Would a sailboat be a good place to be

[flyingwelshman]

in case of a zombie attack?

Can zombies even swim?

[Ulladh]

Do we need a poll on what weapons to carry to fend off a zombie pirate attack?

[afrinus]

Well, depends if your crew becomes zombified....
Also, If the aforementioned concern is not an issue, I suggest a lake well stocked with hungry catfish.....

[flyingwelshman]

Do we need a poll on what weapons to carry to fend off a zombie pirate attack?

Come on. Let's not let this thread descend into the dreaded 'armed and sailing' fantasy-filled quagmire.

Keep it real!!

Originally Posted by afrinus

Well, depends if your crew becomes zombified....
Also, If the aforementioned concern is not an issue, I suggest a lake well stocked with hungry catfish.....

Unless the lake is filled with mutant zombie catfish!

[Tempest]

You can tell it's winter!

[Siamese]

Weapons aren't needed to fend off a zombie. They won't go anywhere near a Rocna.

[RobGallagher]

Originally Posted by Tempest

You can tell it's winter!

Not sure if you are a troll or an internet know it all, but;

I can't find any scientific information that proves that Zombie attacks are more or less prevalent in winter.

Not sure where you get your information, but, I suggest you be more careful when posting bogus Zombie info.

Peoples lives may depend on it!

Back to the subject at hand;

Zombies cannot swim.

Nor can they drown.

They simply walk under water to your anchor or mooring line and haul themselves up on deck.

Sharks and other large fast predatory fish are not afraid of Zombies and will feed on them.

The problem is that once in while the Zombies will get hold of a shark and bite or scratch the animal during the feeding frenzy...

Zombie Sharks are probably best left to another thread.

[DRFerron]

Admittedly, I know almost nothing about zombies except that they aren't living in the generally accepted definition of the term. But perhaps it's possible to round them up and train them to go after the Somali pirates? Why not use their unique skills to our advantage?

Perhaps each boat could have its own zombie security. I imagine there would be a few things to overcome in order to make it work, but why not?

[Springline]

I think a more basic question (as someone who is pretty well versed in Zombie Lore) is: depending on who's telling the story, the zombies can vary dramatically in effective intelligence, strength, and athleticism. So, the big question for flyingwelshman is: what kind of zombies are we dealing with here? For instance, if we were facing the standard Romero shamblers, I would be more than content to commandeer the lovely Shannon 60 at the marina I work at, and float in the middle of Narragansett Bay until it blew over (classic Romero zombies are pretty dumb, weak, can't swim, etc.)
If, however, we were dealing with the World War Z horrors, I'd think twice about being anywhere near land, and then you're talking about finding a vessel that can last for up to multiple months offshore (complete with extensive solar and wind plants, desalinization, etc.)
Overall, provided supplies can be restocked with a minimal hazard to life and limb, I don't see any reason why a sailboat wouldn't be a good place to take refuge. It certainly seems a better option than the office buildings/warehouses that seem to litter zombie movies.

[flyingwelshman]

Originally Posted by Springline

I think a more basic question (as someone who is pretty well versed in Zombie Lore) is: depending on who's telling the story, the zombies can vary dramatically in effective intelligence, strength, and athleticism. So, the big question for flyingwelshman is: what kind of zombies are we dealing with here? For instance, if we were facing the standard Romero shamblers, I would be more than content to commandeer the lovely Shannon 60 at the marina I work at, and float in the middle of Narragansett Bay until it blew over (classic Romero zombies are pretty dumb, weak, can't swim, etc.)
If, however, we were dealing with the World War Z horrors, I'd think twice about being anywhere near land, and then you're talking about finding a vessel that can last for up to multiple months offshore (complete with extensive solar and wind plants, desalinization, etc.)
Overall, provided supplies can be restocked with a minimal hazard to life and limb, I don't see any reason why a sailboat wouldn't be a good place to take refuge. It certainly seems a better option than the office buildings/warehouses that seem to litter zombie movies.

See? Now here is a thought-provoking answer.

So I guess we have to establish what caused the zombification. If it was some kind of vague industrial accident caused by socially irresponsible, corrupt and greedy business people then we would probably be pretty safe anchored just off-shore - then stealing into urban centres to scavenge our supplies from abandoned WalMarts etc.

If the mutations were brought about by some military top-secret weapons program gone awry, then we'd better prepare for extended offshore cruising and think about finding some un-affected island somewhere from which to repopulate the planet.

If the zombies are created by a malignant space spore then all bets are off.

I am still quite worried about these zombies climbing up my anchor rode though. Would a Chinese-made Rocna knock-off be as effective as an original one to stop the zombies from getting aboard?