Answering the Call

Friday was a lovely day at sea with a friend in my TI. At one point in the afternoon I jumped into the lake to relieve myself. Imagine my surprise when I was unable to haul my fat posterior back into the boat! My helmsman had to take us to the shallows so I could load myself back into the boat. This raises concerns and questions! What if I were in deep water, far from shore? What if the boat were to capsize? How would I get back in? I submit two questions:

What are the best ways to get back into the boat once you're out? Lighter guys or guys with better upper body strength could likely haul themselves back in, but I'm a heavier guy. Has anyone tried the RescueSteps device with an island?

I realize it's somewhat taboo to talk about bodily functions, but we're all adults, and we all have to deal with it. What are the best practices for relieving oneself at sea? The best I could come up with is to take a page from the truckers' handbook and carry a gatorade bottle or something. An inelegant solution, sure, but a simple one.

For a cheap method that easily fits in a mesh pocket check out my post in this thread: http://www.hobiecat.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=71&t=38474&hilit=+strap#p157108

There are other methods including some who use ladders.

Did you try getting on an ama? Once you get on the ama (which won't sink) it's pretty ease to get back in the seat.

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Hobie Island Sailing since 2006

I gave it a shot, but the amas were too far from the main hull to be helpful. I didn't have the trampolines on.

I would recommend making some loops of paracord or dyneema and fitting them over the buttons that the ama bungees attach to with the other ends fed through the bungee fittings on the amas. Then at least getting back on to an ama will be easier.

As far as relieving oneself you have a built in urinal right in front of you. Just pull your mirage drive. Heck, with the 3D mesh seats and the drains in the seat pans even women could relieve themselves in place...if they were so inclined.

Sent from my SPH-L720T using Tapatalk

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2015 Hobie Tandem Island Hibiscus
"Third Normal Form"

• Trampolines
• Hobie cover
• Davis Spar Fly
• Kayakbob's Sprayskirts
• Spine Board Hakas

We always have our tramps on, actually in 6 yrs of use we haven't gone out once without the tramps installed. We have little loops of spectra rudder string on each of our AMA bungys that prevent the bungys from stretching more than a inch or two. We can easily climb up and off the boat over the AMA's. Actually when snorkeling we often have one or two people sitting on the AMA's. When we first got the boat I installed a 3 rung rope ladder that we store rolled up on the rear deck. One end is tied perminantly to the rear lift handle on my older (2012) TI. With the other rope on the ladder we just have a cinch knot tied with a loop that when we want to use the ladder we grab the ladder out of the back of the boat and loop the end with the knot around the rear AKA bar and pop the knot onto the the hanty button on the end of the Rear AKA bar (the one above the one that holds the AKA bungy). We can easily climb onto the boat via the ladder with full scuba gear on (tanks, bc's, weight belts, etc), I'm pretty sure we are tipping over 300 lbs with all that gear on. Of course we have our tramps strengthened so we can walk around on them with our scuba gear on. Works for us, but honestly we never use the ladder, we just scurry ove the AMA's to get on board (easier), haven't used the the ladder in 3yrs.
In my opinion it's really important to practice getting back into the boat, we practiced in our pool till we had it down pat on all of the kayaks we have owned, especially sailing kayaks, because it's pretty inevitible that you will capsize at one time or another. Getting a TI back upright is way harder than it looks, and it's twenty times harder in higher winds and rough seas. It's also pretty important to have everything leashed (especially mirage drives, they don't float). You literally never know when your going to go over, it's best to be prepared. I have found thru experience you have maybe 5 minutes to get back in the boat before exhaustion makes it impossible (yes I've had to be rescued a few times). As far as nature calls, I do the same as everyone else, I just go in the mirage drive hole (built in chinese style toilets), our TI came with two bathrooms, his and hers (lol).
FE

That never occurred to me. The answer was, quite literally, right in front of me. That's as brilliant as it is simple.

I sewed up a little trampoline out of 2" webbing specifically for deep-water remounts.

I'm older than dirt and I can hardly walk - but I can remount my AI2 with no problem.

I swim around to an ama, grab an aka and heave my butt up onto the ama.

Then it's just a matter of rolling over on to the little tramp and then to the main hull.

Without the tramp, I could start the same by heaving my butt up on to the ama.... and then put my butt on an aka and scoonch my way over to the main hull..... but that was kind of dicey for me and the little trampoline is better.

Also.... I covered my akas with windsurfing boom grip...... may sound a little weird, but it's a huge increase in ergonomics when you need to grab one of the things and/or sit on one....... it also totally removes any issues of scratching/denting the alu when/if they are dismounted and bouncing around in a trailer or the back of a truck or car.

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2015 AI in "Dune" - "The Grey Pig"
2017 Trailex 450 Trailer
Pre-September 2015 cradles
(anybody want to buy a slightly-used AI SpinKit?)
eMail: [email protected]

First time I was confronted with this was after driving an hour to a lake, getting set up and on the water, playing around a bit - then realizing "I gotta GO!" Argh... This lake is long-and-skinny. Not likely many people on shore watching me closely but knowing my luck...!

Then I thought about it a bit more... I was wearing swimming trunks, it was WINDY and easy to find lots of waves to plow into, with the effect that I kept getting lapfuls of water over the bow! Okay then, just GO while sitting there getting drenched...!

That was the hardest thing to do, convincing myself to pee my pants as it were...

Still not sure what to do if I gotta poo though...!

Isn't that why Hobie put that diagonal aka brace, to make it easier to balance on the aka? We all know that the Miragedrive hole is not suitable.....

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Tony Stott
2012 Tandem Island "SIC EM" with Hobie spinnaker

My akas are covered with windsurfing boom hand grip - to extremely good effect......Now you have me thinking about covering the brace.... -)

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2015 AI in "Dune" - "The Grey Pig"
2017 Trailex 450 Trailer
Pre-September 2015 cradles
(anybody want to buy a slightly-used AI SpinKit?)
eMail: [email protected]

ummmm if you have the AI fully rigged cant you just stand and pee over the side?

Some firsthand experience from an expert: https://grillabongquixotic.wordpress.com/2011/12/

Do a Find on "Poo".

_________________
2015 AI in "Dune" - "The Grey Pig"
2017 Trailex 450 Trailer
Pre-September 2015 cradles
(anybody want to buy a slightly-used AI SpinKit?)
eMail: [email protected]

Greetings from Falmouth in Cornwall!

I have just registered for this great Forum - but have been following it for a while.

Would like to add my input to the 'getting back onboard' discussion in this thread.

I am probably classified as an Ancient Mariner, I sail a 2015 TI solo in sometimes challenging conditions.
Initially I found that getting up out of the seat was difficult in order to answer the call, change the centre board setting, getting onto a tramp etc.
My solution also permits me to get back onboard, so I consider it to be a win-win.

I tied a length of 1/2" line to the port side of the front cross bar, and then put figure of eight knots in it at 18" intervals until the last knot was level with the aft seat.
At this point I tied a length of thin bungie to the knotted line and then tied the other end of the bungie to a fitting on the port side near the stern, with little tension in the bungie line.
You still with me?
I finally tied the the other end of the knotted 1/2" line onto the port side of the aft cross bar.
So I have access to a line and can easily pull myself out of the seat, and because it is attached at each end the line steadies me when moving about.

As far as providing assistance with re-boarding, the bight of the knotted line is long enough to pull over the side and makes a stirrup.

Hope this is helpfull?

Another area that concerns me is that if I do go overboard with the sheet cleated, the TI will not wait around. I'm considering how best to rig a 'kill' line between me (somewhere) and a quick release shackle on the rear mainsheet block.
Anybody tried this without strangling themselves?

Pat Chilton

I have been obsessing about this for almost a year now.

My current practice is a tether of 1/2" braided line attached to the rear X-bar and snap-shackled to my PFD/Harness. .... The snap-shackle has a lanyard connected to the release pin that I am pretty sure I can pull if/when I have to.

But I would very much like to add your "Kill" line.

My current thinking is to terminate the tether on the block that serves the clew of the sail so that both the mainsheet and the tether are connected at the same point..... Then I would replace the S-hook with a panic snap and have the panic snap's release lanyard connected to the tether such that when the tether has tension on it the release lanyard gets pulled and the sail flogs free - net result is that I'm in the water on the other end of the tether and the mainsheet has become part of the tether.

One appeal of that setup is that even if the panic snap fails to release, my weight dragging on the clue of the sail may tend to orient the sail leech-to-the-wind and mitigate the dragging force compared to the sail's catching more wind in a downwind trim position...... And I know from experience that said dragging force is not to be taken lightly....

The challenge would be re-connecting the trigger snap to the sail once the boat has been re-mounted... but I think that is 100% doable given the ability to fully reef the sail.

My problem so far is finding a panic snap amenable to release via lanyard: most of them are slide-release as in https://www.amazon.com/Quick-Release-Sn ... B001HTZ396 or https://www.google.com/search?q=marine+ ... pARjm1M%3A

The ones that look like they would do the job, OTOH, are quite pricey: http://www.westmarine.com/buy/wichard-- ... ecordNum=5 and also seem like they would massive enough to create their own safety issues - as in head injury from a flogging clew.

OTOOH, hang gliders/paragliders use a panic release made from several rings ("3-Ring Circus"): https://www.google.com/search?q=3+ring+ ... D_AQsAQINQ with might be both cheaper and more functional. ..... More detail at http://hpac.ca/tow/HPAC_Tow_Manual.asp (do a Find on "Three Ring Circus")..... They also make reference to something called a "String Release", but I have not gone there yet.

The one on that page that calls out to me at the moment is the "two ring release using webbing loops rather than string".

_________________
2015 AI in "Dune" - "The Grey Pig"
2017 Trailex 450 Trailer
Pre-September 2015 cradles
(anybody want to buy a slightly-used AI SpinKit?)
eMail: [email protected]