Are your topsides climbable?

dancrane said:
How about some sort of pyrotechnic-style device, compact enough to be part of a lifejacket (and attached to it)...not much bulkier than a flare...which fires fifty meters of very light, very strong cable and has some sort of snap-shackle end which'll lock onto shrouds, guardrails, any piece of rope it passes, as the yacht drifts?

A bit 007, perhaps? Or, subject to firearms restrictions? :rolleyes:
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Mini flares area already available, I have them in my work lifejacket, as some of the boats I photograph from (like tenders!:rolleyes:) don't have full safety kit.

But the cable idea is just crazy IMO, a one shot deal from the water, in a sea, then you still have to get back to the boat, why not have a shorter length of something softer like...er...webbing instead, and have that attached to the boat when you move around.....Sound familiar???:rolleyes:
 
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Agreed, the rocket-cable was only touted as a mad idea. Although, it might beat disappearing without trace whilst singlehanding offshore.

The lifeline can't need much selling, it's obvious good sense, and any amount preferable to any floatation device.

Just the same, I began the thread wondering how impregnable the average yacht's topsides are, to the average swimmer. Great and experienced yachtsmen have tumbled o/b doing no more or less than most of us would regard as reasonable and responsible.

Maybe (and I know I'm on dangerous ground here) obssessive clipping-on is like seatbelt-wearing in 2011, as opposed to thirty or more years ago when neither the law nor popular preference required the practise...

...in the event of genuinely unforeseeable circumstances, it's as well to have set up one's restraint. Regardless of experience, plenty of people are dead because they hadn't.

The case of the chap who was washed o/b along with the steering pedestal he was attached to, is particularly scary. Are there rules requiring the inclusion of secure, tested points on deck, for harnesses or for wires for clipping on to? I never heard of any, but such provision must be equivalent to 3-point seatbelts in cars - there's no obligation to fit them in cars that were built without them, but nowadays a new car has to have them.

I hate petty bureaucracy, but the obligatory inclusion of harness points on the decks of new yachts, would at least encourage the habit of clipping on, by lessening the effort of doing so. No?
 
Graham_Wright said:
We are on our second prototype and hope to launch at SBS. Slick and hopefully reasonably priced.
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I'll look forward to seeing it as there is nothing else on the market, hope it fits on a small transom.

A few more things i'd like to point out about my mishap.
I was fully clothed including fleece, jacket and boots, this made it very difficult for 3 people to pull me out let alone pull myself out alone.
SWMBO tried tying rope to stanchions and leaving enough in the water for a foothold. Only managed to get my foot on it once as i couldn't see it below water and when i put my weight on it my feet scooted under the hull. I ended up standing on the prop but it was too low to gain any height or advantage.
The lifejacket was doing its best to keep me horizontal and i wanted to be vertical to aid climbing out. Also couldn't see the rope underwater due to the Mae West affect, i couldn't see what my feet were doing.
All this in a creek in calm conditions, i don't even want to think about trying to do it at sea, i should imagine it would be nigh on impossible.
The above reasons have affected my decision to look for something rigid that extends well below the waterline and can be deployed instantly.
 
Doineann said:
I seem to recall seeing film of Robin Knox-Johnson on Suhali showing how, for a bath on the first non stop circumnavigation, he would dive over the front and swim alongside the boat as she gradually overtook him before grabbing a rope he left hanging over the stern and hauling himself back on.

Of course at the time he was a strong fit young man (which, alas, I suspect few of us are) and Suhali had a low freeboard I think, but I remember it struck me it was pretty risky, but I suppose in the light of all he did it seemed quite tame
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A friend of mine, a big chap with lots of in the water experience (he is a diver) has tried the idea of catching a line "for real" on charters in the Mediterranean. He reckons it is do-able, but although he is middle-aged, he is a big, strong chap!
 
AntarcticPilot said:
A friend of mine, a big chap with lots of in the water experience (he is a diver) has tried the idea of catching a line "for real" on charters in the Mediterranean. He reckons it is do-able, but although he is middle-aged, he is a big, strong chap!
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I've done lots of towing on ropes behind boats - we used to do it on Med holidays for something to do on windless mornings. Tie a fender to the end of a long warp, throw it overboard, then jump over the stern, catch onto the rope as it comes past, and slide down to near the end. Oh, and make sure the cord in your swimming trunks is done up tight first :D

From this, we learn that grabbing, holding, and even pulling yourself up a trailing rope is possible, but only at surprisingly slow speeds. We found a maximum speed for the helmsman to stick to - it's a long time ago so I'm struggling to remember, but 2 knots rings a bell. Also that a diving mask (or goggles would work) is pretty much essential, to keep your own bow wave out of your eyes. And that it's hard work to hang on for a long period - we had the fender to brace feet against, or straddle, to take the load off the arms.

Also, of course, this was all done deliberately, in warm water, in swimming trunks (assuming you tied the cord :D) - not after falling overboard in the Channel in spring.

A trailing rope works ok for staying in touch with a boat drifting in a calm when going for a swim (though I'd still feel uneasy without someone staying on board) but not much good for one sailing at any speed.

Pete
 
Seen that film and it REALLY ANNOYED me... we have quite high top sides and inspite of that we found it easy 2 climb using a bit of brain...
 
wazza said:
Seen that film and it REALLY ANNOYED me... we have quite high top sides and inspite of that we found it easy 2 climb using a bit of brain...
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Wazza,

" a bit of brain " is possibly all you have to deal with; read the comments on here by experienced people.

Still, there's always a guest spot on the 'Darwin Awards' waiting... :)
 
Wazza, pray tell, what life-saving brainwave did a would-be deadly dunking teach you? Or, what did your thoughts present, as a probably-reasonable response to the dilemma of being next to tall topsides without a ladder?

Don't keep it to yourself, it could be life and death, for a reader!

PS, I'll be out of range to receive/respond for the next two weeks. I'll miss you all, too. :D:D:D
 
wazza said:
Seen that film and it REALLY ANNOYED me... we have quite high top sides and inspite of that we found it easy 2 climb using a bit of brain...
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I suppose it might be possible to fashion a ladder from a bit of whale brain, but you were exceptionally lucky to find a bit.
 
Last season, while getting off my yacht on it's mooring into my Avon, over the transom, things went wrong. A swell pushed the Avon away from the yacht while I had my feet in it but also while I was still holding the yacht. I tried to land in the Avon but my knees landed on the side tube. The Avon flipped, I ended up in the Gareloch. The dinghy paddles, bag full of new oilskins and myself all ended up swimming. The tide took the paddles and everything from the dinghy away. I am so glad I was not wearing a lifejacket, it would have got in the way and probably have prevented me getting back onboard. I was able to hinge the boarding ladder down and then I could just, only just!, get my foot onto the bottom rung and climb back on board. The ladder was bent but still held my 21 stone weight.
The story doesn't end there, as well as losing the dinghy paddles, the week old outboard was drowned and wouldn't start. After trying to get the yacht alongside I reminded myself that there isn't enough water to go alongside at low tide. Thank the wee man for a nice American gentleman on another yacht, the only other person around. They helped me get ashore before I froze.
That was too close for me, I no longer use the transom for boarding, I have a couple of lines with snap shackles on the side of the Avon. I go alongside the yacht, secure the painter then use these shorter lines to hold the dinghy close to the side of the yacht so I can transfer without the dinghy moving too far. So far this has worked reasonably well, the only problem I have is releasing the lines from the yacht, there needs to be enough slack so I can move the dinghy fore and aft to reach and release the lines. I really wish I could afford a marina berth!
 
I have an emergency release line for the stern ladder as well as a rope ladder with release line attached midships in case the conditions are rough and there is too much movement at the stern to board safely.

Both are easily reachable and releasable from the water.
 
Cappen Boidseye, a similar experience to my own although i didn't have a stern ladder. I tried to use one on an adjacent yacht but found it didn't drop deep enought to get my foot on it, You and i seem to be of a similar build (I'm 6' 3" but similar weight) I'd be interested to know what length your stern ladder is and if you have a transom hung rudder or not? I only have room for a narrow ladder but they only make those in 2+2 rungs from what i have found!

rhumbunctious, Do you not find that the rope ladder scoots under the hull as soon as you put any weight on it, which means you are doing an inverse climb with all the weight hanging off your arms? Hard enough when in swimming shorts but impossible when fully clothed, waterlogged, cold and tired. An emergency release line is a good idea, in fact i don't understand why anyone would not fit one of these but looking around i don't see many fitted.
 
I have a skeg rudder, my transom sticks out somewhat at the bottom (I know there is a technical name but don't know what it is!). Ah, idea; google for yacht for sale, lochgilphead. The advert is still there (A Verl 27), with plenty of photos of the boat, including shots of the transom and boarding ladder. The ladder has a couple of feet to keep it off the transom, these feet are wrecked thanks to 21 stone of 6 foot 3 trying to get a foot onto the ladder. The ladder folds and a couple of plastic hooks keep it up. They are soft enough so that you can pull the ladder out of them and down. The bottom step must only be a foot or so into the water so I had to get a foot onto it then pull myself bodily up using the stern of the boat and guardrails, I think, it was a struggle and I am not sure quite how I managed it.
The mooring was 1/3 mile out so swimming would have been a problem with full gear on.With hindsight, maybe I would have found it easier to climb onto the upside down Avon and then climbed back on board. I am glad to say that once I broke surface, there was no panic or confusion, just grabbed hold of something to stop the tide taking me, probably the dinghy painter, then figured out what to do next.
 
Cappen Boidseye said:
.With hindsight, maybe I would have found it easier to climb onto the upside down Avon and then climbed back on board. I am glad to say that once I broke surface, there was no panic or confusion, just grabbed hold of something to stop the tide taking me, probably the dinghy painter, then figured out what to do next.
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In hindsight i had the same idea too, although my inflatable hadn't turned turtle and was still right way up. I do think it may have tipped again if i had attempted to reboard it and it was still above my headhieght whilst i was bobbing around next to it so it would still have been a struggle in heavy wet clothes. I didn't panic either, i remember thinking when i shot to the surface, at least i still have my glasses on and i remarked to my horrified/terrified partner "at least we know these lifejackets work"
 
After reading this thread I fitted a quick release system accessible from the water to my boarding ladder yesterday :) Good thread.
 
SimbaDog said:
After reading this thread I fitted a quick release system accessible from the water to my boarding ladder yesterday :) Good thread.
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ok so the thread has just made me worry more. It is just not possible to deploy my ladder from the water as the bit of deck above it has to be lifted and held whilst the ladder is hinged over.

I have seen on some bavarias a rope ladder that fits in a little tube that is mounted just above the water line for emergency use.

where can i buy one?
 
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