"News f2s" wrote in message
...

"Larry" wrote in message
...

pruned

Jump overboard from your lofty helm perch and start frantically screaming
and waving your arms in distress. Click the stopwatch on your diver's
Rolex Oyster to time this event.

How long was it before they got her turned around and came effortlessly
alongside your position to retrieve you, using the finest navigation and
methods of retrieval?

As a matter of interest, do all US boats have boarding/bathing ladders?

In the nice warm Mediterranean, most boats do. Easily the best and
quickest aid to getting someone aboard in most circumstances.

In the cold waters of UK, they're rare. Perverse? 'Blow up that dinghy -
Fast!'

JimB

I think and most experts agree that boarding from the stern is a bad idea in
all but the most benign conditions. Certainly there are times in the Med
when it's fine, but other times are not ok. Warm water isn't the only
critieria.

--
"j" ganz @@
www.sailnow.com

...that boarding from the stern is a bad idea...

Jonathan... Can you elaborate on the aforementioned statement?

I think you and/or some others have before... but please refresh
my memory.

Tnx for the tutorial...

Bill

wrote:
...that boarding from the stern is a bad idea...


Jonathan... Can you elaborate on the aforementioned statement?

I think you and/or some others have before... but please refresh
my memory.

Tnx for the tutorial...

Bill


Ever watch your stern bob up & down like a rocking horse at a rough
mooring? midships, the movement is more subdued.

"Don White" wrote in message
news:1esDf.3958$VV4.104238@ursa-

Ever watch your stern bob up & down like a rocking horse at a
rough mooring? midships, the movement is more subdued.

If you're talking about routinely boarding a vessel from a tender,
I agree. If you're talking warm water, I agree. Mount from the
beam.

If it's cold water, and you're talking about someone who's in the
water, it's a different matter. Especially if there's no-one else
on board (competent) to help.

You then need a ladder rigged that extends 2ft into the water, or
a soft dinghy in the water which can be boarded from within the
water (and that's not too easy either for some of us). Otherwise
someone on board is rigging slings and stuff, and that takes time.

Younger people are agile enough to cope with shorter ladders and
soft dinghies, but on the cruising boats I've seen a lot of us are
pretty ancient, and I, for one, prefer grabbing a heaving ladder
(with all the risks that entails), to being just a bit too long in
cold water.

JimB

In article ,
Don White wrote:

wrote:

...that boarding from the stern is a bad idea...

Jonathan... Can you elaborate on the aforementioned statement?

I think you and/or some others have before... but please refresh
my memory.

Bill

Ever watch your stern bob up & down like a rocking horse at a rough
mooring? midships, the movement is more subdued.

On some boats, perhaps.

Boarding our boat amidships just isn't going to happen. Freeboard is 5
feet at the cockpit, 7 feet at the mast, and we roll as much as pitch
when we're stopped in slop. With the curve of the hull, we'd need a long
ladder that would whip around mercilessly.

I've reboarded over the transom in some pretty sloppy conditions and
while it takes a bit of timing, it's no big thing. (We have three rungs
in the water, which helps.) I've also reboarded at 5+ knots (when I
forget to ease the sails before freeing a crab trap). Again, takes a
little thought, but it's not much more strenuous than getting up in
still water.

Now, I can see midships being more reasonable in a traditional boat with
low side decks and a tall transom.

--
Jere Lull
Xan-a-Deux ('73 Tanzer 28 #4 out of Tolchester, MD)
Xan's Pages: http://members.dca.net/jerelull/X-Main.html
Our BVI FAQs (290+ pics) http://homepage.mac.com/jerelull/BVI/

I think and most experts agree that boarding from the stern is a
bad idea in all but the most benign conditions. Certainly there
are times in the Med when it's fine, but other times are not ok.
Warm water isn't the only critieria.

A quick exit from cold water is the most important criterion. The
colder, the quicker the exit must be. For most marina and harbour
dunks, stern boarding is safe, and they're the most common events.
As many people have discovered, it's very difficult to board a
hard dinghy from the water.

If your stern ladder extends about 2 ft deep into the water, stern
boarding becomes safe in a much wider range of conditions. And if
it's unsafe, you can always go back to assisted boarding - over
the side, whatever. If there's someone to assist you. And if
there's time before hypothermia sets in.

JimB