MAKE YOUR BOAT CHILD-FRIENDLY

Whether you're sailing near or far, a few simple modifications to your yacht can make life on board much more secure and comfortable for children, says Justin Halewood

- Justin Halewood

The idea of heading to sea with a child on board elicits different responses for different people, however far you’re going. A day sail with a boat full of noisy pirates might fill you with dread, while for others the idea of taking a miniature crew around the world sounds like the biggest adventure. We weren’t quite that brave, but we did sail an Atlantic circuit with our daughter Robin, then two, from 2022 to 2023 aboard our Hallberg-Rassy 36 MkI.

Sailing with a sprog brings up all sorts of questions about how you sail and where you go, but this article is about the challenges of cruising with a baby on board and adapting the boat to suit their needs.

There is no doubt that having a young person as crew makes life at sea harder. But when is parenting ever easy? We took the view that we would prefer to be doing something we love whilst dealing with the usual demands of parenthood, rather than continuing to work full-time and missing special moments in Robin’s life.