Film "Adrift".

[Graham_Wright]

watch synchronised swimmers, that's exactly what they do. It can be done, and controlled accurately

Best add synchronised swimming to the RYA curriculum then! The difference is that they must swim down. A normal body (i.e. around 99%) will be buoyant with full lungs - a fact taught in BSAC as a survival technique. The weight of clothes and boots is presumably not a factor with voluntary swimmers.

However, that doesn't alter the credibility of the proposed solution. One person could climb onto a group hugging. They might sink but their combined buoyancy might be sufficient to at least get a hand on deck.

He who sails without a boarding ladder deware.

 

[prv]

Fair point but I stick to my original statement. Even if you are swimming voluntarily and try to climb an 18" freeboard you will find it very difficult to do unless you are blessed with the physical attributes I mentioned above.

Try it some day Pete and report back to us truthfully.

I try it regularly (though I don't try very hard, as I'm just going for a swim). I can generally grab the toerail and go no further. It should be possible for a very fit person to get a leg up as well, as it's logically equivalent to a "rope regain" which I could do when I was 18, but I certainly can't now.

All I was pointing out in my post was that your "cold, waterlogged clothing" didn't apply.

Pete

 

[nimbusgb]

Bloke in work was talking about the film, I didn't see it.
We think the solution, having a knife, is to make a hole in the boat and wait for it to sink to a level you can get in easily....

Someone would have to block the outlet from the automatic bilge pump though.

 

[davidpbo]

The boarding platform on my boat is 340cm above the water. I can't get on it from the water when swimming. When you sink and pull/push up onto the side of a pool your legs don't slip under (the boat).

I am looking at 3 step under platform bathing ladder which should get the lower step 600mm below the surface.

 

[ninky]

Fit a small folding boarding step? http://www.perko.com/print/category/deck_hardware/product/630/