Local invention making a big splash in boating safety

The owner of a yacht brokerage in Blaine has invented a revolutionary device that can help save the lives of people who have fallen off boats.

Randy Parten of The Dream Boat Company, 229 Marine Drive has invented a device called the Rescu Swim’r, which attaches to life rings. Life rings, also known as life buoys or ring buoys, are personal flotation devices that are thrown to aid people who have fallen overboard. They normally have a tow line attached, so that the rescuer can pull the drowning person back toward the boat.

Currently, the accepted method of getting a life ring to a person overboard is to throw it into the water, tow it toward the person overboard, pass them and then turn the vessel around several times until the life ring floats to them. However, this maneuver is difficult to execute and many boat operators can never achieve it. This maneuver also requires the boat operator to make an extremely close pass by the person, which is very dangerous.

The Rescu Swim’r makes it far safer, easier and faster to tow a life ring to the person overboard. This is because it functions as a rudder, allowing the rescuer to tow a life ring at a 45-degree angle to the boat, rather than dragging it directly behind the boat. This means that the rescuer does not need to make a close pass or circle the boat around the drowning person, saving valuable time and requiring less skill.

“Our device allows you to rescue someone about seven times faster, independent of your experience level,” said Parten.

As the owner of a yacht brokerage, Parten is constantly concerned about the safety of his customers. That inspired him to invent this device. “People underestimate the danger of falling off a boat, especially in cold water,” he said.

When people fall into cold water, they experience cold water shock. Their heart rate doubles, their respiration doubles and they involuntarily gasp. No matter how good of a swimmer they are, they will eventually lose the use of their limbs. According to Parten, one-fifth of drownings occur within two minutes of falling overboard.

In Parten’s product testing to date, it took an average of one minute and 14 seconds to get a life ring to someone using Rescu Swim’r. Without using Rescu Swim’r, it took an average of nine minutes and 51 seconds. By that time, the subject would likely have drowned already, or would be incapable of climbing back onto a boat.

Parten came up with the idea at the end of last summer. He created a rough prototype out of a plastic three-ring binder, and later created a second prototype with metal hinges. The final version is made out of a single piece of black homopolymer polyethylene plastic, with a “living hinge” that has been tested to one million cycles. The device has directions printed directly on it, as well as instructions for how to make a mayday call.

Parten made several thousand dollars’ worth of sales at the Seattle Boat Show, and also sells the product online at rescuswimr.com. The device is patent-pending, and he is gaining further exposure by speaking at conferences and events. This includes the International Boating and Water Safety Summit in Florida. Throughout the whole process, he has been assisted greatly by his wife Regina. All the marketing media materials have been created by their office assistant Kelsey Morrison.

Parten is passionate about the Rescu Swim’r, which he believes ought to be on every life ring on every boat. “This truly is the next generation of water safety gear,” he said.