Swinging from a halyard to jump in the water

[ontherocks83]

Man there are so many Debbie Downers on here.

On our old Catalina 30 we used the spinnaker halyard as a Tarzan swing for over 20 years, all without injury. (don't tell anyone, but the secret is to let go before you hit the side of the boat)

We always anchored from the bow.

The thing everyone has wrong is where to jump from. Start by standing on the Stern Pulpit on either Aft Quarter. Tie a knot into a ball that is about chest height when you are standing on the pulpit.

When you jump, the trick is to push outwards at a 45 to 90 degree angle away from the boat. The outward momentum will get you on a good trajectory to clear the bow. It works best if you can support your weight and keep your arms bent with the knot at your chest until you clear the bow. If you let your arms go over your head before then your feet drag in the water and you wont clear the bow.

On our boat you can make it back to just about the cockpit before you have to jump in the water.

If I can find an old photo later, I will post it.

[Tmacmi]

It appears the consensus is let them play! Seems fair since I am going to make them sand and paint the bottom and polish and wax the hull.

[Shrew]

I see kids doing this in the anchorage on just about every beautiful summer day. Can they get hurt? Sure. They could easily get hurt falling off any rope swing, or any swing for that matter. Or jungle gym, or riding just about any bike anywhere, or crossing the street.......anywhere.

It's ok to let kids assume some calculated risk, even if it means the risk of getting banged up a little. I'd rather take the opportunity to teach risk assessment and how to conduct oneself in a safe manner. Such as situational awareness and site assessment.

[Shrew]

Incidentally, the subject of the OP's post is an adult. Time to stop nannying the guy.

[Cadence]

Originally Posted by Shrew

Incidentally, the subject of the OP's post is an adult. Time to stop nannying the guy.

Amen!

[wcapital]

I suppose spinnaker flying would be out of the question (something popular among some of us in our youth - connecting a bosuns chair to the sheet & guy, anchoring stern into a good breeze, and hoisting the chute & going for a ride!)? Hold my beer, indeed (often done exactly that way)....

[sailinmikeinaz]

Watched the video....now I need a bigger boat and a Croatian crew!!

[er9]

Originally Posted by captmikem

Underway we put a bosuns chair on the spinnaker halyard, swing out and enjoy the view. Sometimes you get a gust and a dunking.

M

lol....now that sounds like a lot of fun. that just went on the list of things to do this summer.

[er9]

Originally Posted by Shrew

I see kids doing this in the anchorage on just about every beautiful summer day. Can they get hurt? Sure. They could easily get hurt falling off any rope swing, or any swing for that matter. Or jungle gym, or riding just about any bike anywhere, or crossing the street.......anywhere.

It's ok to let kids assume some calculated risk, even if it means the risk of getting banged up a little. I'd rather take the opportunity to teach risk assessment and how to conduct oneself in a safe manner. Such as situational awareness and site assessment.

+1 couldn't agree more.

[Boatyarddog]

Originally Posted by wcapital

I suppose spinnaker flying would be out of the question (something popular among some of us in our youth - connecting a bosuns chair to the sheet & guy, anchoring stern into a good breeze, and hoisting the chute & going for a ride!)? Hold my beer, indeed (often done exactly that way)....

It's a lot safer than Halyard Swinging.
No danger of Slamming into the side of the boat!
SV Cloud Duster

[sailorladd]

If your mast and halyard can't carry your 190 pound son, you should be concerned LOL...

[DryRotAtractor]

Granted their boat(s) are much larger, but if you check out the Sailing Zatara YouTube channel you’ll see their kids are all over their boats like monkeys. Yes, that's right...they are monkeys with gills.

They swing from everything, dive/jump from just about every high surface of the boat including spreaders. Now they have created this thing called dingy catapulting (somewhere around ep.50-60 I think) where they use a halyard tied to another rope tied to a dingy. Kid grabs the rope between the boat and dingy, they gun the dingy, the rope tightens and launches the kid skyward. Very creative.

I learned to sail on a Catalina 25 in Okinawa and we gave swinging from the main halyard a go, but being grown adults with a few too many pounds on it took two ppl – one to swing and one to push you from the cabin top to make sure you cleared the life lines. The fun ran out fast as the work required over took the fun gained. The boat was a “rental” so we weren’t too concerned (stupid young GIs), but the rigging did not appear to be labored in any way. The boat did roll a bit do to our lard shifting the CG.

[JBsurfin]

Stop living in a bubble.. Enjoy life and find a way to make it as safe as possible. We are talking young adults, not 9 yr olds.. Been doing that swinging along with my kids for yrs..

[SharAndy]

Used to do it all the time. Adults kids 27’ Catalina. A blast. Up down dunking. More fun during cocktail hour some w no bikini tops.

[merrydolphin]

I have a lot of experience at this! As a 55 yr old kid, it was something that I regularly did. An absolute blast. But I must admit that my boat was a KP 44. I would take the halyard and stand at the bow. Then jump out and aft while holding on ( with just a grip, nothing to get hung up on). I/we would swing out and as I was out the boat would heel a little helping the cause. Of course the trick is to let go! Before you got too close to the aft quarter! I would think that with a 28 footer, that as long as the rig was strong enough ( and most should be), you would certainly get more heel but it would return as soon as you let go. And with that short of a distance to swing, it wouldn’t be a very long time. Only you know the particulars of your boat. So be safe and have fun! That’s why we do this life style. ( better than alcohol or drugs).