This image portraits two of a cruising sailors many challenges. It might be a natural thing for you on land to expect a quiet nights sleep in your bed which doesn't move back and forth. And you probably have enough fresh air in your bedroom either with the aid of an AC or a window open perhaps. When you live on a sailboat (monohull in particular) and are anchored somewhere on the famous clear blue sea, there's almost never a guarantee that you and your bed will stay still during the night. Wind changes, a swell might hit you on the wrong side so to put it and weird currents can mess it up for you which urges your boat to roll from one side to the other in a very uncomfortable manner. And the nights when there's no wind here in the tropics, you might wish that you had installed that AC after all, and so you put up these little wind scoops that you can see above our cabin hatch, which helps you to catch the little wind there is and lead it down to where you sleep. The installation of the pole and a bucket full of water by sea level is something that's often used by sailors in an attempt to try to break the cycle of rolling and balance the movement of the boat a little and some rolly nights that works OK. On top of this, I might add, there's a lot of noise coming with the rocking and rolling back and forth when the boat bangs from one toe-rail to the other. All in all, not the ideal type of sleep for many of you I assume. Good thing is that you get exercise while undergoing this treatment. Your muscles are tensed during the whole process as you try to keep all your different body parts inside of the bed during the night. If we ever get another question concerning how we keep ourselves in shape, I will add this obvious one to the list.
10 comments:
Hi there,
I never would have thought of the bucket hanging from the spinnaker pole, but it's a really good and simple idea. There is also another way you can use to try and ease the movement. There are small pieces of cloth in a triangular shape that are hoisted like a genoa, and tied up so it won't flap. According to people I know they say it stops a bit the rolling motion as the boat tends to point to the wind. Cheers
Taru,
As a lifelong sailor, full time caretaker and sometime liveaboard, I'm really enjoying following your trek and the twists and turns of your life's aboard. You have a gift for expression both written and thru your photos. Don't sweat your english, it's how I imagine you would speak and it's charming.
We were so warm at night last year down there, the scoops do help when there is breeze. A trick I use for sleeping when rolly is to pack ourselves in with pillows and bags. Or I'll wedge myself between them and the hull. If I can't roll around it won't wake me.
I too would love to see some more of Alex's work. I wouldn't worry about all the details of explaining how it was done. He sounds like me and would rather get on to the next thing at hand than write up the process. Many of us will get it, and others can ask.
Looking forward to reading about these upcoming months.
Regards, Greg
S/V Sirena
Point Richmond, California
Taru
As a merchant mariner of over 35 years I've had to put up with a rolling ship many times and on occasions, for quite a few days at a time. One of the tricks we use is to jam a couple of Lifejackets under the mattress in such a way as to form a valley that you can lie in without the discomfort of rolling around in your bunk. However, many years ago when I was on a Banana boat coming through the Panama canal, I bought a hammock from one of the locals. When the weather got rough, I tied this up, installed a couple of pieces of wood as spreader bars, then put a couple of blankets into it and climbed in. The ship rolled heavily during the night, but I slept like a baby!
Best of luck to the both of you
Nigel Bailey
Electronic Officer
DSV Crest Odyssey1
We had these thingies called rocker stoppers that were hung over board the sides. They were made of a hard plastic and looked like an upside umbrella. They worked pretty well for the most part. Sleeping amongst the sail bags with ear plugs works well to. Even better with a gut load of Rum.
cheers
Scott from Nova Scotia
I sometimes use a line tied to the anchor line (with rolling hitch) approx 10-30 feet from the bow anchor roller. Lead this line back to a snatch block on the rail amidships or even further aft, then to a primary winch. Depending on conditions, this may help you pull the boat around (against current, wind, etc) to lie bow to the waves and greatly reduce rolling. Try it and let us know if it helps!
Great advice you all, thanks. Will try these out and let you know.
In the 80's I was the happy owner of a lovely flush decked 28' wooden double ender. I designed a wind scoop that actually worked very well, catching the wind from whichever direction the wind came. It can be seen here in a sorry to say small and bad photo:
http://www.christerrosewellphotography.com/LylaFlorine/LylaFMidSumDock.jpg
Two pieces of cloth sawn together in the middle and attached to two cross pieces of wood that were attached with a metal post in the center so they could either be "collapsed" or opened to 90 degrees. The same thing was attached at the bottom and it would hang so it reached below the deck.
This created a V-shaped area in four directions which caught the wind. Worked very well, was easy to make and easy to stove.
You know the funny thing is that I sleep like a baby when we're on the boat but when we come back to the city I can't sleep at all. It's too quiet. I miss the wind chime effect of the halyards on the masts and the creaking of the lines. I may have to make a recording and play it when we're in the city!
Deb
S/V Kintala
www.theretirementproject.blogspot.com
I do anything to be able to sleep on a boat. Having been sleeping on boats since 2 months old, I don't sleep better anywhere else. Can't wait to start our own journey and to live on a boat.
How do you feel when you go sleep in a resort? Does it feel rocky to you?
OMG I'd probably never be able to sleep! :(
Post a Comment