Oden - no I think the 2 threads are quite seperate in content.
For a raft/small dinghy/person in the water we would go in at 50' (our standard winching height overwater but if we were worried about the downwash capsizing a vessel with people in it we would go in higher (the FCS height hold can cope with up to 199')
At night our SOP is to use auxiliary hover trim (AHT) as the pilot will have little or no references but the winchop will ie straight down at the survivor/dinghy, by day we would generally fly it ourselves just using auto height hold.