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How to secure a baby

12K views 34 replies 19 participants last post by  jimrafford 
#1 ·
Hi Everyone,

We recently welcomed our son into the World and we have done a few day sails but one of us always needed to be holding him which makes some tasks difficult and impossible in foul weather. So now the missus has tasked me with devising a method to keep him safe and secure when we are sailing (and hopefully I figure it out before this sailing season ends!). I've read a number of posts and articles about people sailing with kids and young kids but not babies. The difference being we can't just put up a lee cloth in the V-berth as he can't even sit up yet and would be thrown around as we tack back and forth.

My original thought was lashing his car seat to the dinnette table but thought the heel angle might be uncomfortable for him and I'm not sure how sturdy the table is (since it comes off to form a bed). Then I thought I could fashion some sort of hanging swing but I would be worried he would bump into things in the cabin. So my current idea is to somehow secure a basinet on the floor in the centre of the cabin where the motion is the least but this would restrict movement of traffic. So before I proceeded any further I thought it best to ask the sailing community what has been done before and worked well for them. I don't want to be re-inventing the rudder.

Thanks in advance for any advice.

Steve

BTW we have a Catalina 27 Dinnette series in case that helps.
 
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#31 ·
We've had success with the car seat down below in the cabin in our new to us Catalina 27 for our infant who loves the motion of sailing and the engine noise. Our two year old wears his Mustang Lil Legends and does pretty well. My wife and I both have inflatables and make a point to wear them both for safety and to set an example for the little ones. One debate is what to do with the infant when he is nursing topside. He should have a jacket on but nursing is difficult/impossible with jacket on. Also leaning towards a tether for the toddler and likely lifeline netting.

For naps, the v-berth has worked out nicely at anchor as there is no open space with the insert in. We use a battery powered white noise machine.
 
#32 ·
"One debate is what to do with the infant when he is nursing topside. He should have a jacket on but nursing is difficult/impossible with jacket on."

Well, one might suggest that if you can't do something safely someplace, do it someplace else. Let him nurse BELOW DECK not topside.
 
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