The glamour of sailing

[Tin Kicker]

My sis keeps telling me how pretty it must be to own a sailboat.

The true glamour of owning a sailboat when the 34 year old battery charger buried in a cockpit locker needs to be replaced and the heat index is 103F.
Then you see the other electrical work that needs to be taken care of "while you are in there."

 

[eknebel]

Ah, the port locker, don’t get stuck!

 

[Alan Gomes]

Looks cozy!

 

[peaman]

It takes a little while to learn the best ways to fold oneself into the space for any given job. One day, I hope to reach my own battery charger, but meanwhile, I'm just glad it still works.

 

[Christian Williams]

I always leave a note, in case they don't find the body until a week later. "DNR."

 

[bigd14]

My personal rules for confined space entry on boat- seriously, I have had some close calls.

1. Notify someone of whereabouts and plans
2. Tie lid into place
3. Place something in lid latch as backup if #2. fails- yes I accidentally locked myself in the lazarette once
4. Think about how to get out before getting in. If it’s a tight squeeze getting in it will be even tighter getting out. I stupidly went headfirst into the stern locker to tighten stern rail bolts and managed to compress my rib cage past the locker lip but once past, it expanded and I got stuck. Going further in wasn’t an option and I was only able to extricate myself with great effort and tearing of skin and bruising of ribs

 

[Christian Williams]

I have just recovered from three months of back pain after going in head first.* It was surprisingly hard to get out.

Much better to take the time, when accessing a difficult area, to bother to disconnect blocking hoses or move the water heater out of the way. "A stitch in time saves nine."

Which, as my grandmother had to explain to me when I was a teenager, means a stitch taken early prevents a big rip later. I am still trying to understand old expressions ("many a slip between cup and lip?") and to learn their lessons.

*and save your pity, pain is nothing to me.

 

[Frank Langer]

It's also not a bad idea to take a cell phone in there in case you need to call for help. But don't drop it into an inaccessible spot, don't step on it, or leave it in there when finished.
Frank

 

[mjsouleman]

Christen, I feel your pain, I herniated a disc after removing the anchor locker and dropping in for a quick look at the bow chainplate. Getting in is always easier than getting out.

Mark "souleman" Soule

 

[Loren Beach]

While it not be a concern with most Ericson's, IF you have a cockpit seat locker lid with the hasp pivoting down, reverse it so the hasp pivots up to engage the base piece.
You do *not* want the lid to be able to fall down and have the hasp latch itself while you are inside. I have seen boats finished out that way. (sigh)

 

[Kenneth K]

I have seen boats finished out that way. (sigh)

Sigh is right. Could lead to boaters being finished out that way, too.

 

[Teranodon]

I've spent a lot of time in the (aptly named) lazarette , but I consider that just innocent practice for the real thing: spelunking the depths of the seat locker. Getting down is relatively doable, but the return can be arduous and painful.

 

[Filkee]

Ah, yes. The annual bruised ribs that go with reconnecting the water bypass.

 

[windblown]

One bitter winter evening, the boat was on the hard, and I climbed up the ladder and under the cover to attend to something or other that I thought couldn't wait until Spring. I donned the heavy-duty headlamp the admiral gave me for Christmas (with three bulbs in front and a rechargeable battery pack on the headband in back), and dove into the port stern compartment, legs sticking up in the air above me. When I decided it was time to come up for air, I found myself trapped, with my headgear caught one way and the underwire on my Victoria's Secret caught another. All I could do was laugh about the situation, which made me laugh even harder. Imagine if someone had walked by the yard just then, only to hear a boat laughing in the dark, rather hysterically.

 

[Bepi]

Then there is the other glamor... Like when you are sailing out of Two Harbors and another sailboat alters course towards you and when they are near they shout out "Nice Ericson!'. This happened this past Tuesday and I have to say... I felt glamorous