Tried climbing in your dinghy from the water?

[sww914]

It didn't occur to me that this was a problem for some folks. I just slide right up in there and let out a big ARP! ARP! ARP! when I'm done.

[svHyLyte]

Originally Posted by Cotemar

Slithering into the dingy is all good until it’s not.
Yes. Flippers do help, but you need upper body strength. Some dingy’s have larger tubes which make getting aboard even with flippers impossible.
Your 1st mate still has to get in the dingy and you can help her, but in the end isn’t it just easier to add a $100 dingy ladder to your $3000 dingy and get aboard just like you would get on the mother ship.

Yes, it's not for everybody, but a perfect solution for most.

For years we used a rope ladder with steps made of lengths of PVC piping over the rungs/stirrups that we hung from a cleat on the inside face and over the top of the transom between the outboard and the port stern tube. It worked well enough but could be somewhat difficult unless one balanced carefully and is/was more difficult for females because their centers of gravity seem to be somewhat different and further aft than a males. Conceding to the limitations imposed by advancing ages, more recently we invested in a small 3-step telescoping SS ladder, about 12 in wide, that we can slip into brackets mounted on the outside face of the transom. When collapsed, the ladder package is about 12 in. wide x 14 in. long x 2-1/2 in. thick. Our canvas maker cobbled up a little bag for the thing and it neatly fits in our dinghy bag under the middle seat that holds the miscellaneous gear we need aboard the boat when we're out and about (e.g. running lights, horn, whistles, flash-light, emergency flare pack, hand-held VHF/GPS, foot-pump, repair pack, laminated registration papers etc.) It makes life much easier and safer and particularly so for my (much) better half.

FWIW...

[nautical62]

I reguarly climb back into my dinghy after snorkeling. On the rare occassions someone else has had a problem I either give them a pull or tie an impromptu boarding step with the bow line.

[Jimbo485]

Another solution...?

Instead of buying more ridiculous junk, take away the outboard and ROW! This will increase your upper body strength and decrease your weight. So you will have no problem flopping over into the dinghy!

[barnakiel]

This depends much on your fitness and on the design of the dinghy. I can climb into anything as long as I can reach a handhold but I can easily imagine a person less fit having issues climbing onto a surfboard.

And ribs stand out higher (the big ones - WAY higher) than a cheapo foldaway dink.

b.

[MarkJ]

Swim like buggery at the side of the Dink then grab hold with both hands and wrench yourself aboard like a seal or sealion does.

The trick is in the speed.

One quick movement and you're fine.

If you are too fat and old to slide in then you need to do more sailing and less working...
The next step is the dinghy ladders, followed by the Beached Whale Hydraulic Lift.

Or look behind you and spot the White Pointer Shark! You'll get in fast enough then!

[thinwater]

Originally Posted by MarkJ

Swim like buggery at the side of the Dink then grab hold with both hands and wrench yourself aboard like a seal or sealion does.

The trick is in the speed.

One quick movement and you're fine.

If you are too fat and old to slide in then you need to do more sailing and less working...
The next step is the dinghy ladders, followed by the Beached Whale Hydraulic Lift.

Or look behind you and spot the White Pointer Shark! You'll get in fast enough then!

Exactly; seals don't have arms.

Lower yourself fully below the water at full stretch, and then pull upwards in sycronization with a big dolphin kick. Not hard. Easier than a ladder on a dingy, and less likly to tip.

When you get that down, practice on a kayak. Requires more smoothness and you do it at the bow and slide back.

[Cotemar]

It’s all fun and games, until it's not

My guess is that you guys have never read the stories of the older cruisers that fall out of their dingy and then it runs over them and cuts the burgesses out of them. Weak and on their last breath as their wife tries in vain to pull their wet heavy mass aboard with blood pouring down their face.

I am thinking these older cruisers are not saying “just slide right up in there and let out a big ARP! ARP! ARP! When I'm done”

The majority of cruisers are in the 50 or 60’s and a seal ARP! ARP! ARP! Is not going to work for them.

[mrohr]

Yea ,flippers do help esp. w the seal flop technique, but it really helps to FIRST sink down below your dingy while still holding on so that your natural buoyancy will help propel you upward so that your midriff ends at least far enough into your boat that you can then slither into the dingy. All in all it is a rather inelegant exercise,all the more so since your bathing trunks will tend to slip down as you propel yourself upward through the water.
Furthermore if there is any oar lock,cleat or fitting your shorts will surely catch them and leave you very exposed and unable to return to the water or advance to the floor of your dingy. Once you recover from your embarrassment you will now have to jump back in to wash off all the green slime from the dingy bottom that you acquired as you slid up on your first abortive attempt. I just love cruising.

[MarkJ]

Originally Posted by Cotemar

It’s all fun and games, until it not

My guess is that you guys have never read the stories of the older cruisers that fall out of their dingy and then it runs over them and cuts the burgesses out of them. .

Whilst I have been cruising more people have been killed in dinghy accidents than have been killed at sea.

Just getting into them at the dock or off the boat lends itself to a fatal accident.
In Grenada in 2011 there was two incidents where men, solo, coming from bars at night slipped on the tubes, etc and drowned.

Another killed himself hitting an unlit marker from a bar into Prickley Bay.

in St Martin in 2010(?) guy was killed in his dink hitting a mark. 2011 guy had his leg amputated when the dink he was driving tossed him out and ran over him.

Sydney, Australia 2011 a boating journalist was drowned getting from dinghy to boat, drunk at night.

So yes, I take your point that we are having a bit of Arp, Arp fun. Get a good solution that's safe and makes the dinghy more enjoyable, swimming and diving easier, and getting aboard when drunk safer....


Mark

[Jimbo485]

LOL!

Well, they should have gone cruising before they got old and lost their fitness. How do they expect climb a mast at sea if they can't even climb into a dinghy from the water?

[Cotemar]

Originally Posted by Jimbo485

LOL!

Well, they should have gone cruising before they got old and lost their fitness. How do they expect climb a mast at sea if they can't even climb into a dinghy from the water?

When you are in your 60's you still want to say you’re alive. Just on a different level than when you were young Arp Arping away without a care in the world.

We will all be there at some day.

[Bash]

You can make your own etrier ladder from 15' of climbing sling. You'll need a carabiner to attach to the dink. Best to use a floor attachment point, not the tube top. You'll need to learn a Frost knot, but it's simple. Black Diamond sells pre-made etriers for about $35.

[Cheechako]

You should be able to get in as Daddle mentioned. Need something to grab and get the kick timing down. Done it hundreds of times...

[Jimbo485]

Originally Posted by Cotemar

When you are in your 60's you still .....

We will all be there at some day.

Yes. Unfortunately you are right, we will all get there. So, when we are old, there is more reason than ever to ditch the RIB and outboard in favour of a rowable dinghy! With increased age we need to do MORE exercise, not less, to maintain reasonable fitness. Arp arp.

My father can still shinny up a mast and my mother still runs a marathon each year. But it is only because they do plenty of physical exercise and do not look for labour-saving devices (eg. outboard for 100 m runs to the beach) which lead to less fitness which then leads to a need for more labour-saving devices (eg. Ladder for dinghy).

Arp arp!