Sailing dilemma; Baby on board

[cameronke]

It is now less than three weeks till we launch our boats for the summer season.

Mrs cameronke has lots of accountancy exams to study for so I will have the pleasure of baby Cameronke who is 7 months old. I have an E-Boat that is well set up for single handed sailing.

There is an opportunity for some real quality sailing here if I can take Baby Cameronke along.

Does anyone have any thoughts or comments on taking a young baby sailing, probably single handed? I would only take her on pretty undemanding days and would really value any recommendations on how to secure her etc.

Thanks in anticipation

Cameron

 

[powerskipper]

use your car seat and if you can one of the rain canopies as they don't all like wind in there faces, you will need to secure it some where where they can see you. plan it so you have everything at hand and remember sun cream.

 

[johnalison]

Our 15-month lad needed 4 times the maximum dose of welldorm to get him to sleep on the Broads many (40) years ago, little blighter. I wish you lots of luck. It's a fine bonding experience.
I won't say how we abused him with the worm-medicine.

One thing; it'll be much easier than next year. /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

 

[Emjaytoo]

You'll be needing one of these then?

/forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

 

[GeorgeP]

I'd endorse Powerskipper's comments.

 

[Hermit]

A car seat strapped down over the companion way hatch under the sprayhood worked very well for us. Only problem is having to limbo to go below!

 

[Ecosse120]

I take my hat off to you, I single hand my e-boat but the thought of a baby on board as well !! Having said that my 6 year old moves around a lot so maybe you will be better off

 

[bedouin]

I think it depends a lot on the personality of your baby. If he is the sort that will sit happily and gurgle (or sleep) for hours while you look after the boat then you'll be fine. If he's the sort who is always demanding attention then forget it.

If you are singlehanding there will be periods of time when your concentration has to be on the boat for some time.

 

[MoodySabre]

Get another car seat and bolt it on to a plank of wood that will fit in the washboard slots. Plus a rope for added safety.

Good luck to you all!

 

[Roberto]

a pair of earplugs


sometimes you will have to take exclusive care of the boat (ex mooring, hoisting sails, etc) and -at that very moment of course- the baby will begin to cry louder and louder /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif

 

[Oliveoyl]

Get an au pair (preferably with sailing experience!)
Maybe a niche market here - sailing nannies, saiiling grannies?

 

[Sybarite]

We took our daughter, aged one, to Scilly a few years ago. She fell once near the start of the trip and never again. At a quite boisterous moment - broad reaching in F5/6 I looked below and she was hanging onto a shelf with her feet on the settee backrest - happy as Larry.

At seven months I would have put her in the forecabin where, once the v-berth in-fill is in place, there is nowhere for her to fall to.

John

 

[Searush]

Have feeds pre-prepared, you are not just planning for tide-gates now, you will have to fit around feeding/ changing times too. Be ready & prepared to anchor around feeding times. Car seat is good, but baby needs time (quite a bit of it) to move around unfettered. This is when forecastle berth with infill comes into its own.

Probably the best bet is to feed/change/romp then put in car seat for a couple of hours sail. Hopefully, junior will then sleep. Stop early to feed self, then repeat. Only problem has already been mentioned: both boats & babies require 100% attention from time to time. All you have to do is to prevent these from co-inciding! If you can!!

 

[PembrokeshirePromise]

We found a bike seat worked better than the car seat - for a 1 year old - provided more support and was plastic so could be wiped dry.

Agree with sticking them under the sprayhood so that they can watch you.

Short passages of an hour or two were fine - longer ones and they get a bit bored - unless they can be timed for sleepy time. Navigating, dodging tankers, trimming sails and reading stories just adds to your multitasking abilities.

Oh - and if I ever have to sing one more verse of the wheels on the bus ....

Have fun !

 

[Steve_R]

I can't add to the advice personally, but I was once most impressed with a Belgian sailing family. They raced a Beneteau 40.7 in a 70 boat fleet at Ramsgate week.
Dad did most of the race single handed with the baby in a papoose affair across his chest. Mrs Belgian was around the boat amusing a toddler, except during the kite drops when she would shin along the spinnaker pole to trip the kite.

Wide mark roundings and avoidance of close quarters helped them keep it cool, it is not that I recommend it, but it was amazing to see.

 

[cameronke]

Thank you all very much for some superb suggestions !!!

I particularly like the idea of the car seat fixed to the dummy washboard or even if I can do something with a bicycle seat. And Julies reminder of sun cream is so obvious now she has said it. The E-Boat is (in my opinion) like a big dinghy so spray hoods aren't really an option.

Rachel is a very happy and content child and as long as she can see me and smile at me I am sure she will be happy. My sailing waters are relatively sheltered and very quiet so dueling with tankers etc are seldom a problem. The hope is to get maybe 2-3 hours that will give mum some peace to study and me some quality time with the tiddler so hopefully not too many nappy changes and I can soon pull over for a feed but thank you again for the reminder, would have been so easy to overlook.

I have thought long and hard about introducing Rachel to sailing. My hope is that she will catch my enthusiasm rather than be dragged kicking and screaming and I had thought of the inverse logic method off not allowing her to come in the hope that it will make her all the more determined /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif

Have a great summer !

Cameron

 

[laserman2]

We left our boat for two seasons on the hard to raise our lad. We are very experienced yachties and it really was a no brianer. Others will disagree, however, when it came down to it, we just did not have the energy to go sailing.

Happily we are venturing on the water this year with a twenty four month old but only for short hops.

 

[graham]

[ QUOTE ]
Others will disagree,

[/ QUOTE ]

Its a very personal decision,I dont think anyone else can agree or disagree.

I singlehanded with our toddlers (one at a time) and we sailed as a family .We kept to short sails,no more than 3 or 4 hours,after that the kids got bored and tetchy. i think the car seat attatched to a washboard will make it difficult to go below,you could fix some U bolts in the forward corners of the cockpit to lash the seat to.

 

[Aja]

Looking forward to seeing an E-Boat flying past with new crew trimming the genoa!

Donald

 

[Ruffles]

[ QUOTE ]
A car seat strapped down over the companion way hatch under the sprayhood worked very well for us. Only problem is having to limbo to go below!

[/ QUOTE ]

We did same. Saves having to tack a sunshade.