Wheelchair-bound and living-aboard, is it possible?

[Franziska]

Originally Posted by Fore and Aft

Franziska I remember surveying a Wharram that had a ramp like you are talking about. There was a Targa Bar at the stern with a winch either side to lower it down.
I reckon the bow would be no good as you have the anchor bridle in the way. But the stern could work. Maybe having the dinghy ramp offset on one side of the cockpit. Probably the side where I have cut out the cabin side for the ramp to the bow. I reckon I could cut out that side cockpit seating and make a cradle for a dinghy and winch. Thinking about it more I wonder if you could modify the transom to be a permanent ramp and then a flat section to mount the dinghy on. Then Bernard has just got to get his wheelchair and himself into the dinghy and control his descent into the water with a winch remote. I could see Bernard getting a bit gung ho with this set up and trying to drive his dinghy up the ramp with an outboard.
I love this type of lateral thinking and have been thinking how cool it would be to modify a boat.

Cheers

The ramp would be at the Stern, absolutely, I meant he should sit at the dinghy bow and hold on tightly during the ramp rotation.
That would ensure enough buoyancy when the dinghy is actually afloat. Would he sit in the back the mechanism would have a less favorable moment arm regarding his weight.
Further the aft part of the dinghy tubes would perhaps get flooded until the dinghy floats fully.

Wonder what Bernard thinks of all this..

[David993s]

Bernard,

Lots of good information in this thread.

I don't have specific answers to your questions, but I wanted to give you some encouragement. I'm fairly new to this forum and just beginning to learn to sail. I'm a bi-lateral above knee amputee due to a formula car racing accident (and I still race with the use of hand controls). I've just started taking sailing lessons and have completed my 2nd lesson with a 3rd and 4th scheduled. While my goals are a little different than yours, i.e. no plans to live-aboard just lake and coastal sailing, like me I'm sure you have learned we can do whatever we put our minds to. We figure out a solution on how to do something that others tell us we can't do. Adaptive equipment also often aids the solution. I'm still figuring out what adaptive equipment will be needed in my future sailboat.

So best wishes and stay determined. You'll achieve your goal.

Dave

[dannc]

A link to the discussion that Dave started about sailing with mobility issues, https://www.cruisersforum.com/forums...ns-259305.html

Later,
Dan

[Baby tug]

I have no idea whether you can or not my first inclination was no freaking way however there’s The will there’s a way , if you have tremendous upper body strength and can basically move around like a monkey I say go for it what have you got to lose and you can always sell the boat, Injury or death maybe you’ve already cheated that , well I say go for it

[macieknan]

Dazcat in UK made some purpose built catamarans. I.e. https://www.multihullcentre.com/mult...xpedition-cat/ not a budget option though...

[bjn68]

Thank you ALL for your replies, ideas and out of the box recommendations! I am not retired yet, still have two school-aged children with me, so quite busy still.

However, I am reviewing all of your suggestions and I keep working on my goal to live aboard full-time about two years from now, learn and get used to the boat, start with coastal cruising, then blue water passages to Europe, South America and the Pacific! (PS: hopefully, the inflation will ease, otherwise at the speed everything is costing more and more everyday, the only think I will be able to afford in two years will be a dinghy! Seriously!)

[bjn68]

Originally Posted by Baby tug

I have no idea whether you can or not my first inclination was no freaking way however there’s The will there’s a way , if you have tremendous upper body strength and can basically move around like a monkey I say go for it what have you got to lose and you can always sell the boat, Injury or death maybe you’ve already cheated that , well I say go for it

Hi Baby Tug!
Well, my upper body is OK... Just can't lift my left arm above shoulder height, but as you said it, I already cheated death so many times (...but did you die?.. I did once - for a few seconds!). On the boat, with mast furling sails and electric winches, all accessible from the cockpit, I think I should be OK, I can hop a little or move on my rear. I am just slower than most people. My main issue is still how to get (to and from) between a dock and the boat? I am researching these two options right now: a modified pool lift (https://www.surehands.com/products/w...ater-pool-lift) or a rollable ramps (https://www.rollaramp.com/boat-ramps/) that I could stow when not needed.

Bernard

[bjn68]

Originally Posted by macieknan

Dazcat in UK made some purpose built catamarans. I.e. https://www.multihullcentre.com/mult...xpedition-cat/ not a budget option though...

Yes, very nice set-up, amazing tender! Just way too much for my budget...

B.

[bjn68]

Originally Posted by dannc

A link to the discussion that Dave started about sailing with mobility issues, https://www.cruisersforum.com/forums...ns-259305.html

Later,
Dan

Thank you Dan!

B.

[dannc]

Originally Posted by bjn68

Thank you Dan!

B.

You are welcome.

Also there are boom furlers that might be helpful as are the mast furlers you have mentioned.

Later,
Dan

[Franziska]

Originally Posted by dannc

You are welcome.



Also there are boom furlers that might be helpful as are the mast furlers you have mentioned.



Later,

Dan

Might be as well worth a thought of what to do if a furler fails and he needs to go up the mast.

A pure staysail rig would be a solution to this, as than he could possibly lower the failed parts to the deck.
A stuck in mast furler is rare but a true pain in the rear side.

[rslifkin]

Originally Posted by Franziska

Might be as well worth a thought of what to do if a furler fails and he needs to go up the mast.

A pure staysail rig would be a solution to this, as than he could possibly lower the failed parts to the deck.
A stuck in mast furler is rare but a true pain in the rear side.

In boom furling might be a better answer, as if it ever jams there's less chance it'll require a trip up the mast to resolve.

[Franziska]

Originally Posted by rslifkin

In boom furling might be a better answer, as if it ever jams there's less chance it'll require a trip up the mast to resolve.

Agree to some degree, but in boom furler are rare and have historically a whole lot of problems in their own.
A staysail can be built easily and is less complicated.
Maybe a junk rig would be worth as well when thinking out of the box.

[rslifkin]

Originally Posted by Franziska

Agree to some degree, but in boom furler are rare and have historically a whole lot of problems in their own.
A staysail can be built easily and is less complicated.
Maybe a junk rig would be worth as well when thinking out of the box.

They're definitely much less common than in mast until you get to rather large boats. But I think that's partly a cost issue, not a functional one. A conventional main with Dutchman flaking or something like that would likely be fine in this scenario too. The goal being just to minimize the times you'd need to leave the cockpit for sail handling or to deal with an issue.

[cdreid]

You dont need to be rich to buy a cat. 20 years ago you definitely did. I've been checking out Blue water cats (dont start people) and you can get into a nice blue water capable cat for 50-70k. Which may be too much but you can do it for less. From what i can tell Currently an equivalent used cat is 10-20k more than a monohull as a rule in the 30-40' range. And a lot of the cats ive seen >35' look like theyd be easy to convert to someone wheelchair bound if they need converted at all. You enter through a door not through a hatch down stairs. When you need to go "downstairs" youre indoors and it's a couple feet.

The only thing id worry about is emergencies/repairs ... through hull goes boom and you have to do a patch. But on the other hand youre used to getting **** done and overcoming obstacles whereas we "able" people are whiny b**ches about crawling around engines etc