Baby On Boat

[saxton15]

So this will be our first year with our little guy on the boat. He will be 5 months by the time we actually start logging some serious hours on the boat. I'm wondering if any of you have used baby ear muffs like "Baby Banz" to reduce the decibel levels on their ears while under way; wind noise mostly?

Any other good tips? We are experienced boaters, but this changes things quite a bit!

Edited March 17, 2015 by saxton15

[Stevo]

Put in your windscreen and place him between the helm and observer seat. I don't have any pics of ours, but I remember someone else posting up som pics

[saxton15]

Yeah he will be in his car seat in the walk way with the wind screen up. Vest on.

[Intheday]

We worked from shore so not in the boat all day. We always had a life jacket on both of ours slept in the boat quite well No problems with the noise

[Ndawg12]

<<<<------------- + a life jacket while underway of course.

Edited March 17, 2015 by Ndawg12

[csilcox]

may catch heat for this but we would always put our infant(s) in those bouncy chairs that you strap them into and then attach 2 infant life jackets to the chair itself....it seems infant life jackets never fit them and they get too hot. We would move the chair to wherever the shade was under the Bimini...you can find a more stout bouncy chair than attached pic but you get the point.

[klewislx]

That's awesome, start them young! My kids don't remember not having a boat.

They still refer to the area at my feet as the "sleep spot", even though I don't think they'll fit anymore!

You'll find the vibration/rumble of the boat puts them right to sleep!

We never used earmuffs, but that's up to you.

My piece of advice would be to start practicing wearing the life jacket at home to get them use to wearing it. That was our only issue, the life jackets are very constrictive for them and they don't usually like them at first.

[augie09]

This life jacket mentioned in this thread

Puddle Jumpers for the older kids.

Keeping the kids cool is most important we've found. We also have those cheapy spray water bottles with the fans on them.

Never had to put a car seat or any baby seat in the boat. One person (wife) usually holds them and they pass out shortly. Then we just lay them down with towels surrounding them.

But we also never stayed out more than 2 hours tops.

[Kalamazoo]

we strapped a playground swing to the bimini/tower (not while underway of course). between the waves and the swinging motion the baby slept...well...like a baby. also kept the baby out of the sun.

[REHinH20]

Ours usually ended up using the jacket as their built-in pillow. They are just restrictive enough to hold their head in the perfect sleeping position. Never did any hearing protection (worry about it now though with ear buds attached to everything you buy). I would think a smallish foam in ear plug might work better. Anything I put on my kids would get pulled off in a matter minutes - hats, shoes, socks, bindings (jk)...

[Dylan01]

We started our kid last year at 3 months. After going through a few lifejackets, I am happy to report we have found a happy medium. The car seat in the boat worked for us too, with our daughter laying on the life jacket in it. But when the seat was empty it was a PITA to move around. Other than that, make sure your child is in the shade, and some of the goggle sunglasses are a good idea. Good luck!

[blk93jeepzj]

Our daughter was born in April and we had her out on the boat at 1 month old. She will be 2 this April, loves the boat and water in general. Can't find a better "play pen" than a Malibu. Enjoy the "plant year", meaning that he won't be moving around too much. I'm sure for us it will be non stop trying to corral our little girl.

The swing form the tower is great, used one with my nephew, then my daughter. They both loved the swing. Also they are up just high enough that they can see you if you are in the water and can chill out. If you leave them in a swim diaper there is going to be the occasional peeing of the carpet event. That's what the bucket that hold all the floating toys and water balls is really for though, to rise down the carpet. Think it time for the Decadence upgrade and get rid of the carpet for me. (my carpet wasn't in the greatest shape from the PO thought). Our carpet is constantly wet now she has a bucket and toys and loves playing in the hole for the table, it has just a splash of water that can't drain out.

Life jacket, find one that will work for your child. Different sized kids like different ones, some fit better than others on your child.

Also add a 12V fan that you can plug into a 12V outlet. We would pull that out and attach it to the windshield frame and let it blow on her when she slept to keep her cool. Lay her in the observers seat, grab a couple of the large towel clips from Wal-Mart or the Dollar store and drape a towel from one side of the observers windshield to the center to help keep her in the shade better.

Never used a seat or car seat. Someone would hold her.

[Raimie]

Life jacket on and infant car seat when we weren't' holding them. It had a little canopy on it which was nice. Never strap them in to the chair though. My kids always passed out on the boat as babies. Never used ear muffs, I don't really think that is necessary.

Find a nice big vented floppy hat with a cinch strap and some sunglasses that strap on.

Edited March 17, 2015 by Raimie

[Ndawg12]

One of my all time favorite pics

The 12volt fan is a great suggestion.

[REHinH20]

For the littler guys, we also found that the neo jackets really rubbed their cheeks and made a rash. We had better luck with nylon.

[saxton15]

We are doing some test runs with him wearing his life jacket in the house. That snug feeling puts him to sleep. He's signed up for infant swim lessons, starting at 3 months. I really want him to love the water as much as we do. He doesn't really have a choice in that regard LOL.

Definitely picking up the fan, great idea. The car seat we have has a canopy attachment, that should keep him shielded.

We were thinking of the muffs for the wind noise (not that we will be running 35MPH consistently), but also with the stereo.

So even at a young age, some of you didn't bother with the car seat?

[saxton15]

Hmm our jacket is neoprene. I'll have to keep an eye on that.

[Raimie]

We are doing some test runs with him wearing his life jacket in the house. That snug feeling puts him to sleep. He's signed up for infant swim lessons, starting at 3 months. I really want him to love the water as much as we do. He doesn't really have a choice in that regard LOL.

Definitely picking up the fan, great idea. The car seat we have has a canopy attachment, that should keep him shielded.

We were thinking of the muffs for the wind noise (not that we will be running 35MPH consistently), but also with the stereo.

So even at a young age, some of you didn't bother with the car seat?

We hardly use(d) the stereo with the little ones aboard. Just one of the many sacrifices you will make for the sake of your children It's worth it to have them out on the water with you!

On the life jacket... we had the neoprene with the zipper... this was annoying for the kids when they were really little. The zipper is right up in their face. I ended up getting a nylon one with buckles and this proved to be much more comfortable for the itty-bittys.

[Raimie]

The car seat isn't necessary, but it was nice to be able to set the babies down when they were sleeping or when we needed to jump in and cool off. They put out a lot of heat!

[saxton15]

Hah definitely the stereo will be on minimally. The EQ install is coming in a few weeks.

I think we will stick with the car seat simply to free up some arms. We have many anchoring options where we are. If we decide to head to the beach we will have him float around in those canopy buckets.

[Murphy8166]

Just be mindful of shaken baby situations. The bouncing up and down in boat if you are doing a lot of cruising can come into play. Just because the Infant is in a car seat does not mean they are feeling every little wave or ripple the boat hits.

II'm not saying this to deter you, but to make you mindful of it. We had it happen to a friends baby, very mild case where the infant was a little sluggish for a few days but was fine shortly after.

We took out little guy on the boat at 6 months and to me "I finally figured out what it was all about"

[Ndawg12]

Awesome pic and a perfect illustration of how irritating those neoprene vests can be as they ride up and chafe on their chin and neck.

[saxton15]

The harsh ride is definitely a concern. We are coming from deep v bottom boats, which do handle waves with some efficiency.

We have a lot of big boat traffic in the main channels and crossways in our area. I plan on avoiding those when he is riding with us. So in those events, would it be better to have my wife hold him?

Great pic! I honestly get excited thinking about getting him out on the boat.

Edited March 17, 2015 by saxton15

[Technicallyabu]

We had the most success with a nylon jacket. Held him while underway. Sat in whatever we brought or on towels in the cockpit area when in a cove. He was a terrible sleeper most anywhere but out like a light in the boat. No hearing protection required imo. Shade is a priority.

My wife has taken a picture every year of us driving the boat together since he was 5 months old. Hope to keep it up to make a nice time lapse.

[Murphy8166]

The harsh ride is definitely a concern. We are coming from deep v bottom boats, which do handle waves with some efficiency.

We have a lot of big boat traffic in the main channels and crossways in our area. I plan on avoiding those when he is riding with us. So in those events, would it be better to have my wife hold him?

Great pic! I honestly get excited thinking about getting him out on the boat.

If you are headed across choppy water and it is unavoidable, just have your wife hold the kiddo versus leaving them in the carrier on the floor or in a seat.

You will fine...nothing to worry about and it sounds like you are already mindful.

Try not to get goose bumps and want to shed a tear when that little one has the biggest smile on his/her face on that boat....Bet you can't hold back