# Your experiences with a baby and a boat



## Capslock118

Hi there,

So we own a modest 19' open bow power boat. We've always thought about learning and obtaining a sail boat but we think of it as a 5 year plan.

Yesterday however I came accross a potential opportunity to swap an even trade with our boat and a 25' bayfield.

Our son will be 6 months at the start of this season.
*
So, what are your experiences with that age group and beyond?*

I figure, if we changed course and got a sail boat (obviously, classes and additional research is given), I would be at the helm leaving my wife to care for our baby.

We feel that, because the sail would be under way nearly the entire time and that a sail boat tilts and shifts it would be difficult for her to take care of our baby, let him sleep in the cabin when tired without holding on to him etc.

*
What are your thoughts on that? give us your stories of your best and worst days out.*

We would be day sailors, sail around in the morning/afternoons, and also fishing.


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## CaptainForce

We raised our children on board since their birth. We still sailed; however, we were aboard at thw dock too. We practiced the old axiom, "You can't fall off the floor", frequently with infants and, of course, we also made sure higher items couldn't fall to the floor. Take care and joy, Aythya crew


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## Faster

A Bayfield 25 would be a nice, gentle intoduction to sailing. With one small child you'd have a pretty good setup for a while.. learning the 'ropes' and it's an easy boat to singlehand (essentially) with one person primarily child-minding.

Non toddlers are actually easier to deal with than toddlers. They sleep more, more content to sit/lay in one position for a while, and can't yet get themselves into potentially worrisome places. Add a good leecloth to one of the settee berths and he/she'll sleep contentedly and safely while you sail along. Babies that age don't get bored, aren't scared of 'new' situations and as long as their needs are met there's rarely a problem.

Once they're more mobile the challenges get bigger, but are totally manageable with some forethought. Our 3 year old granddaughter is totally content to play in the V berth while her parents are doing a local beer-can race - they holler 'tacking' below and she scoots to the new low side and continues to amuse herself. She's been sailing since she was a week old.

Starting at this young an age is truly best... they grow up with it and don't know any different. Introducing 6, 8, 10 year olds to sailing is much more difficult. They can be frightened, bored, confused by the environment... kids that grow up in it - it's just normal.

Typically it's a bigger issue for the parents than for the child. 

As kids grow they need more space, and you have a built-in rationalization for the occasional bout of '2-foot-itis' as you look for a larger boat. With luck they'll grow to love it and carry on as adults, as our son has done....

Good luck!


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## CaptainForce

As strange as it sounds, our son, from around 5 to 8 years old, would spend hours "sailing" his one foot plastic boat towed by a string off our taff rail. For that age, imagination trumps the real world! I could put him at the helm for a watch if I taped the cardboard core of a paper towel roll to the bow pulpit so he could site through it and fire upon suspect clould formations. There's plenty for a child on a boat. Take care and joy, Aythya crew


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## AdamLein

Glad to hear so many folks had good experiences with babies on boats, as I'm in a similar predicament to the OP, except I've already got the boat.

For us so far it's been satisfying Mommy more than any concern about the baby herself. Mommy is worried that the interior of the boat does not provide any comfortable place to feed her or change her or for her to sleep in. I admit that the dinette layout doesn't really answer well in this regard, but I think either the v-berth or the dinette berth with a lee cloth might work.

Anyway for one reason or another, our 5-mo old has not been aboard yet. Looking forward for the variables to line up soon to convince mommy to give it a go.

One thought I've had: we use a front carrier most of the time for transporting her around. We use public transit and it's way more convenient than a stroller. I think it will come in handy on board as well, as it keeps your hands free. I wouldn't go up on deck in anything but the gentlest conditions, since it can throw off your balance, but tending sheets or helm should be fairly easy. Also a baby kept close to her parents feels more secure and confident, so I think she would get used to the novel situation more easily.


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## ccollins0601

I have 1 year old twin boys who were out on our 27 foot sailboat starting at 5 months. Like other posters noted, they spent most of the time in their infant seats and though our sails were shorter than they used to be it generally worked out quite well. 

We always go out with at least three adults (usually me my wife and a grandparent) so there is one person for each kid and one for the boat. I'm a bit more nervous about the coming sailing season because of the toddler factor, as noted by Faster. The kids don't sit still any more (ever!).


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## xsboats

Nat was 1 at the time of these pics.Now, at 6, he wants to live aboard again more than Mom.


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## chall03

AdamLein said:


> Glad to hear so many folks had good experiences with babies on boats, as I'm in a similar predicament to the OP, except I've already got the boat.
> 
> For us so far it's been satisfying Mommy more than any concern about the baby herself. Mommy is worried that the interior of the boat does not provide any comfortable place to feed her or change her or for her to sleep in. I admit that the dinette layout doesn't really answer well in this regard, but I think either the v-berth or the dinette berth with a lee cloth might work.
> 
> Anyway for one reason or another, our 5-mo old has not been aboard yet. Looking forward for the variables to line up soon to convince mommy to give it a go.
> 
> One thought I've had: we use a front carrier most of the time for transporting her around. We use public transit and it's way more convenient than a stroller. I think it will come in handy on board as well, as it keeps your hands free. I wouldn't go up on deck in anything but the gentlest conditions, since it can throw off your balance, but tending sheets or helm should be fairly easy. Also a baby kept close to her parents feels more secure and confident, so I think she would get used to the novel situation more easily.


We are vastly experienced in this field........now being the proud parents of a 2 week old 
However I can attest that the front baby carrier(we have a baby bjorn) for me is an absolute miracle onboard.

Prior to our daughter I have had other infants onboard and have found the same thing. It makes getting in and out of dinghies, going up and down companionways etc, actually just about anything quite easy. Being careful not to whack a head here and there I have completed most sailing functions(inshore) with the bub attached.


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## AdamLein

chall03 said:


> We are vastly experienced in this field........now being the proud parents of a 2 week old
> However I can attest that the front baby carrier(we have a baby bjorn) for me is an absolute miracle onboard.


Great to hear that things have worked out for you. A comment about the Bjorn, though, which we have/used/loved for the first couple of months with our daughter (now 6 mo). Eventually (don't remember exactly when, the Bjorn gets to be too small, as in the part that she sits on is not wide enough to support her weight properly. Once her legs are hanging down, it's no good; you want her legs to splay out sideways as they would if you carried her on your arm. Unfortunately as you adjust the Bjorn for a bigger baby, the seat actually gets narrower.

We've switched to an Ergo, which has a super-wide seat, but one major downside: it buckles in that spot right in the middle of your back that it's hard enough to reach as it is. You can't put it on or take it off while wearing a jacket, unless you're wearing it over the jacket, but one of the great things about carriers is you can keep the baby under your coat. Come summertime, I expect the Ergo to be a lot easier to use.


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## nickmerc

We took our now 16 month old sailing when she was 2 weeks old. Both mother and baby seem much more relaxed on board. We would use the front carrier when the baby was on deck and use the car seat when she was down below unattended. I wedge the car seat in the quarter berth so it was easy to get to, well anchored in place, and safe for the baby. My daughter rode out some pretty rough weather in there.

As said before infants will sleep most of the time. We found that changing an infant on board was not an issue... except for storage of dirty diapers. That one is rough on an overnight trip in the summer.

My wife said the only place she was comfortable when she was at 40 weeks was on the boat. She fell asleep as soon as the sails went up.

I can't wait to get the boat going again this season and to get the family back out.
________
Sweetangelx1 live


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## glassdad

We took our son(now 20) on his first trip out at age one month. His first trip to Catalina was at age 2 months. He would just sleep as the boat would rock and cry when we came into the marina and we stopped rocking. The bigger problem was that my wife was more worried when he was in the cockpit. As he got more mobile and started crawling, we left him in the cabin with his toys and kept an eye on him.

Going ashore was more challenging. We had to carry the baby, stroller and diaper bag in the dingy and across a rocking dock. My wife carried the baby, I carried everything else.


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## pdqaltair

As soon as my daughter began to crawl, we sewed her first harness (1-inch webbing) and started clipping her on, not to the jacklines but to an even more limited area. But we also used it on-deck at anchor and at dock. Certainly there was CLOSE parental attention, but it did make things a bit more relaxing.

As a result, now 15, she has no memory of a time harnesses and jacklines were not a part of life.

Particular problems? When she was very young she would ONLY sleep if the engine was on, and thus we sometimes sailed with the motor idling, but not in gear! Otherwise, it was simpler than car trips.


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## Copprhead

Nice to see how many young families there are sailing around. We'll be one you this year, our daugther is now 5 months old and we'll be sailing most of the summer (in a 32').

We've been sailing with my niece when she was that age and she would sleep for hours on end in her carrycot in the front cabin, even (or especially?) with rougher seas. She would wake up or start to cry when we came into a harbor.

For moving around we like our wraparound baby carrier, very simple and very versatile.


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## mattstamour

My daughter and son grew up sailing on our boats. One of our family memories is when Nicole was maybe 3 or 4, on an overnight in Block Island when we had the 25' cape Dory. I had anchored to close to the lee shore and the tide left us stuck in the mud around 3am with the boat about 30 degrees to one side. She never woke up but repeatedly crawled back up to the berth, only to roll off again and again. Child abuse? Perhaps, but it was hilarious. So many family stories...We keep a boat diary which is a treasure of over 20 years worth of the kids pictures and writing and adventures.

There was a time when we limited our destinations so the kids could have more time to explore the shores and such. I remember the summer my son only wanted to drive the dinghy and anchor it over and over. Essentially the boat was the snack barge for the dinghy. 

Use common sense safety for the kids. You and they will be rewarded.


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## FishSticks

When ours were tiny we put 'em in a basket suspended below the skylight. You could say they were gimballed. When the boat was rockin' and rollin' it looked scary as the basket appeared to swing like a pendulum, but they were stationary and we were the ones holding on. Younger is better. When they start moving around it can get a little challenging at times. That's when we made them stay below on the cabin sole between the bunks with a huge pile of toys, and that worked pretty well on day sails. When it was rough we chocked them in with cushions and they stayed happy and safe. I recollect age 2 was not a good time, but that was long ago.


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## trailblazer1229

How about infant and toddlers on day sailers with no cabins such as a Flying Scot. I imagine the sun would be another issue. Any experiences?


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## AdamLein

trailblazer1229 said:


> How about infant and toddlers on day sailers with no cabins such as a Flying Scot. I imagine the sun would be another issue. Any experiences?


No experience with that, but I will say that my daughter could not be left in the cabin anyway. If the grownups are playing outside, she wants to play outside, too. She would scream and writhe around and try to escape mommy's arms until we just plunked her down on the cockpit sole, at which point she was perfectly content to chew on the jib sheets.


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## scove

No experience with day sailers either but have some comments for bigger boats. We started out in a Catalina 27 with a 3 month old. That was easy, he slept a lot and the v-berth worked great as a nursing and change station (you can wedge yourself in there quite comfortably). I had to single hand a lot except when I could press the older boys into service (didn't want to push it too much to avoid unpleasant feelings). When he got older we tethered him to the boat while under way and had lifeline netting surrounding most of the boat. It was still a bit nerve wracking so he lived in his life jacket a lot (and always on the doc). Now he's a very mobile 3 year old and loves climbing the boom and anything else he can. Again we have lifeline netting and he is tethered while underway. He's OK wandering around w/out a life jacket when we are on anchor.









The biggest problem we have now is that he is demonstrating a tendency to fall down open hatches on other people's boats (e.g he thought an open deck hatch on a cat that had a bug screen on it was a trampoline). Lucky for us it's been a soft enough landing each time (twice) but it scare the ____ out of everyone. We don't really have a perfect solution but do take him around the boat and get him familiar with it and re-explain the "don't play around hatches" rule each time (and several times per visit).

Jill Schinas has some good recommendations in her book if you haven't seen it:
Jill Dickin Schinas » Books » Kids in the Cockpit

Cheers,

sc


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## MITBeta

Our family of 5: Mom and Dad, 4yo, 2yo, and 4 month old started sailing this year in our club's Rhodes 19s. We try to have another able bodied adult in the boat with us when the conditions are anything greater than calm, and don't go out at all if they're anything greater than "mild." 

The 4 year old doesn't like when the boat heels. We try to keep it flat and slowly try to overcome her fears by demonstrating the effects of the boat controls on heel angle.

The 2 year old doesn't say a word -- it's the only time all week you can get her to be quiet. She seems to like it.

The 4 month old is overwhelmed by his life jacket. He sits on someone's lap and often falls asleep by the end of our short, 1 to 2 hour at a time, sails. 

The Rhodes doesn't have a cabin, but we've recently experimented with putting the 4 month old in his life jacket and then laying (but not buckling) him in his car seat under the cabin top. As long as it's cool enough out he does fine, but the 85 degree day we took him out, I don't think there was enough ventilation under there.

That's our experience so far...


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## kamala

MITBeta said:


> The 4 month old is overwhelmed by his life jacket.


What kind of life jacket do you use for your 4 month old?


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## MITBeta

It's a Stearns, most like this one:

Infants Heads-Up® Life Vest @ Stearns










Our 2.5 year old has a very similar one that carries the Bass Pro Shops brand.


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## MITBeta

2.5 year old:










She's just about ready to move to the next size.


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## kamala

MITBeta said:


> It's a Stearns, most like this one:
> 
> Infants Heads-Up® Life Vest @ Stearns
> 
> Our 2.5 year old has a very similar one that carries the Bass Pro Shops brand.


That's perfect! I appreciate the advice. I've ordered one and am planning on taking out the little guy this weekend for his first sail.


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## MITBeta

Here's the little guy (now at 7 months) on a friend's sailboat in Annapolis:










How did your sail go?


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## CaptainForce

'just a cautionary note here to add to all the joys with toddlers on board. Much concern has been given to the risks of falls and water, but we experienced great risk with running rigging. Once, when our young son was standing behing our center cockpit, we gybed and a loop of our mainsheet was thrown about his neck as the boom swung across the deck. Thanks to moderate wind and a quick response to lift him as he was lifted off the deck and grab the sheet, he was not harmed beyond a rope burn on his neck. We added a new rule for children aboard,- no child behind the main winches when sailing. It's wise to judge by your own configuration, but take note of your running rigging risks. Take care and joy, Aythya crew


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## kamala

MITBeta said:


> How did your sail go?


It was great! I found a nearly identical lifejacket at Dicks Sporting Goods. They had/probably still are having a sale and we purchased 4 different sizes (for 2 kids). I was surprised at how neither minded wearing them and they actually were upset when we took them off.


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## MITBeta

Good tip, CaptainForce.


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## medevacmurphy

great reads, I have been reluctant to take my toddler sailing, but i feel better about it now. I feared that everyone would have had negative experiences, but feel encouraged to get her out on the water now. I want to do a long sail, but judging by some responses, i may want to expose her to it on a day-sail basis first.


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## AdamLein

Yeah, go for it. Our daughter, now 13 mo., has been on a few daysails with us since May I think. She loves it. She staggers around on the cockpit sole; up until recently she has not been able to climb up onto the cockpit benches. Her favorite things are: the buttons on the tiller pilot, and the gimbaling oil lantern.


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## MITBeta

medevacmurphy:

My advice is to plan some VERY short trips -- less than 2 hours -- and bring snacks. It's been hard for me to keep my 4.5 and 2.5 year old girls interested for longer than that so far...


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## chall03

We have just clocked 1200nm so far with our now 8 month old onboard. As she is getting older it is getting more challenging but we still have no qualms about having her on the boat. You do need to work out a system for how you do things like hoist/drop sails....where do you put them, who is supervising.......the only thing my daughter hates is marinas.


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## Faster

Good to hear from you, chall.... and congrats on adapting so well to sailing with babies.

You'll reap the rewards (as will she) for a lifetime!


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## AdamLein

chall03 said:


> We have just clocked 1200nm so far with our now 8 month old onboard.


Got a blog?


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## sprtn94

We've had our daughter out on the boat since she was 6 weeks old. Almost three now and we've learned a lot. By and far, the very best thing that we did was enroll her in ISR classes. Infant Swim Resources - teaches them how to roll over and float on their back for extended periods of time. Check out the videos on You Tube, pretty remarkable.


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## chall03

Couldn't agree more on the swimming lessons. We have had our daughter in a similar program here since she was 12 weeks old. Since cruising she has been in the water with us as much as possible. At 8 months she can now swim 4 metres from mum to dad no problem. We practice 'humpy dumpty' with her on the side of a pool and off the transom ladder as often as possible. She sits and we sing the song she falls in and we help her to swim back and grab the side of the pool/ladder.

Sorry Adam the blog is still umm a work in progress. We largely haven't had enough Internet access, when we have one sorted will post a link on here.


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## Cruisingdad

Making your kids PROFICIENT swimmers is a must for cruising kids. But the truth is that they figure it out for themselves pretty quickly. 

Sailing with young children is very easy. When hey are toddlers, it bcomes more difficult because they can climb the companionway steps (a boating parents nightmare). But I have always said that boats are pretty childproof by design and we really had zero issues wth kids of any age on board.

Brian


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## MylesK

So helpful to hear everyone's comments. My wife, 5 week old daughter and I are moving onto our Lagoon 440 in a couple of months. It's currently down in Trinidad and we need to bring it up to NYC (where we live).

We're planning on heading down, sailing it as much as we can up around the windwards and leewards as far as we can and then having it sailed up the east coast somewhere around North Carolina where we'll bring it the rest of the way.

I'd love to do the whole route but I can't take that much time off of work.

Anyone have tips/thoughts/etc.?

Oh, and anyone interested in a 1 bedroom/1 bathroom absolutely beautiful apartment (just completely renovated the kitchen and bathroom)?


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## zedboy

Now how did I miss this thread all summer?

We daysailed with our kids of 2, 4 and 6 all summer and had a total blast. Had tons of their friends on the boat for short sails and they mostly liked it (one 3-year-old wouldn't keep his pfd on, one 6 year old found the whole thing scary). All the kids were totally up for a long day at the beach and on and off the boat. Sails were not more than an hour or two punctuated with lunch and snacks.

Cabin time was a bust mostly, but our cabin is pretty unappealing. Anchoring out to swim is unlimited entertainment. The 4 and 6 year olds liked taking the helm (my 6 year old daughter knows far more about sailing than her mother, she's always on hand to grab the helm so I can go forward or trim sails). Driving is most fun when motoring when the kids can go any direction they want (with lots of lake room and no other boats around, and daddy keeping careful watch). All are still too scared to jump off either the boat or the pier but it'll come. The two year old loved watching the other boats go by and easily fell asleep in mommy's lap, we need to make a cozy nest for him in the cabin. Motoring or sailing, it puts him out quick


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