Advice for sailing with a baby

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bubles

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Hello,
Does anyone have a good tip to keep a 8 month old baby safe in the cockpit?
Mum has been using a baby carrier, but we wonder whether this is fine, specially with a lifejacket on top. Any danger when the lifejacket is inflated? How about the floating position with the extra 8kg?


Thanks
 
If a baby carrier is worn by mum then any inflating lifejacket will be a complete no-no. Jump in with a lifejacket on and see what happens. She could wear a flotation jacket but that would still require her to swim which is perhaps possible on her back. The baby would be safer secured in the cockpit in a car seat. Buy a secondhand hand one and bolt it to a board that can fit in the washboard slots.
 
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We have a 5mo baby. She has a Baltic baby L/J which is self-righting. However she only really makes occasional appearances in the cockpit. I fitted leecloths to our saloon settees which turn them into very goos playpens and, when she is not sleeping in her car seat (which also fits inside the leecloths and is retained by them), she is usually in there with her blankets and toys. Its easy to keep an eye on her down the companionway.

Echo the concerns about strapping a baby to an adult wearing a gas l/j.
 
Agree on the cheap car seats from ebay. Below is 4 years ago. Bit of a squeeze for the eldest, he is going to miss it as he likes it up there.

carseats.jpg
 
I saw a setup where the family had rigged a child's car seat in their cockpit on one of the seats adjacent to the companionway, the seat had been secured firmly in place by using two suction grips (eg that are used for carrying glass) clamped to the GRP cockpit sides either side of the kiddy seat, then webbing straps through the seat fastenings. No escape in normal use but doesn't solve the emergency situation.
 
Another vote for the car seat. Ours used this whenever out of the cabin- including dinghy transfers, with two adults at all times obviously. I would add that our mooring is very close to shore so lower risk than some.
When slightly older, we added a mini high chair as well (designed to be strapped to the top of a dining chair).
For nap times, it was generally sufficient to rig up a lee board up in the V berth.

That was all last year... now that the wee one is very mobile, he wears a proper LJ, the critical part of which is the big handle on the back so you can hold onto him in the dinghy and pass him up to the second adult. Also I've built a pen for him in the forepeak using a wooden frame secured to the hull, and netting to close it.
 
I am told that I spent a good proportion of my early childhood in one of those door bouncer contraptions, arranged in the door through the main bulkhead. I believe it had downhaul bungees to prevent excessive swing, such that I would be completely suspended in the middle of the door, and wouldn't bang into the sides when heeled.

No idea what age range this would apply to though.
 
I really don't like the idea of Mum carrying the baby in a baby carrier - at least underway. In my mind too much risk of the mum staggering and using baby as a cushion.

As others say the car seat is the way to go - we bought a cheap one and it was easy enough to lash it in various locations in the cockpit.
 
We tried the carrier idea- once. We thought it would leave Mum's hands free but actually it stopped her from doing pretty much anything.
 
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