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Taking baby on boat - Safely


hethj7

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Quality of jacket makes a difference. My daughter has this Body Glove jacket

http://www.ebay.com:80/itm/NWT-BODY-GLOVE-HUNTER-GREEN-INFANT-NEOPRENE-LIFE-JACKET-/270721881152

The zipper never bothered her, only complaint was she would get hot in the jacket. We would unzip the front slightly at the top when stopped and my wife sitting and holding her to cool her off a bit.

I wouldn't dare bring a baby on a boat without wearing a jacket...plus that is illegal and will get you ticketed off caught.

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We used an O'Brien baby vest. And like most who have posted kept him cool with a spray bottle or a quick swim ( dunk). When he was a little bigger we let him sit on the swim deck and splash. We also would take him for a pm drive to get him to sleep!! A life vest is a must. Spend the $$ and get a good one, and start early. My kids won't let DH start the boat till they are buckled :)

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We got a beanbag made from wet suit material that fit perfectly into the walkthrough, both of our kids used it and still get in it now for a nap or a chill out. This doesnt solve the problem if the boat sank and they needed floatation, but it sure made for a comfortable ride for them and somewhere to sleep. I agree, the bimini is a must, we also used to put a baby wrapp up over the walkthrough for extra shade.

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Used this jacket for all three girls.......works awesome. I kept my girls in the walkthrough sitting in the car seat unbuckled, towel across the dashes for a little more shade, and kept a spray bottle in the cupholder to mist the little ones.

We used the exact same set-up. The salus life jacket... in the car seat UNBUCKLED and shade as required. Kids also spend alot of time in moms arms. We have lots of great pictures of both kids lulled to sleep by the motor etc with my wife with one in each arm. The other benefit of the Salus jacket is it is very airy at the back so they have great ventilation to cool off.

I personally don't agree with trying to rely on the car seat bucket... it is not what it is designed for. I would rather find my kids floating face up in a proper life jacket just a little angry at me :)

My kids are now 4 and 2... love going out on the boat and both know the rules... in the boat...jacket on... no exceptions... I have been reminded by them before... now they are older they both have neoprene jackets which are much more comfortable for a long day. Each has 2 jackets a wet one and a dry one so they are comfortable throughout the day.

Edited by G-Mack
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We did the infant car seat with a life jacket strapped to it when it was nap time. Wedged the car seat in the walkway between the driver and observer. Perfect fit. Our gilrls both have fall b-days so they were both 6+mo before heading to the lake. Our boats are perfect for kids in so many ways. Their design is for stability. Ive seen some i/os roll along ways on their sides in turns. That would bother me with small kids on board.

When they do get older, the swim platform is the #1 kid friendly feature on an inboard. If it had an hour meeter....yikes!!!! :lol:

Oh, by the way...my kids now prefer the cheapie nylon vests...have bought both of them good fitting neos but they tend to rub rashes on their chins while sitting in the boat. Guess sometimes less is more.

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Some really good advice from many of the posters. I especially agree with the point of catering to the little ones while they are very young, keeping the outings short, etc. We are fortunate in that we can just head back to the dock for a break if the kids get uncomfortable. The boat is the best place for nap time though, couldn't keep my son awake on the boat if you tried his first year on the water with us.

We have friends with kids that use varying degrees of precaution regarding floatation when they are out in the boat. Parents just holding kids with no vest, or in a car seat or bean bag chair with no vest. If you do this, you are taking a risk by assuming no accidents will take place, an assumption that should never be made in this type of situation. I have been in some situations that have made me extremely uncomfortable knowing that others kids are not safe if something unexpected were to happen. I would never let this take place on our boat, but when you are out with others on their boat or their friends boat it can be hard to say something about it without stepping on toes. I always try to open their eyes to the risk of what if....

Originally we bought an infant life jacket that was recommended to me through one of the boating forums (may have been here, can't remember) and IIRC it was rated for 0-30 lbs. It worked very well for the 1-yr old and seemed to be more comfortable than any with the zipper in front for when he was really small. Here's a couple pics:

post-3603-0-58986900-1325115484_thumb.jp

post-3603-0-18222600-1325115547_thumb.jp

He's now graduated to this vest:

post-3603-0-75333100-1325115600_thumb.jp

Edited by dtb
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