There is no such thing as too many handholds, especially as you or some of your special friends and relatives get older.
Following are some illustrations of ours.
1. My “Granny Rail”
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The single most important addition is what I call my Granny Rail, a simple stainless steel tube bent to mount into two stanchion bases, which gives me something to hold onto while climbing into the dinghy, whether from the side, as Dave is doing, and especially from the small step in the bow, which is the highest part of our dinghy, helpful when you are climbing onto a high dock, but too precarious for me to use without that rail to balance with.
2. Grab rails on our swim platform
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Other essential grab rails were the ones mounted on either side of our swim ladder, and the bar that runs clear across the stern of the boat, so you are secure while walking on the swim platform anytime.
3. Grab rails in our head compartment
Another essential grab rail, not usually found, is the one mounted on the door frame of our head compartment.
I can grab this, swing myself onto the head, being supported all the time, and use it to get back to my feet when ready.
Really essential when we are rolling around, or at night, when my eyes may be at half mast.
So simple, but so handy.
Dave and Bev Feiges
Aboard Cloverleaf
Abaco, Bahamas
About Bev Feiges
After 21 years on a Cal-46-3 sailboat, Bev and her husband moved aboard Cloverleaf, their second cruising boat, a 61-foot custom Krogen motoryacht.
Self-described “coastal cruisers”, they have traveled the eastern seaboard from Canada to Florida, much of the Caribbean, and with a little help from Dockwise Yacht Transport, much of the Med, from the Balearics to Turkey, south along the coast to Egypt, through the Suez Canal, as far south as Abu Tieg.
You can read Bev’s blog, “Cruising with Cloverleaf“, at www.feiges.blogspot.com.
Bev is also a contributor to Gwen Hamlin’s “Admiral’s Angle” column.
Read also on this website
- Bev Feiges makes her case for an electric galley aboard
- Bev’s contribution to our article “Refitting the Galley: 12 Experiences”
More information (external links)
- Bev and Dave Feiges’s blog: “Cruising with Cloverleaf”
With 60 years of boating experience, Bev and Dave Feiges have seen it all. From racing inland lake scows, to cruising and living aboard sailboats and trawlers for the past 30 years, they have developed opinions on almost every aspect of life on the water, especially with an eye toward the needs of older boaters
What little modifications have you made to YOUR boat that have made a BIG difference?
Let us know.
Email kathy@forcruisers.com or leave a comment below.
