![]() ![]() And, if you are underway in the dink and she capsizes, bottom mounted handholds will provide a place to hang on and will help you right the dink.ĭouble-ended lifeboats on many ships come standard with handholds on the bottom just in case they capsize. Bottom mounted handholds provide one more place for safety. This may sound strange, but your "dink" will be turtled with her bottom up and lashed onto the deck. Install handrails on the bottom of any hard dinghy that may be carried on deck for cruising. Think of different ways to make this tough task easier. ![]() Topside, you might have lifelines, but what about "grabbables" atop your cabin trunk or near the mast? Reef a mainsail and you will want to brace yourself to keep your hands free. A person should be able to brace themselves at all times. Install verticals on each side of the commode and shower stall. Include vertical grab rails in areas like the galley, head and shower. You and your sailing crew or partner should have "grabbable" overhead rails that run in a continuous, unbroken path from the companionway ladder to the forward cabin (or V-berth area). Inspect your own small sailboat above and below deck. You need long, continuous lengths of rail all around in every compartment-galley, cabin, head, shower and berthing spaces. Dinky segments of grab rail here and there don't cut it. Many a time I've reached out and grabbed "air" below decks in the cabin of a sailboat. And small sail or power-boats heel, roll, pitch, rock and roll in a seaway. What do you do any time you feel you are about to slip and fall? You reach out to grab something, brace yourself, or break the fall. I believe lack of "grab rails" below or above deck can lead to injury or an overboard emergency faster than you can blink an eye. But you might consider a modification to this space with the installation of vertical handholds on each side of the cooking area.īut sailors sailed for centuries without all that stuff-so heavily marketed in today's sailing world. ![]() Notice the solid horizontal handhold in this galley area. ![]()
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