Author: Phil Bowie / Source: Make: DIY Projects and Ideas for Makers
A North Carolina lifeguard told me, “A drowning happens fast. A struggling, inexperienced swimmer has only a minute or two before it’s too late.”
Lifeguards can beat that fast-ticking clock, and they routinely do every season hundreds of times across the country.
But in swimming areas without lifeguards there is often no realistic chance of rescue. According to the CDC, there are 3,500 non-boating-related drowning deaths in America every year, or about 10 per day — the fifth leading cause of unintended injury death.Bystanders should always call 911, of course, but many times rescue personnel, hard as they try, cannot get to the scene fast enough. And it’s never a good idea for an untrained bystander to attempt a swimming rescue because statistics show that can easily turn into a double drowning.
Last summer at an ocean beach near where I live, a woman in her forties was suddenly caught in a rip current. All bystanders could do was watch her die. The recorded 911 call was hard to listen to, and right then I vowed to devise a rescue system that could be constantly available at any swimming area and could rival the fast response time of a lifeguard.
The result is the Rescue Box. It’s alarmed against tampering, like a fire alarm, but is quickly and easily accessible by anyone in a potential drowning emergency. It houses three Mustang Rescue Sticks (Figures A and B) which can be thrown — even into a wind — 100 feet or more to reach a distressed swimmer. The foam-padded 15.5oz Stick inflates immediately on water contact, creating a large, bright-yellow, horseshoe-shaped preserver with twice the flotation of a traditional life jacket, which cannot be thrown very far at all.
Mustang Sticks are proven lifesavers for boaters and first responders, but the Rescue Box is a new idea, making the Sticks available to the public wherever and whenever needed. Anyone who has ever thrown a softball, football, or even snowballs, can throw a Stick accurately enough to save a life. Just to be sure, the box holds three Sticks, providing multiple chances to reach a swimmer in trouble.
The Rescue Box is a good public service project for any maker with an unguarded beach or swimming hole nearby. A group like the Explorer Scouts or a community college woodworking class might consider taking on the job with funding from a local civic organization. A brief news item in a local newspaper or on TV will let area swimmers and their friends and families know the box is there and how to use it.
Building the Bowie Rescue Box
(Hey, I invented it so I get to name it.)
1. Make the Plywood Box
The box is made of ½” high-grade plywood, and all hardware is stainless steel, brass, or aluminum to prevent rusting.
Using a table saw to keep all cuts square and accurate, cut out the seven parts (see Materials list for dimensions) and sand all surfaces smooth. Apply waterproof wood glue on all joints. Fasten the back onto the two sides with three 1″ #6 flat-head wood screws for each joint. You can speed the work with an all-in-one bit that drills the pilot hole in the side panel edges and the clearance hole and countersink in the back panel at the same time. The bottom panel fits inside, with two screws in each side and three in the back. Install the top panel flush with the back, overhanging on the front and sides to protect the door from weather, with two screws into each side and three into the back. Add the top front filler strip with three screws down through the top panel.
2. Fill and Paint
Fill all screw head depressions and any voids in the plywood edges with wood filler or auto body putty and sand smooth. Knock off sharp edges with 120 grit sandpaper.
For maximum durability, paint the box and door inside and out with a coat of white primer followed by two coats of exterior semi-gloss acrylic latex, sanding lightly between coats if necessary to keep the finish smooth.
3. Make the Stick Hangers
Make the Rescue Stick hangers from six ½”×⅛”×7¼” aluminum strips (Figure C). The bottom of the hanger is bent down 90°, 1½” from the end, and the top is bent up 60°, 1½” from that end. To create each bend, clamp the strip in a bench vise close to the bend point and tap with a hammer until the desired angle is achieved. Use your first hanger as a template for the other five. Drill two screw clearance holes in each lower end. Use a file and coarse sandpaper to round and smooth the cut ends so they will not injure the user or snag the Stick fabric.
With ½” #6 round head wood screws and optional washers, mount the hangers to the inside box back, 9″ apart on center (OC), each pair centered sideways in the box (Figure D). The Stick-resting surfaces of the top pair should be 5¾” down from the top, with the other pairs of resting surfaces each 5½” down from the pair above. These dimensions aren’t critical; what’s important is that the Sticks are easy…
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