Cockpit Locker "N plus 1"

[Ron Turner]

Do you know how many CDer's have been locked in their lockers? If you do add one more
I ALWAYS have a piece of small stuff tied to the shroud to secure the locker lid, BUT not today
I managed to break a thrubolt on the latch with the screwdriver I took below. .
It was over 90 degrees in the shade and who knows how hot in there.

[Neil Gordon]

I'm always afraid I'll lock myself in on my last visit to the boat in the fall. It's a long winter in New England.

[rtbates]

It's one of my 'nightmares'!
I have visions of spending days locked in because there is usually so few folks around our docks.
Glad you got out relativity quickly on your own. Maybe a good idea if I kept an escape tool in the locker.

Randy 25D Seraph #161

[Bruce Barber]

Put the lock through the eye before you enter, then the lid won't latch (but test it first!)

[Neil Gordon]

And bring the handheld and/or cellphone in with you.

[Zeida Cecilia-Mendez]

IT HAPPENED TO ME TOO!
As always, when working on my engine, I keep the locker cover open with a bungee cord tied to the bimini frame, EXCEPT THAT ONE TIME! Don't know what I was thinking, but down there I was, with no tools at that moment, with the engine cover on, so I could not even try to escape to the inside of the boat. It is VERY DARK in there. After the realization that I could not open the cover, I yelled for a while, knowing darn well there was no one around.

After the initial moment of panic, I tried visualizing what had happened. The small latch fell in place (I did not even have the padlock through the ring) ... so I thought, "OK, with one hand constantly pushing up against the cover, I use the other hand to bang against the area where the latch is... " At the fourth thump, the latch jumped out of place, and since my other hand was pushing the cover up, it opened! That first breath of fresh air never felt so good. Then I cursed myself in the worst way.

So don't worry: if it ever happens to anyone again, push the cover up with one hand, and with the other bang against the latch. It will jump out of place and the cover will open.

FWIW... even with the small padlock through the ring, the latch still catches on and you may get trapped, but with the above method, you can open it up every time.

[Neil Gordon]

"OK, with one hand constantly pushing up against the cover, I use the other hand to bang against the area where the latch is... "

I'm just thinking that if anyone wants to try this out to prove that it works, have a trusted crew member standing by just in case.

[John Vigor]

Zeida, I salute your great presence of mind. I know the feeling of panic when you get stuck in a dark cockpit locker. How clever of you to figure out a way to get yourself out. I, for one, will never forget the Zeida escape method.

John Vigor
CD27 "Sangoma"
Bellingham, WA

[SeaBelle]

My boat was in a friend's yard about 50 yards from the house and I was reinstalling the batteries in the starboard locker when the hatch closed and locked. Not having Zelda's brain I remembered my friends daughter was on the other side of the house working on her tan so I started banging on the hull to get attention. Then I realized that even if she heard it it would just be interpreted as 'working on his boat noise'. I took a deep breath and resigned myself to a long wait until someone missed me. Surprisingly after about 10 minutes she was at the base of the ladder calling to me. It seems the family beagle bothered her until she followed it to the boat.

Just like an episode of Lassie!

I too will always remember Zelda's solution but since that day I've never forgotten to secure the hatch.

[SeaBelle]

I wrote Zelda rather than Zeida.

[SeaBelle]

Those of a certain age may remember the cowbow sage Will Rogers who said:
'There are three kinds of men: The ones that learn by reading. The few who learn by observation. The rest of them have to pee on the electric fence and find out for themselves.'

[Oswego John]

Hi Seabelle,

I sure do remember Will Rogers. It's hard to forget a guy like him. I remembering seeing him in the touring World Champion Rodeo. He was an expert lasso dancer. (a lost art).

He always seemed to have a big smile and was noted for pithy sayings. During the Great Depression, he kept America happy even though there wasn't much to laugh about.

The saying that I remember the most is "I never met a person that I didn't like."

So what does this have to do with Cape Dories? I'll be dipped if I know. What the hey.

O J

[Neil Gordon]

Those of a certain age may remember the cowbow sage Will Rogers ...

Will Rogers died in 1935. You can calculate the age you'd have to be, more or less, to remember him. There's lots of film clip and yes, he certainly was a sage.

Perhaps it was Rodney Dangerfield who said about himself, "Even Will Rogers didn't like me."

[Oswego John]

Neil,

You are a very astute observer. It means that one would have to have seen Will even earlier than his death in 1935. Ouch. What makes the cheese more binding is the fact that I mentioned the Great Depression, which began in the late 1920s.

How can this be? I'm Jack Benny's age, 39. Hmmmm, it must be that new math that they're teaching the kids today.

Maybe I can give the folks an illustration of how far our great country has progressed in the last half century. Up to the time of the war (WW II), when my beloved Brooklyn Dodgers (named for dodging trolley cars) travelled all the way west by train to play Pittsburg, you could only follow the game on local radio (WHN) by the announcer decoding morse code on a ticker and verbally relating it to us listeners.

Now, it happened that Will and Wiley Post both died in a plane crash in, of all remote places, interior Alaska. It was a long time before the world learned of Will's death. The country was in shock and deep mourning for the man that everyone loved.

Disclaimer: These tidbits of ancient history are not intended to be construed as political nonsense.

O J
(What's a trolley car?)

[barfwinkle]

He always seemed to have a big smile and was noted for pithy sayings. During the Great Depression, he kept America happy even though there wasn't much to laugh about.

And who fills this critical void today? Hmmm...

Just thinking out loud!