Weighing yourself on a boat

[webcraft]

Am on a diet and doing ok, but am going back to live on the boat for two or three months.

Do scales work on a boat at anchor or alongside? I would like to track my progress.

 

[johnalison]

My wife swears that scales don't work on carpet. My A-level physics syllabus didn't cover the topic, so I haven't a clue. I think the best option would be some oversize postal weighing scales based on a spring suspended from the cabin head. This would be auto-gimballing.

 

[Biggles Wader]

I find my diet works far better if I weigh myself in the bath. You could try to apply a similar logic? when living aboard. You will still be fat though.

 

[Minerva]

I know I took a set of electronic kitchen scales on a cruise once; batteries failed within a fortnight as it never turned off - the rocking of the boat never allowed them
To go into stasis so they remained perpetually measuring nothing.

Bathroom scales may be less sensitive

 

[mjcoon]

My wife swears that scales don't work on carpet. My A-level physics syllabus didn't cover the topic, so I haven't a clue. I think the best option would be some oversize postal weighing scales based on a spring suspended from the cabin head. This would be auto-gimballing.

Similarly a hand-held luggage scale would work if rated for the person's weight. Hook it somewhere and hang from its handle. I expect most (like mine) will continue to show the reading while you re-invert it...

 

[Fr J Hackett]

All this talk of spring balances paints a wonderfully amusing picture of Webby hanging and dangling by the scruff of his neck from the hook of a large spring balance.

To answer Nicks question I see no great reason why they shouldn't work other than they would probably be erratic and fluctuate should the boat be moving or bobbing up and down but secured alongside on a calm day it should be OK.

 

[Buck Turgidson]

Your boat will have vertical accelerations due to waves so no type of spring or pressure sensor scale will work.

 

[mjcoon]

Your boat will have vertical accelerations due to waves so no type of spring or pressure sensor scale will work.

You would just have to be good at averaging!

 

[capnsensible]

We had normal landlubber scales on our yacht. Used in harbour, what is the problem? Not a webby wind up surely.....

 

[Bouba]

I have tried this when I was on a diet…I used the scales on my friends bigger boat and they worked fine…on my smaller boat they never seemed to return a sensible result

 

[RunAgroundHard]

No they don’t work if at sea or rolling at an anchorage based on experience. As your mass moves, the measurement fluctuates, not even consistently, so can’t average. Of course if the boat is stable, not rocking or rolling, they will work as expected.

Best plan is to eat as you want, ir if you really need to lose weight, just cut out the shite and exercise, fast twice a week. In my humble opinion. It worked for me.

You’re going to die anyway, the time is mostly set by your genetics. It’s too late at your age to make a difference, so enjoy life and fek the calorie counting.

 

[wonkywinch]

Paint some Plimsoll lines on your hull, then just step on and off whilst someone gives you the readings.

 

[jbweston]

Why not take the scales onto the boat, then when you want to weigh yourself, go ashore with them and do it on the quay, pub terrace or wherever.

You might even be able to make some dosh (for yourself or charity) by doing a guess-my-weight competition with passers-by or pub patrons.

 

[Stemar]

doing a guess-my-weight competition with passers-by or pub patrons.

Just so long as you can resist the temptation to slap the punters when they get too near the truth

 

[LittleSister]

Suspend yourself by a halyard from the masthead, and armed with a measurement of the free length of the halyard, you should be able to calculate your weight from the time period of your swinging to and fro.

Alternatively, take a cloth tape measure with you. Your waist measurement should provide a suitable proxy indicator of whether you are gaining or losing weight.

 

[johnalison]

Suspend yourself by a halyard from the masthead, and armed with a measurement of the free length of the halyard, you should be able to calculate your weight from the time period of your swinging to and fro.

Alternatively, take a cloth tape measure with you. Your waist measurement should provide a suitable proxy indicator of whether you are gaining or losing weight.

I'm not sure that that is physically true. My friend Galileo told me that it was the length that mattered. My thought was to put a strain gauge on the halyard and work from there.

One tape measure may not be sufficient, so when linking two tapes you need to make sure that the marks are aligned with each other.

 

[LittleSister]

I'm not sure that that is physically true. My friend Galileo told me that it was the length that mattered.

Oops!

Be that as it may be, rigging it, hoisting himself up and swinging about a bit should all contribute to his aim of losing weight, and add to the gaiety of nations to boot.

 

[Clancy Moped]

For some loose change go to a pharmacy.

 

[johnalison]

Oops!

Be that as it may be, rigging it, hoisting himself up and swinging about a bit should all contribute to his aim of losing weight, and add to the gaiety of nations to boot.

I always wanted to play boat bar-skittles. Put one child standing outside the rail to port. Stick the smaller child in a harness on the spinnaker halyard and then try to propel them from starboard round the bow to knock the other child off. Sadly, I was never allowed to.

 

[KevinV]

Alternatively, take a cloth tape measure with you. Your waist measurement should provide a suitable proxy indicator of whether you are gaining or losing weight.

Boring but sensible - tummy fat is the bad bit anyway so we're told. I found in just three weeks of sailing I lost tummy fat but stayed the same weight due to building a bit of muscle on my twig-like limbs.

On the other hand, you could lie in the cockpit, fill it with water, get out, then measure how much you displaced.

Alternatively, just concentrate on pre-dinner drinks and subsequently forget all about food