Overboard

[Marianna Max]

Hard to button and zip up one handed so it stands to reason I guess.

One hand for you, one for the err .... boat?

[Paul Clayton]

The rope ladders with the plastic spacers and rungs can be unpleasantly difficult to use. They flip back under the boat and you are left with a dead lift on your arms and nothing much to grab onto. I could tell you a horrifying little story but it is still too close to think about. Just be sure, before you leave the dock, that you can get back on the boat if you have to...

pmc

[Will Wheatley]

Many of us have so become so timid, so aware of our mortality, that we are busy destroying the sense of adventure and danger that attracted us to sailing in the first place. Sailing can't be made completely safe, any more than rock climbing can, or even driving a car for that matter.

Thank you John for giving me courage. I wrote a long response to this the other day then did not post it because I realized that I had to admit that I don't even own a tether and have never run a jack line or anyhting else along these lines. The few times I felt in iminent danger of going overboard I hit the deck and grip like a monkey.
If I had been hooked up to the topping lift or a halyard I definatley would have gone into the drink and then slammed against the side of the boat when she righted. Maybe it is the blessings of being under 40 and in pretty good shape but I have yet to feel like I should have been tied in even in the worst stuff I have seen on The Bay. I will grant that I don't venture into open ocean (It would take half a week just to get there). I also spent time and money making Suzi Q fully operable from the cockpit. This is the best piece of mind I have given myself in the effort to not fall overboard.

I cannot envision a scenario where Suzi Q just sails away from me when I fall in. All of my near events have been the result of a knockdown or a huge impolite power boat. I seriouly doubt that in those situations the boat would right itself catch the wind just right and carry on. In the knockdowns she usually comes up in irons and lord knows what happens when a huge wake hits you but I do not recall ever facing the same direction when things calmed down.

I suppose an auto pilot would complicate this some since I only tie the sails into position now and a good wind shift will knock it all out of whack. If I ever get an auto pilot I will probably try to figure out a deadman switch or make it go in a circle if I fall over.
Some of the newer auto pilots have remote operation. I suppose if the remote were waterproof and the range was decent you could just sail your boat right back to yourself with the remote. In fact this sounds like the way to go. Short of Marine boy's jet propultion boots and his Aqua Gum I think a remote would be the way to go.

Anyone know about the range and waterproofness of Autopilot remotes?

Happy Sailoring~~~~/)~~~~

[RMeigel]

I don't know of any remote autopilot control that is wireless. Are they out there?

I have a remote controller for my tiller pilot so that I can steer from the bow but it is hardwired and plugs in.

Robin

[Cathy Monaghan]

.....His wife did not know how to stop the boat so he drowned. They sailed along in that configuration for about an hour. ......Matt

This is exactly what every non-sailor spouse fears and exactly why every spouse, whether they are sailors or not, needs to know, if nothing else, how to stop the boat. The next time you take them out on the water show them what happens when you let go of the wheel and release all of the sheets. Yeah, the boat will turn and the sails will flog noisily, but the boat will stop. Do this a few times after tossing a cushion overboard and note how far from the cushion you are when then boat finally stops. Could you swim that far to get back to the boat, even if hurt? Maybe, maybe not. But if you're attached to the boat, you'll be right there along side where you can be brought aboard.

Teach them how to start the engine and how to drive the boat using the engine. After letting the sheets fly, they could then start the engine and drive up to an MOB.

Also show them how to stop the boat by "heaving to". All they need to do is tack and this maneuver doesn't require any handling of sheets or the engine.

Your spouse should know how to deploy the ladder too. If you have the strength to climb the ladder, then do it. But it's important that the non-sailing spouse knows how to setup and use the LifeSling .

It would be even better if they learn a little about sailing if only to be able to sail back to an MOB. Showing them the "Quick Stop" method would probably be the easiest.

There's a lot less worrying when everybody knows what to do. But if nothing else, they should at least know how to stop the boat.

[Marianna Max]

Exactly why I said what I did and why I get nervous when he's out of the cockpit. I'm halfway there but I'd like it to be so ingrained that I don't have to think very much to do it all right.

[winthrop fisher]

Hi.

i singlehand allot and i always tether to the boat and always try a line to the tiller and the main sheet to release the sails,
when any thing gos wrong.
thats a must for ever one.
the tether is 10 feet and the other two lines about 15 feet.
the ladder has one as well so you can get in the boat from the stern.
all boats should do that, it does not matter the size.
this did come up on the old board, but thats been a long time.
winthrop

Perhaps this has been discussed on the forum, but my quick search didn't uncover anything.
I was wondering what people who singlehand their boats do about providing a means to get back into the boat should they go over the side.
I realize that if you do go over, the chances that you are even in the proximity of your boat when you come back to the surface are slim. In the event that you are, (perhaps you were moving slowly, or at anchor, or the boat rounded into the wind when you let the tiller go), how would the well-prepared sailor go about getting back into their vessel? A ladder or line accessible from the water perhaps? Just curious to hear if others have thought about this and implemented a solution. With enough adrenaline pumping, I might be able to haul myself over the rail of my CD25, but that would not be an option on a bigger boat or one with more freeboard.

awatson

[Neil Gordon]

Crew overboard drills should be a must, especially early in each new season. COB when I was in the Navy was infrequent, yet we practiced constantly. Also, if the water ever warms up, you can practice COB recovery from water to boat while at anchor or at a mooring.

Crew should know how to use the mechanical advantage of the boat in recovering someone from the water. Halyards and winches are lots easier than lifting dead weight up and over the toe rail. Don't forget the boom vang, either.

[Lee Kaufman]

I am new and this is one of my main concerns. I will be sailing single handed a lot. It seems to me that one of the main concerns would be some way to stop the boat. I don't think there is any way of climbing back aboard a boat moving at even 2 or 3 knots. There needs to be some way to kill the motor or cause the boat to round up if under sail. Would there be some way to attach a trailing line that would pull the kill switch and bring the rudder over hard? Would this stop the boat?

[Neil Gordon]

I am new and this is one of my main concerns. I will be sailing single handed a lot. It seems to me that one of the main concerns would be some way to stop the boat. I don't think there is any way of climbing back aboard a boat moving at even 2 or 3 knots. There needs to be some way to kill the motor or cause the boat to round up if under sail. Would there be some way to attach a trailing line that would pull the kill switch and bring the rudder over hard? Would this stop the boat?

Especially when alone, prevention is what will keep you alive. If you go into the water, especially without a PFD, assume that you'll die. I sail alone, but I don't leave the cockpit without PFD and preferably harness and jackline. It's very difficult to get yourself back on the boat, even if it's dead in the water in flat calm conditions. (Try it sometimes.)