# Baby seat in cockpit



## AndreasNYC

Help everyone

We are thinking of putting a baby seat in our cockpit. Perhaps mounted on the fron of the steering pedestal.
Are there any specific ones for boats perhaps with a splash guard?
A


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## Coquina

We just used our car seat and bungee-corded it where we wanted it.


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## jimgo

I've seen people put them under the dodger to avoid splashes. I'm not sure that I'd do that because it decreases visibility and increases the motion the baby would feel. I agree with Joe's idea of using a bungee cord to attach the car seat. If the cockpit is a decent size, you could always add a couple pad eyes and use the bungee to attach the seat that way (though I'd probably through-bolt those and put some kind of backing plate on it, given the precious cargo).


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## AndreasNYC

How important would you say the orientation of the seat is?

Would facing the seat exactly forward be more comfortable than at say 45 or 90 degrees to the direction of travel?

is one orientation less likely to cause sea sickness?

Are babies 8-10 months old prone to sea sickness?
I almost bet they are more immune to it than adults but that's just my hunch. 


thanks

A


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## jimgo

My kids were toddler age or older when we first started, so I can't really answer that. I would think that the motion of the ocean will be kind of similar to that inside the womb, so I would expect the babies to be somewhat less prone to motion sickness, but this is pure speculation on my part. If you want to reduce motion, I'd be inclined to put the seat facing either front or backward (probably backward so I could see into the seat easier) and as close to the centerline as possible. That will limit the side to side rocking. Keeping the seat as close to the center of the boat (fore and aft) also would seem to help reduce the hobby-horse feeling. But again, that's just conjecture on my part.


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## killarney_sailor

Our kids were 4 to 5 months old when they started on the boat and we had no problems at all. They do not like to be splashed I know that for a fact. Just make sure they are well-secured and not exposed to too much sun - or splash.


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## Coquina

We usually had the baby seat under the dodger facing the center of the cockpit with the back of the seat facing the coaming and bungeed onto the secondary winch. Our son seemed to by happy any old way we stuck him. Once we put cushions on either side of the V-berth and let him roll back and forth with each tack. He LOVED that  We figured by the time he was 90 days old he had spent at least 10 nights on the boat.


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## Sabreman

We had the seat on the windward side tied in. But if the boat was heeling more than about 5 degrees, our daughter was in mom's arms. I did a lot of "accompanied solo sailing" for a couple of years. 


When she was stable on her feet she could sit on the low side under the dodger and face which ever direction she wanted. A lot of times, she stayed in the v berth padded by pillows all around, and played with her toys.


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## Cruisingdad

Facing aft where you can see them and they can see u. On phone so cannot chat more. Friend me on facebook and is easier to help with questions.


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## bobperry

Do not put a baby seal in your cockpit.
The mother seal leaves the pup on the beach so she can go hunting. The mother will come back and retrieve the pup later.
Leave the baby seal on the beach.

A splash guard won't help. They are quite messy and they smell bad.


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## AndreasNYC

> Do not put a baby seal in your cockpit.
> The mother seal leaves the pup on the beach so she can go hunting. The mother will come back and retrieve the pup later.
> Leave the baby seal on the beach.


:laugher:laugher:laugher:laugher:laugher


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## miatapaul

AndreasNYC said:


> Are babies 8-10 months old prone to sea sickness?
> I almost bet they are more immune to it than adults but that's just my hunch.
> 
> thanks
> 
> A


Well it has been a few years, as my youngest is 15, but I remember 8-10 months they threw up for just about any reason at any time! I have read that everyone is supposed to get sea sick but some don't because of scaring of the inner ears from childhood colds and whatnot makes them less susceptible. I don't know if it is true, but it sure makes an adult feel a bit less silly if you tell them that as they get sick. But it would indicate that children of all ages would be more prone. I know one of my sons got car sick even when very young, but the other does not. The one who got sick all the time is now 18 and still does not have a license and has no real interest in getting one, while the 15 year old is ready already or so he thinks! Not sure if it is related. But lots of people take kids out at that age, so I think if they are not prone to car sickness you should be OK.

As far as facing the car seat I would think you would want either facing forward, or to one side, not in between. And of course keep them out of the sun!


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## MedSailor

We used a regular car seat. It wedged nicely in the cockpit floor well. (sorry I don't have a picture of this). We had him facing rear, so we could see him and he could see us. I put in some straps on the starboard setee where we could strap down the car seat and this did come in handy during a 20+ knot squall. It seemed like every time the engine was on he'd sleep "like a baby." Maybe it was the carbon monoxide, but it sure worked. We even ran the motor for 20min or so in the evening at anchor just to get him to sleep.

As for a spray hood, I wouldn't think you'd need that. If you have a sun shade on the car seat that should suffice. If the weather is worse than that, I'd mount the little one down below, rear facing, where you can see him/her from the cockpit.


















Medsailor


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## svHyLyte

Since my wife and I sailed up until about a month before our daughter was born, I suppose one could say our daughter began sailing when she was -1 month old. Subsequently, she began sailing with us when she was 5-6 months old. In a car-seat when awake and in a bassinet suspended from the overhead (in the manner of a hammock) when sleeping. (The "hammock" was on a short tether buffered with a bungee cord so it remained "level" regardless of the roll or pitching of the yacht to prevent her suffering sea-sickness. It worked.)

As she became older, she sat in a car-seat lashed in the cockpit, facing aft, where she was protected from sun and sea by the dodger but able to see out and about. When she was up to it, she was allowed to walk about in the cockpit wearing a PFD with a tether so she could help me "drive".

Now in her early twenties, she says her best "childhood" memories are of our family travels on the yacht but that she's still unhappy with me and her mother about our selling our "little boat" (our 1976 Cal 2-29) in favor of our "big boat" (1986 First 42) even though it gave her her own cabin.

Pictures following (I hope!):


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## jimgo

What is it about the little boat that she misses, or what doesn't she like about the current boat?


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## svHyLyte

jimgo said:


> What is it about the little boat that she misses, or what doesn't she like about the current boat?


Frankly, Jim, I don't know for sure. Our old boat ("Mello Belle"--_because she was very mellow at sea and often the "Belle of the Ball" in our harbo_r) was her first experience and she was just abject when we sold her ("Daddy, how can you sell Mello Belle, she's part of our family!?!") She didn't like HyLyte at first, even though she had her own cabin--still stuffed with toys, art supplies, _et al_ to this day--because it replaced Mello Belle and it was hard for our dog, Nibbles ('cause he always wanted a little nibble of whatever you were eating), to make his way to or from the cockpit without a boost (the companionway ladder was too steep and she wasn't then big enough to handle the job.)

N'any case, she's been sailing all over heck and gone ever since, most recently a passage from St. Martin to Trinidad--by-passing St. Vincent to our relief. (She's been on power boats also but doesn't care for them as she explains: "Daddy, they're too stinky! You can't even smell the ocean!") At this point she takes great pride in the fact that she and her mother can handle the "big boat" but when questioned she still says she liked Mello Belle "better".


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## Tayana42

40 some years ago when our daughter was an infant we had a 24 ft boat. We use a "car bed" (remember those) wedged into the saloon seats. Never used a baby seat in the cockpit, always held her. Maybe it was easier on a small boat.

She sailed with us from about 6 months of age. When our son was born we took him on his first cruise at 4 weeks of age from New Haven to Block Island. Same car bed and same mother's arms.

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## AndreasNYC

Thank you all for the great advice


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## dss30

Have been following this thread with great interest. We will be sailing with our now 8 month old this summer on the Chesapeake. Have already thought about netting for the v-berth, and a forward facing seat for the cockpit!


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## MedSailor

dss30 said:


> Have been following this thread with great interest. We will be sailing with our now 8 month old this summer on the Chesapeake. Have already thought about netting for the v-berth, and a forward facing seat for the cockpit!


Go for it. When they're still content to nap in a car-seat, and before they're crawling and running everywhere it is sooooo much easier to boat with the little ones.

MedSailor


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## LinekinBayCD

Coquina said:


> We just used our car seat and bungee-corded it where we wanted it.


Same here. No need to over think it.

Sea sickness not a problem for our kids (or car sickness for that matter)


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## AndreasNYC

Hey everyone, here is our exciting baby bed and platform for the master cabin









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## PaulinVictoria

We just got a Salus Bijoux lifejacket for the new baby, seems that he can only lie down in it without having it ride up onto his chin, at least until he's a bit bigger. We have a co-sleeper to put him in, and a compact travel cage, umm play yard that might just fit in the main saloon.


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## christian.hess

keep the ideas coming! 

great thread


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## AndreasNYC

Hello Everyone
Well despite our platform arrangement we ended up moving Eleanor to the bow berth.
there where 2 problems
1) she does not usually sleep in a room with us and we kept on waking each other up and no one slept that well.
2) One night it was so hot that she could not sleep at all and was perfectly miserable.

We ended up moving her bed to the nose berth where ventilation was better and everyone was much happier.


This also meant that we could not really take any guests on board any more...


Had a great time 

Andreas


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