Where can I go for fact checking?

[UnkownGhost]

I really can't find a section on here to make sure I'm doing things right for a story. If you don't mind I can post the situation here. BUT if there is a more appropriate area please let me know.

The question I'm wondering about or questions rather. Can a Yacht detect another boat in it's area? Like a Zodiac? The rubberized inflatable speed boats.

Will a crew not notice if someone were to slip off board until they reached their destination?

As far as context goes. The story is a man faking his death at sea. His wife will be flirting with some hot stud (and according to scientific research I read she will be attracted to the Dark Triad ... naturally. I'm also assuming that the husband's 'death' will provide her the financial security that she'll need too ... so well she'll have everything she needs and wants. Comfy life style hot stud, etc.)

And the crew will be busy with either their own duties or tending to the guests.

So everyone the boat is distracted.

The husband will slip off the side, wait in the water for a brief moment. Get picked up and then disappear.

Only will people notice he's missing until they arrive at their destination. Of course a search will be done but a body won't be found and then he'll be presumed dead ... etc.

The only thing holding me up is how the boat can get away without being detected by yacht's radar. I remember seeing something about how boats can detect each other.

If there is any material you can point me to that would be great!

 

[sr71plt]

Try an Internet search (like with Google). You won't find that sort of research help on this Web site.

 

[MatthewVett]

Reddit has a subreddit called No Stupid Questions that might be helpful.

 

[R. Richard]

"Can a Yacht detect another boat in it's area? Like a Zodiac? The rubberized inflatable speed boats."
With the latest stuff, yes. With older technology, probably not.

 

[JustaSCOUNDREL]

Sorry Double post

 

[JustaSCOUNDREL]

In my professional opinion, it is not so much the capability of the radar, but much more how the bridge watch uses the radar. I say "Professional Opinion" in that I spent 24 years in the U.S. Nave as an Operation Specialist and have spent literally 1,000s of hours looking at radar scopes searching for both surface and air contacts.

I will say if you only occasionally glance at a radar scope you can very easily miss a small contact especially of there is a bit of a sea running and the contact within 4 or 5 miles get lost in the sea return. That means the radar picks up stronger returns than the small boat and the real contact disappears in the noise.

As for the husband both he and the pick up boat crew have Infrared (IR) transmitters and receivers. Think special flash lights and goggles. Husband shows up on the starn wearing a black wet suite waves his IR light into the wake...When he receives a reply he hits the water wearing a life jacket with a salt water IR flasher attached and is quickly picked up and taken to shore.

I hope this helps some.

 

[oggbashan]

A Zodiac with an outboard motor can be very noisy. They would need to use a trolling motor when close. A small sailing dinghy would be much quieter.

An easy way to have the pick up boat avoid detection is to have the large Yacht at anchor with no one on the bridge watching the radar.

Another way is to have the transfer happen in a crowded area such as a harbour at dusk or during an evening, or while watching a yacht race. The unnoticed close approach of a Zodiac could happen if there are many small boats around. The man leaving would have to conceal his departure somehow.

 

[Handley_Page]

The question I'm wondering about or questions rather. Can a Yacht detect another boat in it's area? Like a Zodiac? The rubberized inflatable speed boats.

Will a crew not notice if someone were to slip off board until they reached their destination?

The husband will slip off the side, wait in the water for a brief moment. Get picked up and then disappear.

Only will people notice he's missing until they arrive at their destination. Of course a search will be done but a body won't be found and then he'll be presumed dead ... etc.

The only thing holding me up is how the boat can get away without being detected by yacht's radar. I remember seeing something about how boats can detect each other.

If there is any material you can point me to that would be great!

Not on a Zodiac boat. (see HERE )
Any radar would be hard pushed to see it, assuming that it was working and some keen-eyed person was operating it (highly unlikely).

If the rescuer had an electric motor on the rescue Zodiac, it might work, although, depending upon distance, a real outboard engine will be required. Note: Super-quiet engines are made for the military, amongst others.

Now, if the husband were to leave a large yacht, in the late evening, while the food is being prepared or cleared away and nearly everyone is busy, he might slip over the side quietly. How quickly is absence will be noted is down to the duties of any crew or whatever.
How many 'guests' are there ? It's easier to get lost when there are a lot of people milling about.

Hope this helps

 

[HandsInTheDark]

I do a lot of research for my stories (for no good reason; readers here don't much care; I just like being right.) You can do a lot with wikipedia and google. You can also take comfort in the fact that if you get it wrong, just about no one will call you on it.

A yacht isn't going to be run at a military level of situational awareness. If someone happens to be looking at the radar, cameras or just wandering around on deck, the motorized craft can be spotted or heard. If anchored at night, when everyone's asleep or partying, you'd probably get away with it. As scoundrel noted, sea state matters. In a dead calm, someone on board is very likely to hear or see the approach of a boat. In sea state 3+, good luck getting anything off the radar or even visually. But you want scuba gear and expertise if you're going into that sort of rough water, and the guys doing the pickup in a rubber dinghy won't have a good time.

On a military ship, forget it. You won't get away with it unless you're in high sea states, and see above.

The simplest way to do what you want is to have the person trying to get away, find a reasonable excuse to be off the boat, and then simply never return. He can fake his death on land. Yachts have to dock for supplies occasionally, so why get dramatic with a dangerous and risky escape?

 

[8letters]

The simplest way to do what you want is to have the person trying to get away, find a reasonable excuse to be off the boat, and then simply never return. He can fake his death on land. Yachts have to dock for supplies occasionally, so why get dramatic with a dangerous and risky escape?

I'd think the simplest way would be for the man to slip into the water at the last set of buoys as the yacht leaves the harbor and then swims to one of the buoys. Ten minutes later, a boat picks him up at the buoy.

 

[UnkownGhost]

In my professional opinion, it is not so much the capability of the radar, but much more how the bridge watch uses the radar. I say "Professional Opinion" in that I spent 24 years in the U.S. Nave as an Operation Specialist and have spent literally 1,000s of hours looking at radar scopes searching for both surface and air contacts.

I will say if you only occasionally glance at a radar scope you can very easily miss a small contact especially of there is a bit of a sea running and the contact within 4 or 5 miles get lost in the sea return. That means the radar picks up stronger returns than the small boat and the real contact disappears in the noise.

As for the husband both he and the pick up boat crew have Infrared (IR) transmitters and receivers. Think special flash lights and goggles. Husband shows up on the starn wearing a black wet suite waves his IR light into the wake...When he receives a reply he hits the water wearing a life jacket with a salt water IR flasher attached and is quickly picked up and taken to shore.

I hope this helps some.

Thank you and yes that helps out a lot! I like the High-tech approach too! And the idea of the boat being lost in the waves' return is awesome too. Thank you for your service, your time, and your help.

Not on a Zodiac boat. (see HERE )
Any radar would be hard pushed to see it, assuming that it was working and some keen-eyed person was operating it (highly unlikely).

If the rescuer had an electric motor on the rescue Zodiac, it might work, although, depending upon distance, a real outboard engine will be required. Note: Super-quiet engines are made for the military, amongst others.

Now, if the husband were to leave a large yacht, in the late evening, while the food is being prepared or cleared away and nearly everyone is busy, he might slip over the side quietly. How quickly is absence will be noted is down to the duties of any crew or whatever.
How many 'guests' are there ? It's easier to get lost when there are a lot of people milling about.

Hope this helps

Actually it does. I didn't think about having a lot of guest milling around. That would certainly help keep the crew occupied.

I do a lot of research for my stories (for no good reason; readers here don't much care; I just like being right.) You can do a lot with wikipedia and google. You can also take comfort in the fact that if you get it wrong, just about no one will call you on it.

A yacht isn't going to be run at a military level of situational awareness. If someone happens to be looking at the radar, cameras or just wandering around on deck, the motorized craft can be spotted or heard. If anchored at night, when everyone's asleep or partying, you'd probably get away with it. As scoundrel noted, sea state matters. In a dead calm, someone on board is very likely to hear or see the approach of a boat. In sea state 3+, good luck getting anything off the radar or even visually. But you want scuba gear and expertise if you're going into that sort of rough water, and the guys doing the pickup in a rubber dinghy won't have a good time.

On a military ship, forget it. You won't get away with it unless you're in high sea states, and see above.

The simplest way to do what you want is to have the person trying to get away, find a reasonable excuse to be off the boat, and then simply never return. He can fake his death on land. Yachts have to dock for supplies occasionally, so why get dramatic with a dangerous and risky escape?

You too gave me some things to consider and that's a good question you asked too.

The reason I want it to happen out at sea and away from shore as far as possible is because I want him to be presumed dead quickly. If he's on shore then people can track him down (or try to). But if everyone things he died at sea then what's they point in looking?

I need him to be seen throughout the voyage until the moment after the last dinner. To make the whole "he must've fell overboard when no one noticed" thing to work well enough for me.

The quicker he can be forgotten the better.

If he were near shore I'd think the investigation would last longer. Not that his wife would give a damn. At least according to the research I did. Turns most women having an affair, especially with someone who has a Dark Triad personality, won't give single care in the world if something bad happened to their spouse. And no this isn't a cuckolding story. ... It could be if someone wanted it to be. But I needed to have a way for her to permanently forget her loving husband and so cue Meester stud.

I got that idea from the Direct TV commercial. Turn back time and give you back your dew and while we're at it let's give her back the guy she liked before you. The woman totally forgot about her boyfriend/husband in that moment.

So I said "bingo just give the wife some hunk she'll love."


I want to thank all of you for input. I feel comfortable with moving forward. I like to get all the little details ironed out.

 

[Ldy_Sea]

Just because he disappeared near shore doesn't mean anyone saw him disappear there. He could have fallen overboard hours later in deep water hundreds of miles from land.

At 2am the yacht is near bermuda. At 9am breakfast is served. The owner doesn't appear as he always does. The 1st mate goes to check on him and finds his bed was not slept in. A through search of the yacht proves he is nowhere on board.

the authorites are notified but the last time he was seen was around midnight when the night crew relieved the day crew.

So 9 hours since he was seen would mean thousands of square miles of ocean to search. No way he would ever be found.