sailing gear for infant??

[sophieo]

My brother is an avid sailor and I was hoping someone could advise me of a good baby gift idea for his son who is due in November. Ideally I'd like to get some kind of gear that would help them to keep the baby safe when aboard. Any ideas?

[bestfriend]

According to my Ex, he should be placed in bubble wrap inside a box and kept at least 50 miles from the water. Thats her version of kids sailing.
Seriously though, try this netting:
Boat Rail Netting
Or any good life vest and a tether.
Everything is expensive though, so maybe just a floating keyfob for his plastic baby keys.

[T34C]

Mustang PFD. Best thing going for "new sailors"!

[Splashing]

Heya!

My hubby and I are both avid sailors, and we have a 4 year old and a 1 year old. I've got opinions about gear and safety for the teeny set.

* For an infant, the most important thing is a sturdy place to lash the carseat. Period. =) Between the issues of hypothermia and drowning, most infants are not ready to go into the drink, so a PFD isn't even really reasonable. Your next best option is just to keep them safe the same way you do in any other hurtling vehicle; in a car seat. Our youngest absolutely dug this.

* Once they're slightly older (more thermal mass and better swimming ability), PFDs are great, but you have to negotiate the tricky choice between comfort and materials. Kids should have non-inflatable (that is, foam) PFDs, but you also need to watch out for offgassing, which can be a problem. Salus, Lotus, and Astral all make fantastic non-offgassing seriously comfy PFDs for little kids.

* Obvee, netting on the lifelines is great, but only for after they're older, and understand the basic concepts of on-deck safety.

* We have harnesses and jacklines, but both boys get so incredibly tangled up that it's not feasible. I think that's for another, more mature, stage.

* Did I mention swimming? Swimming lessons are the #1 safety thing I'd recommend. There are infant swim lessons, or just free time at an adequately heated pool will do. Comfort in the water goes a long way towards comfort on the water.

[ref_123]

Baby hammock. We got one from SailGB.com. Works great on the boat. Attaches to the cabin top handrails and keeps baby very comfortable. Passed ours on to another young family, and they love it, too.

Regards,
Stanly