dmgbear55 wrote: I'm glad this topic came up because as a very full figure kind of guy I know how hard it can be to get back up on deck, particularly when you become exhausted. I had this idea a while back and just went out to the shop and spent less than 10 minutes making this addition to my righting line.
Be sure and report back after you have tried it on the water. Usually the problem with anything like a "rope ladder" is that there is nothing to push "inward" against, only down, so it just swings out of the way.
Try it and see how it goes.
____________
Damon Linkous
Not really sure how to feel about all of this info. Just got back into Cat Sailing in April of this year and have yet to flip it. Guess I should at least manually flip it over in something other than the Ocean and make sure I won't have too many issues.
Be sure and report back after you have tried it on the water. Usually the problem with anything like a "rope ladder" is that there is nothing to push "inward" against, only down, so it just swings out of the way.
Damon, I think you are right about a rope ladder per se, but in this case at least one of the loops should be against the hull, in fact they both could be. With the Prusik you can adjust the loop height on the righting line as needed. Still probably a little tricky but manageable. This End Up is about to get splashed so will report the results then. If you were sailing with crew you could also get them to stand/hold the position of the lower loop.
Not really sure how to feel about all of this info. Just got back into Cat Sailing in April of this year and have yet to flip it. Guess I should at least manually flip it over in something other than the Ocean and make sure I won't have too many issues.
I agree with you, but being a little prepared in this regard could make a bad day sailing be just that and nothing more.
dmgbear55 wrote:
Many are in favor of climbing from outside the hull, as with this system, but how hard is to get there? Do you have that experience in tough conditions and with the boat moving? If there are waves the hull may slam your head when crossing to the other side. And on the other side, if you miss the line (or don't have it as in other cases), where do yo grab from? The cat in some cases may start moving rather fast, that's when I realized I needed some aid from under the beam.
This ladder system could perhaps go on the inner side of the hull, with a carabiner and an eyestrap on the beam. Ideally set up before righting, to have it ready (except that you would have to pull it back to the other side of the hull)
I see also that you tie the righting line to the mast rod, I've always felt that this may bend the rod if it pulls from the wrong end. I prefer to tie mine around the beam, through a grommet on the tramp. It goes around the rod too, so you don't pull from the grommet. My mast rod got bent once when I passed over a buoy with a carabiner that hooked on the dolphin striker. Not good.
carl2 wrote:
will the setup work just by adding a block to the bridle.. seems like it would pull the bridle back
The force applied when stepping on the line is nothing compared to the forces to hold the mast while sailing.
The shock cord will pull back when not in use but what harm can that make? It will move back maybe 1 or 2 cm in light wind, and nothing in stronger wind.
I don't use a shock cord to keep the line up but a carabiner to the center of the from beam. (carabiner hooks to the righting line loop around the front beam/mast step rod). The line doesn't end at the carabiner but is longer, the rest is stored on the tramp pocket. It is also my towing line, I just unhook the carabiner and throw it to the towing boat or to attach to buoy, etc.
Edited by Andinista on Nov 12, 2016 - 08:39 AM.
In the case of my boat I would probably make sure that the righting line was pushed up close to the bottom of the beam before loading it up during righting to avoid bending the DS. Tying it in the center means it is ready for use from either side of the boat. I also don't think it would be a good idea to tie the righting line off on top of the beam fearing that the mast rotation could get messed up, or it would eat into the righting line.
I think you could sort out ways to do the same sort of thing from the inside but I was shooting for very simple system without adding many other elements to the boat. I also think Damon's point about rope ladders is very valid here. I just wonder if just one loop close to the bottom of the hull would actually do the trick, giving you just the leg up that you need.
We will be sailing soon wearing dry suits, so we can test this thing quickly. These loops would have merit just for giving you a nice double set of hand holds for yourself and crew during righting.
Here si a simple idea: righting line is as in your picture, grab it from below the hull and thread it around the beam on the hull end, make room for your foot, there's your step. Ir keep the loop for the foot if you wish. Keep the two ends of line around the beam on your hand, friction should keep it there i think
Edited by Andinista on Nov 12, 2016 - 06:30 PM.
gahamby wrote: Catmodding,That's an impressive number of cats there. Take us on a video tour sometime.Edited by gahamby on Nov 11, 2016 - 03:49 PM.
I will do so. Next spring, ok?
A
André de Bruin, Amsterdam,the Netherlands
P 18-2
I know its an old topic, but at our club we bought a slightly bigger RIB,
witch we use for club-races and rescue boat in the summer when there's
a lot of cats out on the water.
Bigger means higher beams and harder boarding from the surface.
As being a safety-freak at our club ( Commodore ) I started to look
for a boarding-aid for the rib and found this;
This could be a DIY project for a beach cat as well.
Other then that, the demonstration videos are worth looking if you want
to laugh.....
and, just wondering, did any-one use the bridal system last summer?
Grtz A
André de Bruin, Amsterdam,the Netherlands
P 18-2
André de Bruin, Amsterdam,the Netherlands
P 18-2
looks pretty good for someone in reasonable shape - with places to grab (and maybe shallow water to get a jumpstart)
not sure about someone out of shape using this or any on the water ladder without help
last season i had to do a rescue of 3 people that fell out? of an inflatable dingy. it was either loosing air, or was just extremely under-inflated. all i know is they were in the bay, in the channel, and powerboats were avoiding them by going outside of the channel ... not stopping to help - so i did.
I circled them and asked them what was up, and decided i would grab the lightest one and bring her on my boat.. the other 2 bigger people were holding onto the sides of the dingy.
me, solo on a 5.5 - them 3 old, idiots who should not be on the water - floating (maybe sinking?) - no pdf's
they had a ladder similar to that you have one for their dingy ... but they lacked the upper body strength and balance and grab points to get back on the boat
long story short - I have to jump off my cat, jump in their dingy, and pull them in - jump back in the water, climb back up on my boat before it drove away.... fun 🙂 - i then towed the 2 people in the dingy to shore and dropped all 3 off about 1000' east of the channel
Edited by MN3 on Feb 22, 2017 - 07:50 PM.
MN3
As long as there is a hand on board to help, or something else to grab, someone in shape could use that ladder. However, remember that the straps going up will be tight against the boat and will not present any location to grab.