I have a rambunctious 6 year old who was even more so when he was 4. He is never out of his life preserver when on the boat, period. Even at the dock. The boy gets around and if he fell in, I'd be spending too much time trying to figure out where he went in. He might sink to the bottom before I figure it out.
I fixed a padeye in the cockpit. He has a 6' tether that hooks onto the webbing on the back of his life preserver. Hooking on the back keeps the shackle out of reach and he has to be in one spot, right in front of me, under my watchful eye, in order to get the other end off the padeye. When underway, the rules are that he is latch on at all times, outside. The intent is not only keeping him on the boat, but in the cockpit. 6' doesn't allow him to wander out of the coamings. When he wants to go in the cabin, I simply disconnect the padeye end, wrap the tether around him like a belt and connect to the back of the life preserver, again. He doesn't come out of the companionway without getting latched again. If he does go forward, it is only under benign conditions and with an adult. By benign, I mean calm, no sails up. Easy to fish him out if everything went wrong and he fell over.
I've been thinking of getting netting simply to keep my 150% geni gathered inboard during dowsing. I get tired of having to concentrate too much on gathering it up while brining it down so it doesn't fall into the water, through the lifelines.
Lifeline netting on CD25
Moderator: Jim Walsh
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Neil Gordon
- Posts: 4367
- Joined: Feb 5th, '05, 17:25
- Location: s/v LIQUIDITY, CD28. We sail from Marina Bay on Boston Harbor. Try us on channel 9.
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We had safety netting on Simpatico from the time my son was born until he was about 6-7 years old. We had it threaded through the lifelines and stanchions. The bottom of the netting was secured by threading through line which was held to the toerail by screw eyes. My son never really tested the netting, but it provided a little peace of mind for his mom and me. I miss being able to simply drop the genny on the foredeck without being concerned about "schrimping" with the sail. I've seen racing boats with "zig-zag" netting along the foredeck which serves this purpose. BTW, our beloved Simpatico is now hauled and awaiting repair estimates after being battered by a recent "Noreaster" for several days when her mooring lines parted. She came out of it with a seriously damaged rudder, some teak gone and other relatively minor blemishes. Many sailors here were amazed by her toughness. I'll put up a post here to report on the repairs at some point in the future. Finally, I wish to thank Carter for lending an ear for my whining during that little crisis. Cheers, Brian Andrews