Kids & Capris

[Charlie H]

Howdy folks,

My wife and I are expecting our first child. Any tips on raising a kid to encourage an interest in sailing? How soon can I reasonably expect to take the boat out, just myself and my son?

Any comments, tips, appreciated. Hoping not to become one of "those guys" who drops sailing when children come into the picture.

Cheers,
Charlie

 

[MrSkeet]

Congratulations to you and your wife, parents to be ! It's going to take someone with real experience sailing with young children to give a sensible opinion. I recall sailing with my brother, wife and four year old son in their 210 one design. I've seen some people (parents and/or pet owners - no disrespect meant) string nylon webbing in the life lines to keep any one from going overboard. I know with my 94 year old mother, it's the weather and wind that make for a do-able sail, i.e., 5 or 6 mph wind is smooth w/o excessive heeling. My uneducated guess is two year old child on a 5 mph wind day would be great. Stronger winds, more heeling and one slip sends the child (or elderly parent) crashing downhill to leeward - a scary thought.
Again, congratulations on the little sailor to be !
Wooster w/o kids

 

[drewlamparello]

Congrats for sure... having truly gotten into sailing while my first was born in Honolulu it is very doable to keep on sailing with the little one on board in my opinion. A few thoughts you may want to consider... Life line nets. I used them and felt a lot better with them in place... Harnesses. I build a custom one for my daughter so that it was like a kids life jacket in that it went around the shoulders, waist and crotch and there was no way to come out. That harness was clamped to a secured point in the boat. The connecting line was only longer enough to get to the seats not go for a stroll... Down below, I had set up the forward bunk on my Catalina 27 with a screen from a portable play pen so they could lay there and sleep while we were sailing with out popping out... and it had spring loaded clamps at the top for us to access her. That way she could see us and we could get to her any time we needed to... Worked really well... and as far as freedom, yes they could roam down below while sailing as a toddler but we would only give her the freedom if she was wearing her bike helmet... sounds weird but things happen quickly so we were both happy and she was allowed a choice...

Good luck and Good sailing
Congrats!

 

[Charlie H]

Thanks for the well wishes, guys, and the advice. Much appreciated. I am really looking forward to getting out on the water with this fresh crewmember that I can train up from the outset! Cheers, Charlie

 

[sroberts Capri 22]

I bought my Capri 18 when my kids were 4 and 6. Their greatest joy in the Capri 18 was what they called "rolly time" - the cabin had a center cushion so that the breadth of the cabin was cushioned. When it was blowing and the boat heeled, they loved to roll from windward to leeward. The Capri 18 absolutely loved to heel, so they had plenty of fun rolling. Before long they became disappointed if I could not get the boat to heel to their liking. My Capri 22 does not have a center cushion but I'd have been inclined to fashion one if I'd purchased it when my kids were as small. And I should mention the advantage the center cushion has in preventing the kids from falling to the hard floor.

I kept a tub of large sized Legos in the cabin for when it was calm, as well as a couple of blankets they could use to snuggle and nap in. And we always had a few books they could read and CDs they liked.

Early on I always looked for opportunities to get the kids to take the helm, ideally when we could do unplanned tacks and gybes. They ended up really enjoying to sail.

Steve