Issue 19 : Jul/Aug 2001
On a small boat, especially a skinny one like ours, storage space is a precious commodity. For several years we carried a rigid swim-ladder — a wonderful bit of gear for those odd occasions when we found ourselves in waters clean and warm enough to lure us over the side, but a complete waste of space the remaining 99 percent of the year. More often than not, when we did fancy a dip, the thought of disentangling it from a tightly-packed quarterberth was enough to make us change our minds.
One day, through sheer laziness, we pulled the boom out to the side, rigged the bosun’s chair to the end of it on a length of line, and used the solid seat of the chair as a ladder step. It proved such an easy way to get back on board after a swim, we immediately gave away our plastic swim-ladder and filled the hole in the quarterberth with something more useful. We keep the bosun’s chair in a highly accessible locker for emergency mast-climbing, so we no longer have to weigh up the hassle-factor if we feel like a swim.
For a truly graceful exit from the water, you need to make sure the boom is held rigid to the boat. On our boat, the boom-end is already supported by the topping-lift. We use a deck-preventer to pull the boom outboard, and we firm up the mainsheet for final stability. Through trial and error we’ve found the best height for the chair seat is just on the surface of the water. A series of knots in the line connecting the chair to the boom are a help when we haul ourselves up to a standing position. Although it takes a couple of tries to master the technique, the whole procedure requires little physical strength. If you have an adjustable topping-lift, you can actually winch someone into or out of the water seated in the bosun’s chair, using the boom as a derrick.
Niki Perryman and Jamie Morrison left Australia in 1992 to cruise in their 35-foot Lion-class sloop, Siandra. After crossing the Indian Ocean, they spent several years exploring Europe, including an icy winter in Arctic Norway. They plan to spend this summer in Maine.
Thank you to Sailrite Enterprises, Inc., for providing free access to back issues of Good Old Boat through intellectual property rights. Sailrite.com
