🔍 Key Concepts

• Lifeboat launching procedures in SOLAS and common USCG guidance • Purpose and safe use of boathooks during launching and recovery • Risk of damage or capsizing if boathooks are not handled correctly while lowering by falls

💭 Think About

• Think about what is happening to the lifeboat as it is being lowered by the falls: what can it strike or rub against? • In that specific phase (lowering by falls), what is the most important immediate job of the boathooks: storage, rescue, or protecting the boat and people? • Which option best reduces the risk of the lifeboat hanging up, getting holed, or being pulled sideways while still allowing the crew to act quickly?

✅ Before You Answer

• Check which options describe boathooks being actively available vs. tied down • Consider which choice fits the launching phase only, not later recovery of survivors • Eliminate any option that would delay the crew’s ability to react if the boat swings toward the ship’s side or an obstruction