside the craft, the structural integrity of the tow attachment with the harness is sufficient to allow the tow attachment to be used to lift the wearer clear of the water and onto the vessel.

Claims

1. A marine harness comprising a tow attachment, the tow attachment being such that a person wearing the harness can be towed along by way of attaching a tow line to the attachment, and the tow attachment arranged rearwardly of the harness.

2. The marine harness as claimed in claim 1, wherein the tow attachment comprises a loop formation.

3. The marine harness as claimed in claim 2, wherein the loop formation is of substantially D-shape.

4. The marine harness as claimed in claim 1, wherein the tow attachment is arranged to be detachably connectable to the towing line.

5. The marine harness as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a first portion arranged to extend around the wearer's torso.

6. The marine harness as claimed in claim 5, further comprising second portions arranged to extend over a wearer's shoulders.

7. The marine harness as claimed in claim 1, wherein the tow attachment comprises an extension arranged to extend rearwardly of the harness.

8. The marine harness as claimed in claim 7, wherein the extension is fixedly attached to a rearward portion of the harness.

9. The marine harness as claimed in claim 8 wherein the extension comprises a length of webbing or strapping.

10. The marine harness as claimed in claim 9, wherein the extension is arranged as a bridle between the loop formation and the rearward region of the harness.

11. The marine harness as clamed in claim 9, wherein the extension comprises a single component which extends from the rearward region of the harness and is attached to the loop formation.

12. The marine harness as claimed in claim 1, wherein the structural integrity of the tow attachment with the harness is such as to withstand pulling forces resulting from the wearer being towed whilst wearing the harness.

13. The marine harness as claimed in claim 12, wherein the structural integrity of the tow attachment with the harness is such that a wearer can be vertically lifted from the water using the tow attachment.

14. The marine harness as claimed in claim 1, wherein the tow attachment extends from an upper region of the rearward region of the harness.

15. The marine harness as claimed in claim 1, wherein the tow attachment is detachably connected in a stowed condition to the harness, such as to allow the wearer to manually detach the attachment into a deployable condition.

16. The marine harness as claimed in claim 15, wherein the tow attachment is detachably connected to the harness in a stowed condition.

17. The marine harness as claimed in claim 1, wherein the tow attachment is detachably connected to a side portion of the harness.

18. The marine harness as claimed in claim 1, wherein the marine harness is a lifejacket harness.

19. The marine harness as claimed in claim 18, wherein the marine harness is an integral part of a lifejacket.

20. The marine harness as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a positive buoyancy arrangement capable of maintaining a wearer afloat.

21. The marine harness as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a connecter piece arranged to be situated at the rearward region of the harness, and which laterally connects respective rearward upwardly extending portions of the harness.

22. The marine harness as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a crotch strap arranged to provide a connection between a user's legs from a front portion of the harness to a rearward portion of the harness.