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How not to pull your boat for the winter

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delliottg
Former Mainsheet C250 Tech Editor

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USA
4479 Posts

Initially Posted - 11/25/2007 : 15:09:43

My brother, his wife and all of their young grandchildren came up for Thanksgiving from Oregon. Since the weather was going to be perfect on Friday, I asked my brother if he'd like to take the kids on a short boat trip so he could help me pull the boat while Rita, my sister in law & the grandkids went shopping afterwards. We got the truck & trailer staged at the ramp, then headed out with the whole herd on board. The trip over to the ramp was a lot of fun for the kids, if a bit cold, but we had everyone bundled up pretty well. It only takes maybe half an hour to get to the launch, so the ride was over pretty quickly, but nobody was complaining.

Rita got the boat ready for a port side to landing on the ramps' finger pier, and I coached my brother on what to do. We got about a foot away on a decent approach, and Rita jumped down onto the pier and crumpled into a ball holding her ankle. I got my brother over the side to grab the lines, then I got over the side as well, got the lines from him & had him go to Rita's aid. I tied off the boat & adjusted the fenders so the wave action wouldn't beat up the side of the boat. Rita didn't seem to be in any jeopardy, and I figured she just had a minor sprain. This was not the case. My first inclination was to just punt, ice her foot and run back to the marina, abandon the plan to pull the boat and get her to a hospital. We decided to get her into the cab of the truck where she'd be warm, and try to figure our options. We put her in a fireman's carry and hustled her to the foot of the pier and I ran & got the truck & trailer. About this time the guys who were pulling their boat next to us offered to help (stinkpotters to the rescue again). I asked them if they'd be willing to give my brother a ride to his car at the marina and they quickly agreed. The plan was to have my sister in law run Rita to a hospital while my brother & I derigged the boat. I felt bad about not going with her, but she assured me she'd be OK, she still thought she just had a sprain, but it wasn't swelling, which is usually an indication of a break. While my brother was shuttled over to the marina, I went ahead and pulled the boat with my sister in law's help. This didn't go as well as it might, I'd never pulled the boat when the tide was this high, and found out that the ramp is less steep at the top than it is lower down, so I had a hard time getting all my pads submerged, so it was a bit of a challenge as well as a chest waders moment to get the boat all the way on the trailer. We finally got the boat out of the water about the same time my brother got back. We maneuvered Rita into the other car, gave my sister in law the GPS with the closest hospital already queued up so all she had to do was follow the voice prompts and off they went.

My brother & I began derigging the boat for trailering, but were now up against a time problem, the sun would go down before we'd be finished. Plus we had two hyperactive grandsons trying to "help" us. The grand daughter had gone with my sister in law to "help" on the trip to the hospital. I was quite pleased with the progress we made however, even considering my brother's lack of experience, my difficulty staying focused, and our two little helpers. We managed to get the boat ready to trailer in just about two hours, although I will admit to cutting some corners. By the time we were done, she still hadn't been triaged, so we didn't know the extent of the damage. I ran my brother and grandsons home and finally got a call from Rita, they thought she'd broken her ankle and possibly her leg, but she had to wait a couple of hours before they could do a CAT scan as the x-rays were not conclusive.

To make a long story somewhat shorter, Rita ended up with a severely broken heel (comminuted, a new word for me), with shards of bone driven up into the joint, as well as another, less critical break to one of the bones in her ankle. The bad break will require surgery (we think tomorrow, but that's not confirmed yet), so it'll be a while till she's on her feet again. We've spent most of the weekend with her flat on her back, ice on the joint, and trying to stay current with the pain meds.

David
C-250 Mainsheet Editor

Sirius Lepak
1997 C-250 WK TR #271 --Seattle area Port Captain --

Edited by - on

John Russell
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
3444 Posts

Response Posted - 11/25/2007 : 15:20:35

I'm holding a good thought for your Admiral. Take good care of her.

Edited by - on

EAbrams
Navigator

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USA
130 Posts

Response Posted - 11/25/2007 : 16:00:19

OMG
A simple thing like jumping from boat to dock. Something she has probably done a hundred times.

Hope she heals without any compilcations.

Get well soon Rita !

Edited by - on

britinusa
Web Editor

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USA
5404 Posts

Response Posted - 11/25/2007 : 16:57:26

Admiral down! Never a good place!

GWS!

Paul and Admiral Peggy.

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jerlim
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
1484 Posts

Response Posted - 11/25/2007 : 17:56:34

Sorry to hear the story. It really speaks to how casually we go about doing dangerous things. Best wishes to your wife for a speedy recovery.

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Nautiduck
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
3704 Posts

Response Posted - 11/25/2007 : 22:21:12

Sorry about Rita. She sounds like a real trooper. We'll be thinking of you both.

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sweetcraft
Admiral

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USA
816 Posts

Response Posted - 11/25/2007 : 23:33:38

Take care of your Rita. We wish for a quick recovery and then a new warm season. It's news like yours that make us appreciate what we have. Let us know how things go.

Edited by - on

dlucier
Master Marine Consultant

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Virgin Islands (United Kingdom)
7583 Posts

Response Posted - 11/26/2007 : 08:35:17

Sorry to hear of your wife's mishap. I'd be willing to bet more injuries happen during docking than anything else. Of the few times my wife assisted me when docking at unfamiliar slips, I had her man the bow with a boat hook while seated. Her job was to grab something on the dock and hold the bow while I secured the stern then the bow lines.

Hope your wife has a speedy recovery.

Edited by - dlucier on 11/26/2007 10:26:05

Dave Bristle
Master Marine Consultant

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Djibouti
10005 Posts

Response Posted - 11/26/2007 : 09:07:15

A couple I know was motoring out of the boat club on their C-25 when their engine quit. A tidal current carried them back toward a private floating dock, where she tried to jump off to fend the boat off the dock (or something like that). Instead, she fell into the water between the boat and the dock, badly wrenching her shoulder on the way down. Her husband somehow kept the boat from crushing her against the dock, secured it, and got her out of the water...

I think the lesson here is it's a good idea to give your crew boathooks as you're approaching a dock or another boat, and be ready to use them as or if needed. That should prevent stray limbs and bodies from being where they shouldn't be.

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tinob
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
1883 Posts

Response Posted - 11/26/2007 : 10:53:36

Sorry to hear of Rita's misfortune...give her our love and wishes for a speedy recovery.

Val on the hard DAGNABIT, Patchogue, N.Y.

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delliottg
Former Mainsheet C250 Tech Editor

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USA
4479 Posts

Response Posted - 11/26/2007 : 11:01:16

Thanks for all your kind thoughts, it means a lot to us.

Rita's scheduled for surgery later on this afternoon. I suspect it might be a bit of a long road back to sailing for her, but we'll see how it goes.

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Frank Hopper
Past Commodore

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Pitcairn Island
6776 Posts

Response Posted - 11/27/2007 : 09:14:27

Please give her our best, ankles and feet are miracles of design and difficult to repair. I hope she comes out of this pain free.
She was at the shrouds and outside the lifeline wasn't she? Your explanation makes it sound that way. That is of course that best and safest place to be when on docking help duty. Usually that is a reasonable step down to the dock from there. Docks can be tricky surfaces and structures, we have some fingers at our club that rock and move so badly that it is very difficult to step to them without a little dance at the end.

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dlucier
Master Marine Consultant

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Virgin Islands (United Kingdom)
7583 Posts

Response Posted - 11/27/2007 : 09:59:08

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by Frank Hopper
 She was at the shrouds and outside the lifeline wasn't she?...That is of course that best and safest place to be when on docking help duty.<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">

At my dock, which last season was about even with the top of the lifelines, being outboard of the lifelines would be a very, very, bad place to be.

When others are aboard and we're approaching the dock, I usually give them the amusement park warning, "Please remain seated until the ride comes to a full and complete stop, and thanks for riding North Star...!".

Edited by - dlucier on 11/27/2007 10:10:31

Frank Hopper
Past Commodore

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Pitcairn Island
6776 Posts

Response Posted - 11/27/2007 : 10:47:51

Our docks float, don't most? That makes the distance from the deck to the dock remain constant regardless of water depth.
Question, if a dock does not float does that make it a pier?

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delliottg
Former Mainsheet C250 Tech Editor

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USA
4479 Posts

Response Posted - 11/27/2007 : 10:52:34

I've thought about this for a while, and I think what probably happened was a swell caused the dock to move up as she was jumping down. My brother was standing where she usually stands, so she went down from a little higher than normal. What we should have done was catch a cleat with the midship's cleat which is what we bought them for after all. I didn't want to try to explain that to my brother, who while ex-USN, isn't all that familiar with small boat handling. She was outside the lifelines, and she should have just stepped down instead of jumping, but it's just one of those things you don't think about.

In any case, her surgery went well last night, she's got a big triangular plate holding all the bits and pieces together, now it's time to let it heal.

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Frank Hopper
Past Commodore

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Pitcairn Island
6776 Posts

Response Posted - 11/27/2007 : 10:59:39

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by delliottg
 

In any case, her surgery went well last night, she's got a big triangular plate holding all the bits and pieces together, now it's time to let it heal.
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">

eeew, get her started shopping for shoes on line, not only does she deserve them, she will probably benefit from some.

Edited by - Frank Hopper on 11/27/2007 11:00:30

Tom Potter
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
1913 Posts

Response Posted - 12/12/2007 : 19:19:41

David,
How is Rita doing?
Those heel injuries can be very nasty and long time healing (no pun intended)

Edited by - Tom Potter on 12/12/2007 19:21:26

delliottg
Former Mainsheet C250 Tech Editor

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USA
4479 Posts

Response Posted - 12/13/2007 : 07:41:49

Tom,
Nice of you to ask. She's on the mend, and apparently the injured area is starting to itch like mad which is generally indicative of healing. She's managing the pain with OTC stuff now instead of pain killers so that's a good sign. We got a knee scooter for her which has really helped with her mobility, she's actually been out grocery shopping with me once, which I didn't expect to happen. Of course her sport of choice is power shopping, so maybe there's some motivation there. She only uses her crutches now when she goes upstairs to take a bath or shower. She had her stitches removed last Friday, and that was a tough night for her, some of the stitches were reluctant to let go and that caused her a fair amount of pain.

Overall I'd say she's doing about as well as can be expected for such a nasty injury.

Thanks for asking, it means a lot.

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