Personal Survival & Rescue — Most Asked Questions

5 questions asked about personal survival & rescue across the General and Fn 3 papers, heaviest first.

1. 1 Life boat and rescue boat differences

   High priority Theory asked 7 times · across 6 examiner banks · 4 wordings merged General

   Also asked: “Rescue boat and life boat diff”, “Diffrence b/w lifeboat and rescueboat”, “Diff. B/w life boat & rescue boat”

   Answer

   Lifeboats evacuate everyone; rescue boats fetch individuals — one is a bus, the other a rapid-response car.

   • Lifeboat: survival craft for the full complement, up to 150 persons, launched with load at 5 knots ship speed, 20 degrees list and 10 degrees trim, embarked within 3 minutes.
   • Rescue boat: small fast craft for recovering persons from the water and marshalling rafts, launched at 5 knots with recovery inside 5 minutes loaded.
   • A rescue boat may double as a lifeboat only if it meets both sets of requirements including seating and equipment.
   • Davits, falls, limit switches and brakes serve both — release gear differs between on-load and off-load hooks.

   Surveyor follow-up: can the rescue boat count as the second lifeboat — what decides?

   Full theory: LSA Chapter 3: Line Throwing, EEBD & SCABA

2. 2 Action when you see man overboard and you are in midship with no comms

   Revise Your ship asked 2 times · across 2 examiner banks Fn 3

   Answer

   Point, shout, throw, and get a line aboard — with no comms the bridge learns from you, so you must both act and report.

   • Point continuously at the person so that bridge and others keep a visual reference; a lost sight of the man is what turns a recovery into a search.
   • Raise the alarm by shouting and by the alarm and throw a lifebuoy with a light and a whistle, and a heaving line if one is to hand.
   • Prepare a boat or a scrambling ladder, ease a life raft if fitted, and get a lifeline ready — but do not jump after him unless the recovery is planned.
   • And with no communications, the report to the bridge is by voice and hand signal: who, where, bearing and distance, and whether he is conscious.

   Surveyor follow-up: man overboard sighted on the port bow with no engine room communication — what is the report, in what order?

   Full theory: LSA Chapter 3: Line Throwing, EEBD & SCABA

3. 3 Difference between lifeboat n rescue boat. (also solas regulations

   Revise Theory asked 2 times · across 2 examiner banks Fn 3

   Answer

   A lifeboat carries everyone; a rescue boat is a man-overboard and recovery craft, kept ready in five minutes and inflatable boats inflated at all times.

   • The lifeboat is the survival craft for the whole complement, launched and recovered as SOLAS chapter III requires for that class.
   • Rescue boats are for man-overboard and for recovery, and must be stowed ready for launching in not more than five minutes.
   • An inflatable rescue boat must be in a fully inflated condition at all times, which is what makes it launchable in five minutes.
   • That is why the regulation reads differently for the two — the lifeboat is sized for the ship’s people, the rescue boat is sized for speed and for recovery.

   Surveyor follow-up: deflated inflatable rescue boat found in its canister — what specific condition has been lost?

   Full theory: LSA Chapter 5: Lifeboats — Types, Engine, Davit & Drills

4. 4 Eebd time for evacuation

   Revise Theory asked 2 times · across 2 examiner banks Fn 3

   Answer

   An EEBD gives about 15 minutes of air — long enough to leave a smoke-filled space, not long enough to fight a fire or work in it.

   • Service duration is at least 10 minutes for the standard set, and commonly quoted as 15 minutes of usable escape time.
   • It is for escape only: it is not for fighting fires, entering oxygen-deficient voids, or being worn by fire fighters.
   • The pressure reducer is a single-stage constant-flow unit — 40 lpm for the 5 and 10 minute sets, 72 lpm for the high-flow set.
   • A pressure indicator shows the remaining air, so the wearer knows how long the escape window really is.

   Surveyor follow-up: crew member sent in with an EEBD for a firefighting task — how long, and what is it for?

   Full theory: LSA Chapter 3: Line Throwing, EEBD & SCABA

5. 5 Motor overhaul after sea water immersion

   Revise Theory asked 2 times · across 2 examiner banks · 2 wordings merged General

   Also asked: “overhauling of motor submerged in water”

   Answer

   After sea water immersion the motor is washed through, dried, insulation tested and only then run — never started to see if it works.

   • Salt contamination is removed by thoroughly washing the machine down, preferably with warm clean fresh water, or distilled water if available.
   • De-greasants are used if oil was also in the water, and spirits or alcohol may be used for the final cleaning.
   • The insulation resistance is then measured and the machine dried out until it reads high enough to be run.
   • And the rule that matters is never to start a motor after a flooding, especially after a long period, before checking it is dry and the insulation is sound.

   Surveyor follow-up: flooded motor dried out but insulation still low — is it residual salt in the windings or the bearings?

   Full theory: Induction Motors — Principle, Faults & Testing

Source: 123 written papers and surveyor oral banks, 24,613 entries, merged into 17,210 topics. Ticks are stored on this device only.