precious cargo

[Guest]

Easter will spell the start of my 8 month daughters first boating season, and in addition to any advice that members of the forum would like to offer, just in case we've totally overlooked it, the principal reason for my thread is safety.

We are rigging a childs seat in the cockpit which she will be confined to whilst underway, but if there are any other suggestions I'd be interested to hear your views.

Also, given the range of life preservers etc. available any actual advice or feedback on particular types would be very gratefully received.

As to our cruising, we're based on the South Coast and initially we'll be looking at mainly coastal trips, although - if we ever get some decent weather - the plans for the season include the odd trip to Cherbourg and the Channel Islands.

And yes we've got a liferaft and inflateable tender.

Thanks in advance.

Nick.

 

[Guest]

Yes! If she has worked out the courses, make sure you check them, kids of that age make mistakes.

 

[Guest]

At eight months you can trainem and all the crew to clip her on at all times. When they can swim, they can go up forward. To check if they can swim, drop them overboard (whilst out of the harbour, at anchor, of course) and they have to get back on board, not recommended yet, but a good rule to stand by.

I leave the swimming boarding ladder down when in harbour to help small (and large) people get back on. When larger, they will fall off the boat or pontoon at some point, usually whilst all switched off, when they are running to/from sweet shop, but they only do it once.

Someone else said that as skipper their best decision was that everyone had to wear lifejackets all the time UNLESS the skipper said otherwise, rather than the other way around.

They don't need to be up top, and have a fine time in the "small world" that is downstairs. Our kids seem now seasickproof, and play downstairs even in roughish sea. The lower they are in the boat, the less the rolling about. Best boats for this are "med" boats rather than flybridge as you can helm and still know who is where.

I bought a hideously expensive pasarelle for easier rear boarding.

I'd use a floating line to dangle/tie her, and worry about it being too sort that she'll get upset, or perhaps really long so that if anything did hapen at least she's be clear of the props. Then I'd put her downstairs which is quite fun as all the boring marbles and tennis balls move about a bit whilst at sea.

 

[Guest]

I have the nice kiddy lifejacket etc, but up here in the North, I'm at least as worried about how fast my little one would lose body temp if the worst happened. Thing is, I've never seen kiddy survival suits.... anyone seen them?

 

[Guest]

The best bits of kit when the rugrats were little??A fully intergrated nav system,how about a jet rib no a £10 inflatable baby bath from mothercare pop it in the shower tray fill it up and they are happy for hours.

 

[Guest]

Re: precious cargo- solutions not invented yet

The best bits of kit don't exist, i mean no-one makes em. What I want is a little battery powered wristband thingy to attach to each child. Then a sensor on the boat that knows when the wristband is within 30 feet or so. Then a massive alarm hooter which goes off if the sensor decides the wristband is no longer within 30 feet. On the mark 2 version this could interface with the GPS and activate the MOB, but I'll settle for the L model to start with. Then kids and anyone else can wander round a flybridge boat to their hearts' content and we'll know if they fall in.

Anyone with a Maplin catalogue and solder iron feel free to knock one up.

Hmmmm...actually can think of several other uses for this bit of kit....

 

[Guest]

May I suggest that you appoint a duty baby safety person as an additional watch keeper and then run the boat as normal. I have done this with my own young daughter at sea, often being the duty person. By keeping the two tasks separate one avoids the risk of letting conflicting priorties hazard the quality of care.

 

[Guest]

Matt,

Thanks for your reply, we've got a Targa 37 so hopefully thats a step in the right direction, for the time being. Your suggestion of leaving the ladder down is well noted, I had a sober crew member manage to fall between the pontoon and the transom last season - in the middle of a glorious afternoon!

She's been having swimming lessons from 6 months but she won't be going up front for quite a while yet! the harness is something I'd considered, but do you harness her to another person or to a fixed point on the boat?

Nick

 

[Guest]

That'll be the mother then!

Joking aside, thanks for the suggestion, makes good sense.

Nick

 

[Guest]

No question, surely, a harness should be to the boat. But I went through this having them up in the cockpit, isn't this boat great, look, we're on the sea! I found that to them it's dead boring, and rather like being put in a chair outside with a cold 25-knot wind. You bought the boat, not them. They've never ever hurt themselves down below (we're in a Targa too) just keep pans etcd stowed, loose tables on their side etc and there are very few sharp edges. I'm afraid their favourite game is 6x3 scalextric using the 12 volts set up on a bed.

My oldest did go over the side aged six. A salutory tale, in plymouth harbour. Everyone practises the MOB drill in the middle of the sea, but they fall out of powerboats when they need to move about, which means either at the start of the trip, or at the end. the insticnt is to try and drive around, windward side, williamson turn and all that. But it's all irrelevant when the tide is taking them into an area of shallow water where you can't get to them. Stop the boat, engines neutral, tie yourself (or best swimmer) on with very long floating line, tell others to dump anchor and swim ladder and you can be out and after small person very quickly. This is a good drill for inshore powerboating: most man overboard is for offshore.

Incidentally, test the clothing as some fleeces can be very heavy when wet.

 

[Guest]

Nick, our boy started boating at the tender age of 6 weeks. He was'nt much of a problem at that stage because he nodded off the second the engines were started. We were more concerned when he started to crawl and then walk. At the time we had an aft cabin boat and I became concerned about him leaning over the guardrails on the aft deck. I raised the height of the guardrails with additional tubing bolted to the existing guardrails, filled in the gaps with netting bought from a chandler and blocked the path to the side decks with specially fabricated gates effectively making the aft deck into a giant playpen. Over the top, probably, but we relaxed a lot more. When under way, initially we put him to sleep in a crib wedged onto the saloon seating but when he was older we strapped him into a child car seat which I fixed to the lower helm seat with some webbing but make sure he/her cant reach any of the controls for obvious reasons. Before he was old enough to sleep in his own cabin, I converted the top of a dresser unit in our cabin into a little bed with some foam and a length of wooden railing but be careful the little bugger cant put his/her head thru' it. I also used some netting on the bannisters next to the steps from the aft deck down to the saloon because these were particularly steep

I can truthfully say our son has never been seasick and I put this down to the fact that he was boating literally before he was born!

It goes without saying that children should wear lifejackets; when is up to you but we made it a rule always on the flybridge,pontoon and in the dinghy but he was allowed to remove it when on the aft deck under supervision and inside. We bought a Crewsaver Babysaver when he was small and then upgraded to a Crewsaver Toddler model. These have a collar to keep their heads above water but they are very bulky and hot to wear so be prepared for whining. Once he was big enough and could swim, I got him a gas inflatable life jacket which, of course, is much more comfortable.

One last point. However much you think it's bad parenting, there comes a time when all concerned want some peace so get a TV/video and, if possible a generator or invertor to power it.