Going for a swim?

[Tony]

Not all of us use our boats for roaring around at high speed in uncivilised weather conditions frightening Drascombe drivers - although it can be fun! We occasionally like to park up in a sheltered cove to sunbathe, read, hang bottles of Sauvignon Blanc over the side, etc. and would also like to swim.
Have you noted the difficulty that fit young boat builders have in re-boarding after performing RCD capsize tests? If you find that amusing you should see me (neither young nor fit) attempting to get back on board my Lugger after a refreshing dip!  She's a double ender so no transom to pull on - and trying to get on over the gunnels results in enough heel to clear the side benches of unsuspecting crew and, worse, spills the drinks!
I thought a hook-on boarding ladder would do the trick but no - she just heels 'til the ladder is horizontal under the boat - along with the increasingly hypothermic swimmer. 
Please. Has anyone out there perfected a re-boarding technique for tippy boats?

[Guy Briselden]

Having been down to Swallowboats to try the BayRaider (and ordered one) I know it is something Matt is looking at. There has been pretty extensive discussion of this on the Drascombe forum with Claus R (regular contibutor on here) being part of the discussion. The best solution seems too be a small "V" fender, permanently attached which can be pulled down to provide a step, but high enough up not to go under the boat when stepped on.

[Craic]

Tony and Guy:
I still love to go for a swim!!
But I would never again go unless I have prepared -and practised- for getting back aboard.

We had discussed this subject in much detail some time ago on the Drascombe Forum, the thread was called ' Best method of getting back on board? '.

Getting back in is really two different subjects, prepared or unprepared. If you go for a swim voluntarily, you best hang something rigid or semi-rigid over the side, floppy rope ladders are practically useless. A very good product for that is a 'fender ladder', depicted leaning against the stern of my Drascombe Longboat in the thread 'Self Tacking Jib' on the DA forum. It lets you climb in quite comfortably, and the rest of the time it serves as a superb big fender.

But the more severe case is when you fall overboard by accident. For that, there really really should be something permanently prepared on board which you can grab from outboard while you swim. For that, I always had that V-fender living in the outboarder well of my Drascombes, forward of the engine. Not as comfortable as the above 'Fender Ladder', but miles better than just a barrel fender or rope ladder.

Swallowboats are different from Drascombes. On the Bay- and SeaRaiders, the outboarder well is closed through the fairing flap, and besides you can no longer swim into the outboard well and grab a fender that would be stored there.
So the next best place would obviously be on the afterdeck behind the outboarder well, but to be honest, I did not yet try it out.

Tony, I do not know what the outboarder well on your Cardigan Bay Lugger looks like, but maybe it is accessible and roomy enough to store the V-fender somewhere in there. Try it out.

Good luck,
see you in Morbihan.

Claus

[Tony]

Claus and Guy.
Thanks for the tips. I must check out the Drascombe site, too. I have actually tried the fender trick (in the Ionian, where the water is a little warmer) and found that when I applied my weight the boat came DOWN more that I went UP!  If I hung on like grim death the boat stabilised at an angle of about 45 deg - to the detriment of picnic lunches and marital harmony alike. (My wife suggests that perhaps less picnic lunches would help reduce the heel. Not sure if she means the boat or me.)

[Gareth]

I have a Storm 17 and am quite concerned at my inability to climb aboard after an unplanned dunking - if I was solo at the time I would be in big trouble. A V fender is a bit bulky and won't fit in the outboard well without fouling the outboard so I have opted for a coiled bit of web strap, with a loop in the end, attached to an eye adjacent to the rowlock gudgeon - not sure I've got the terminology right for that? The coiled strap is held together with an elastic band so in the event of a wet capsize and me in the water - I can reach over, break the band and pull the strap over with loop ready to give me a step up. I agree it isn't easy as the strap tends to disappear under the boat if too long - but it's suprising what cold desperation can spur one on to! Because it is strapping, the coil is quite compact and small - therefore not protruding into ones back when leaning against the gunnal.

[Craic]

'Lady Helen Tragedy'

A thread has been started on the Drascombe website about a case where a Drascomber had apparently fallen overboard from his Lugger, was apparently unable to reboard, and drowned.

A sad story, hopefully something can be learned from it.

Drascombe Luggers, Longboats and Coasters are particularly difficult to reboard, because they have no stern-hung rudders and the stern itself is caving in so much that no foothold can be gained there.

Come to think about it, Swallowboat Storms and Raiders with their stern-hung rudders and -in case of the Raiders with their full transoms- have some fundamental advantage there. Maybe some -hinged- footstep on the rudderhead could be fitted to all Swallowboats in future, to make reboarding them even more comfortable.

I will retrofit something like that on my SeaRaider.

Claus

[Brian Pearson]

Terrible news, thoughts go to the family. Possibly of interest would be the solution local scow sailors use, many being well retired and knowing how difficult CE cerified high floating capsized dinghies are to climb back into.

 They use a horse riding stirrup on a lanyard tied to the shroud base on each side. It is preferable to climb back in over the side rather than the stern, clinbing back over the stern makes the person in the water a sea anchor, lets the boat point down wind, the sails can then fill and off she sails. Regards, Brian

[Craic]

Brian,
in the sad case you are referring to, actually no sails were left set, which could have filled according to your theory. So in the case you refer to, a step on the rudder or transom would have been very helpful.

Ever tried to board from the side using a 'soft' rope step? -Don't!

I maintain from own experience: better a permanent provision to re-board over the stern, than a soft rope hanging down one side.

C.

[Craic]

Brian -and all- ,
I feel I should elaborate some more. I had been experimenting in practice with my previous Drascombes how to get back in.
In short, 'soft' rope solutions -that would include your stirrup recommendation as well as all 'rope ladders' from the chandlers- simply do not work with boats like Drascombes or Swallows, you better know that. As you step into them, your foot is pushing the thing under the boat, while the boat heels towards you so however much pressure you apply, you end up lying almost horizontally under the heeled boat, instead of standing upright in the water beside it.

What you need -as minimum- is something rigid enough so you do not push it completely under the boat with your foot.

On the other side, getting in over the stern unaided is a common practice on dinghies because there the boat cannot heel towards you, and usually the rudder blade or rudderhead give you some knee- or foothold below the deck or gunnel level.

You are wrong to fear a boat with set sails would speed up away as soon as someone climbs up the stern. On the contrary, because you get up by the stern you have some control over the rudder, and can thus control -i.e. stall- the movement of the boat.

While, even if you had a rigid thing attached to the side of the boat, a boat that has its sails set is sailing and moving completely uncontrolled, and will very likely tack over and on top of you as you try to climb up. Not nice.

In brief: A proper permanently fitted step on the transom or the rudder is infinitely better than a soft step which you very likely have forgotten to hang to the shroud that day, and which would not work anyway. Beware!

Claus Riepe

[Tony]

Hi there, Claus,
You're dead right about the heeling thing. The same thing happens whether you use a rope ladder or one of the fixed, solid variety. I’ve tried both on the CBL. I’ve also tried getting in over the stern but  she’s double ended and so I get tangled up in mizzen booms and sheets, spiked by the outboard leg and gouged by the mooring cleats. Not at all the easy, elegant re-board I’d hoped for. (You’d manage better on the Sea Raider with its nice wide transom.)

The only thing that worked for us was a rope ladder fixed to the port side grab rail, draped over the cabin top and down the starboard side on a knotted, large diameter rope. The trick is to brace the bottom step against the (lowered) bilge board, get the foot on as high a step as you could reach without causing permanent injury and start hauling the boat down to meet you. By progressing hand over hand, up the side and over the cabin top, employing a sort of lay-back rock climbing technique, it is possible to get the trailing leg up and on to the side decking. After that it’s easy! The vicious roll back that follows is quite likely to tip your crew in - so they can have a go, too! It’s much easier to re-board by commandeering a passing sail board or sit-on-top canoe. (Pedalos are not recommended as they usually have a crew of two and can put up more of a fight.) but most of the time I’m afraid we are reduced to anchoring in waist deep water for our swims.

Last summer, after a bit of prime seamanship (which I’d rather not talk about, thanks) we managed to roll her right over - 180° - with the all washboards out and the hatches wide open. When we (quickly!) got her back upright, the cabin and cockpit were both full of water and with about 6” freeboard left we got back in VERY easily. Perhaps this is the answer- extreme water ballast!
    At the moment I am seriously unprepared for a real emergency re-boarding. Without the rope ladder being deployed I will have to rely on the adrenalin that fear produces. Best to get on board quickly, though, as it soon wears off leaving you and your dilated blood vessels wide open to rapid heat loss and an early demise from hypothermia. 
I should really wear the life jacket, carry a couple of flares in the pocket and clip the VHF to my belt as recommended by the RNLI – but I don’t. Especially not when picnicking off an Ionian beach.  Insisting on life jackets tends to put a damper on the proceedings when surrounded by those in normal beach attire for the area. (i.e. not alot.) It feels rather like asking people to wear hiking boots, cagoule and ski poles to nip out to the corner shop for some milk.. and even those who would never dream of driving without a seatbelt can be reluctant. 
Whatever. A life jacket won’t help you get back on board after a dip so this is still a serious problem for single handed sailors. The next thing I’m going to try is a large fender fixed to the end of a ladder.  If it supports even a little of the swimmers weight it will be a help. The trick (as you mentioned earlier) is to make sure the swimmer can actually reach it!

[Christian Vestergaard]

Hello.
If you try to google: ROCA lifesaver; you will find a nice little device. When mounted on the stern you can flip it down and you have a step to help you up. It's only one step, but you will get your hipsw high enough to reach inside and slide to the cockpit.
It will still be depending on your shape and clothes. If you can't get there on a warm summers day, you probably won't fully dressed on a windy day.
Personaly i prefer modern fleece and sports underwear, it's warmer and less water get stuck.

Hope you will never use it for real, but only when swimming and training capsizing.

[Richard Scott]

Hmmm...

Couldn't find the ROCA device with Google (became an expert on sweets and bathroom tiles though...)

[Christian Vestergaard]

Hmmm...

Couldn't find the ROCA device with Google (became an expert on sweets and bathroom tiles though...)

Well, sorry for my laziness. Now I've found a propper link for you:

http://www.rocaindustry.com/   

click marine

and then search for lifesaver and they show the boarding step.

[Richard Scott]

Thanks Christian

[Craic]

ROCA Lifesaver.:

Great idea, many thanks. I got me one. Fits the transom of the SR very nicely, both with regards to length (folded up) and to hinge angle with the arm folded down. Well done piece of stainless steel, the arm can be taken off through a simple single bolt.

The man in the chandlery told me that it was developed by the Swedes because there they have a fairly high mortality of anglers who fall overboard, and cannot make it back in before hypothermia strikes, the waters in Scandinavia are generally much colder than further south, and the number of anglers is always high troughout all seasons.

A very good tip.

Claus