How Not to Fall Off

[zoidberg]

I learned many years ago about the dinghy moving away as you try to board/leave it. These days I rig lines from bow and stern of the dinghy, each using a snaplink and a loop secured with a rolling hitch. I can choose to use the snaplink or drop the loop over a cleat. I adjust the 'lead' of both lines to lead forward and aft, thus keeping the side close to the hull. I ensure the dinghy is positioned adjacent to the shrouds, for handholds.

I also use a personal tether clipped onto/near the centreline, which is long enough for me to step over the guardrails and down, until seated in the dinghy - when I can unclip the tether and leave the now-free end clipped onto the guardrail ready for my return

 

[thinwater]

I learned many years ago about the dinghy moving away as you try to board/leave it.
These days I rig lines from bow and stern, each using a snaplink and a loop secured with a rolling hitch. I adjust the 'lead' of both lines to lead forward and aft, thus keeping the side close to the hull. I ensure the dinghy is positioned adjacent to the shrouds.

On my cat I did basically the same thing.

On my trimaran, you pull the kayak of dinghy under the beams at the stern and climb up. In this way you are never putting weight on the side of the dinghy. You keep your weight centered.

This is one areas where multihulls have an advantage. Easy boarding.

 

[zoidberg]

On my cat I did basically the same thing.

On my trimaran, you pull the kayak of dinghy under the beams at the stern and climb up. In this way you are never putting weight on the side of the dinghy. You keep your weight centered.

This is one areas where multihulls have an advantage. Easy boarding.

Huh! I'm sure we can find something to argue about.....

 

[Neeves]

Huh! I'm sure we can find something to argue about.....

Here we go....

I look at some production catamarans and with a desire to maximise the accomodation the transoms and steps are slowly approaching near vertical. You either position your dinghy broadside on to the transom - so not facing into the wind or you position the dinghy, say under the bridge deck and have an excessively long step/stretch from the dinghy to the lowest step.

Neither offers much stability for the young or less agile and seem designed to encourage access using some form of fancy steps from a marina pontoon to the deck.

Not quite as bad as a sugar scoop - but getting that way.

On Josepheline we had a specially long transom platform ideal for disembarking from a dinghy, unloading from a dinghy or landing tuna. But the extra length of the lower transom platform did nothing for the accomodation - which is critical if you are producing for the charter fleets.


Jonathan

 

[Stemar]

I normally sail with just Madame on board. She knows how to start the engines and drive the boat, but I don't know how well she'd do if I take an unscheduled swim. I'm also pretty sure that she wouldn't be able to do much if I can't get back on by myself, so not going over is my big priority; if I do, it's a mayday. Same if Madame goes in - the first step is to press the red button.

With the cat, I've got lax about it, but on a monohull, I was trying to get into the habit of wearing my LJ, with safety line attached as automatically as my seat belt in the car. Does it make me look like a newbie? Maybe, but I really don't care. Better a live newbie than a dead veteran.

 

[zoidberg]

Here we go....

View attachment 178743

"There's nothing quite so useless on a racing yacht as an umbrella, a bicycle or a serving naval officer"
Captain John Illingworth RN - top racer, author and designer, and scion of the RORC.

 

[Neeves]

I normally sail with just Madame on board. She knows how to start the engines and drive the boat, but I don't know how well she'd do if I take an unscheduled swim. I'm also pretty sure that she wouldn't be able to do much if I can't get back on by myself, so not going over is my big priority; if I do, it's a mayday. Same if Madame goes in - the first step is to press the red button.

With the cat, I've got lax about it, but on a monohull, I was trying to get into the habit of wearing my LJ, with safety line attached as automatically as my seat belt in the car. Does it make me look like a newbie? Maybe, but I really don't care. Better a live newbie than a dead veteran.

I fixed 4 'U' bolts in a rectangular pattern under our cockpit roof and strung a rope through the attachments. The assembly made an excellent clothes line, at anchor, but also handholds - where prior there had been nothing. The rope also made a very convenient cockpit jackstay, inside the saloon you could lean outside the door and clip on. There were also 2 'U' bolts outside the door frames on the cockpit/saloon bulkhead. But, as it turned out, the clothes line made a very convenient location to hang the harnesses and tethers. In common with some others we had 2 tethers each, one of which had double carabiners (a sort of 'Y' arrangement) and we also hung our LJ's on the same line - basically you could not exit the saloon doors without being reminded to wear the harness, LJ and attach the tethers (to you and the boat).

Once attached to the roof 'jackstay' one could also attach to the deck jackstays that ran to both bows and across to the mast.


As an aside, historically I had been a member of RORC. Having 'retired' from racing - it became too expensive, I discontinued my membership - but continue to respect their rules.

Jonathan

 

[Refueler]

When my new sprayhood was made - they added something that I had not asked .... slotted handholds in the main frame.

 

[thinwater]

On my cat I wrapped most of the SS tubing handholds with cord, just like you wrap a wheel for grip. Much safer with wet hands and more comfortable all the time.

When my new sprayhood was made - they added something that I had not asked .... slotted handholds in the main frame.

 

[kingsebi]

When ten years ago I bought my first boat on the French canals the same week a German guy fell into the canal when he came home drunk. He drowned. The canal is only 1,5m deep. It reminded me of Geronimo the native American who is said to have passed out in a puddle drunk. It also reminded me not to get drunk on boats.

One friend fell into a lock once being careless. Fortunately the engine was already shut off. He climbed back onboard without problem.

Another friend capsized the dinghy trying to beach it in a considerable swell that of course started to break when we approached the shore. I might add that he was drunk. I got a little upset and took a walk into the nearby village. My friend stayed in the beach bar. When I came back police was waiting for me. I thought my friend had gotten into a fight. Turned out he had felt guilty about the outboard and tried to start it walking next to the dinghy in shallow water. Great idea. The propeller cut a hole in his leg, fortunately two centimeters from the next main blood vessel. The wound took one month to heal anyways and he couldn’t swim for that time. That was his punishment. This was on Corsica in July.

Since this trusty fellow has left the boat I mostly sail single handed and am always tethered in when I go on deck. In good weather too. In bad weather I’m tethered in in the cockpit as well. I have a furling genoa but reef the main at the mast. When I have to use two hands I brace myself around the mast with my legs. Before I leave the cockpit I go through every movement in my head.

When I say always that is not true. When I sail for many hours and am tired and the sea is flat I can get less methodical and sometimes walk forward without being tethered in to avoid the hassle of tangling up with all those lines and shrouds. I know that this is very stupid, especially as it happens when I’m tired, but when you’re tired your brain works differently.

 

[Sandy]

I heard that a considerable percentage of drowned sailors are found in the open fly state.
Since then on my ketch I wrap my arms around a mainmast backstay and mizzenmast fore shroud which are both heading for the same chain plate.
Also I make it a rule not to try zipping up afterwards until back in the cockpit as it is sometimes more difficult than unzipping.

I wonder if chandlers would benefit from stocking these?

Male urine collector

or you can use a wide necked plastic bottle.

 

[kingsebi]

I‘m using a wide necked plastic bottle too

 

[Mark-1]

Does ANYONE have a report to confirm this? I have never seen this in USCG statistics, and I have searched. I really, really wonder if this is just urban legend, because it sounds plausible, it's stupid, and it is funny.

Prove me wrong, anybody. I'm not picking on Guernseyman. If it is that common there will be a reference. If there is no reference, then at least the high frequency part is surely urban legend.

Anyone who actually wants to be careful about this doesn't do it. There are many other ways.

I'm pretty much sure it's a myth, at least in the sense it's not recorded by the USCG, BUT I once passed out weeing off the side and fell in. Contact with the water woke me up and I swam to the ladder and climbed out. At that point I realised 'it' was literally hanging out of my flies.

At risk of being indelicate I'd always assumed it would find its way back in during the swimming/recovery process. It didn't in my case.

So it's happened once!

It's called Micturition syncope. I still wee over the side and it hasn't happened again yet.

 

[RunAgroundHard]

Who would have thought that was a thing! Every day is a school day, one for the risk assessment. Thanks for the education.

 

[thinwater]

Don't get sh_t faced drunk on a boat. Check. Seems like a common cause that can be easily avoided.

 

[zoidberg]

Don't get sh_t faced drunk on a boat. Check. Seems like a common cause that can be easily avoided.

Not so easily avoided, I'm pleased to say!

 

[scottie]

Got seriously wet on three occasions all in dinghies one sailing other two sheer stupidity (maybe all just stupid)
Ducking a low boom with a life jacket and catching the boom between collar and back of head with resulting capsize
Tilting the outboard when second person pulls painter lovely tucked dive over the transom
Tiding up mirror on the mooring with mast up and trying to go between mast and shrouds another capsize
One thing i did learn was not to choose the stern ladder of the boat with large territorial dog

 

[AntarcticPilot]

Who would have thought that was a thing! Every day is a school day, one for the risk assessment. Thanks for the education.

It's better than "syncope of unknown origin", which I used to suffer from - fainted about once every two or three years without any obvious physical trigger. Because they don't know what causes it, all they can do is suppress it - I've been ok now for 14 years, but I have to take tablets to slow my hearts response to whatever it is.

 

[Rhylsailer99]

Taking a leak from the back of the boat whilst stearing the tiller with knees is a bad dea. I almost lost my head as the boat jibed, another lesson learnt.