Dog in the yard...hoisting the pup

[Sea Dreaming]

Thank you to everyone taking the topic seriously. Tigger is our kid and guru, teaching us about how to let everything roll off our backs and generally chill ou! Confidant, dinner companion, personal trainer, we can not leave him behind.

Kim, we have been following the weather. Yes my dear melted friend, it has been hot hot hot. We will decide when we get closer to leaving. We are still 2-3 weeks away from hitting the road for the final push. But tomorrow is my last day of work!

Anyway, we do have a crane on board. We will try that first. As far as carrying the pup..nope! He is not a big dog, but "big" is relative and I'm quite small. Mechanical advantage is needed!

I don't belive stairs are available but I will have to email the yard to find out for sure.

[Sea Dreaming]

Thank you to everyone taking the topic seriously. Tigger is our kid and guru, teaching us about how to let everything roll off our backs and generally chill ou! Confidant, dinner companion, personal trainer, we can not leave him behind.

Kim, we have been following the weather. Yes my dear melted friend, it has been hot hot hot. We will decide when we get closer to leaving. We are still 2-3 weeks away from hitting the road for the final push. But tomorrow is my last day of work!

Anyway, we do have a crane on board. We will try that first. As far as carrying the pup..nope! He is not a big dog, but "big" is relative and I'm quite small. Mechanical advantage is needed!

I don't belive stairs are available but I will have to email the yard to find out for sure.

[Cadence]

Originally Posted by Sea Dreaming

Thank you to everyone taking the topic seriously. Tigger is our kid and guru, teaching us about how to let everything roll off our backs and generally chill ou! Confidant, dinner companion, personal trainer, we can not leave him behind.

Kim, we have been following the weather. Yes my dear melted friend, it has been hot hot hot. We will decide when we get closer to leaving. We are still 2-3 weeks away from hitting the road for the final push. But tomorrow is my last day of work!

Anyway, we do have a crane on board. We will try that first. As far as carrying the pup..nope! He is not a big dog, but "big" is relative and I'm quite small. Mechanical advantage is needed!

I don't belive stairs are available but I will have to email the yard to find out for sure.

You may want to check Petco and alike. I know I have seen slings with four leg holes. Another thought may be getting something twin purpose, a dog life jacket with a handle to lift the pooch out of the water, I have seem them advertised.

[liveaboard60]

I was once awoken in the middle of the night seeing an unexpected shadowy figure standing in my companion way.. It was one of those "who in the heck is standing in the cockpit of my boat at 2am" type of moments.. Trust me.. It is the last way I like being awoken (well other than being awoken by my 1st mate telling me "we have a problem.." <grin>)..


It was a nerve racking moment or two later when I had awoke enough to realized the shadowy figure was from my dog.. She woke and "needed to go" so she climbed the ladder and was in the process of trying to figure out how to jump on the dock so she could "go".. Funny how dogs can learn to climb a ladder..


flk k

[Vino the Dog]

Don't trust those cheap fifty cent plastic buckles that almost all life jackets use. They break easily. If you use a life vest for hoisting, modify it with wide, strong nylon web sewn into the jacket so it wraps under the dog's chest and belly and has welded D-rings over the dog's back. One in front and another in back so you have a two point lifting bridle and use a piece of stiff hose or similar to keep front and back separate so they don't scrunch up at the middle.
Alternative, find a lifting harness like search & rescue dogs use for lifting into helicopters and buildings.

[Sea Dreaming]

I thought I would post an update of our yard adventures. We have been living and working on the boat for a week now so there is something to tell.

Our initial plan was to use our dogs life jacket or backpack with the dinghy crane to lift him on board. The crane, however, needed some repair so Jim started carrying Tiggy on and off the boat up the ladder. At first this was pretty perilous. Tiggy would fight the process and try to grip every rung with his claws. One day the two of the fell from the last two rungs. Both were a little bruised but no major injuries.

After the fall Tiggy wanted to climb the ladder on his own. At 9 he really does not have enough strength but for the past 3 days he has been climbing the ladder with assist. He is very proud of himself! You can see it in his doggy grin when he has accomplished the task! Jim also found a better hold on Tiggy for his decent and Tiggy is a bit more relaxed.

Overall, it's hard work for them both but they are both getting stronger. We have the crane fixed now but we don't want to break stride with something that works so JI'm & Tiggy will continue as is.

For getting into the cabin Jim made stairs for Tiggy. At least while the boat is standing still Tiggy navigates these with ease (they are steeper than house stairs).

Tiggy likes Mexico so far. He can go into the restaurants! Last night, live music and beer at Hammerheads. He just layer under the table. I'm not even sure anyone realized he was there!

[JPA Cate]

^^^^^
Sounds like you've got that one well in hand. Now, how're you going to do the dog, boat-to-dinghy transfer? and return?

Ann

[Sea Dreaming]

Ann,

Tiggy is used to using a gang plank. Jim made a folding 8 ft plank for our last boat. We were hoping to bring it but we ran out of room so we will probably make another. One thing at a time though. We might have to rethink it later.

[KiminAK]

I stumbled across this today...a ladder to help the dog use the swim ladder. If Zoe likes to swim, I'll probably need one of these.