First mate with hip replacement

[Kittiwake]

Since Mac owners are such an innovative and determined lot, I decided to seek their experience with a rather personal issue ... figuring there must be some out there who have encountered the same problem (indeed there are, based on search).

It transpires that, once one has had a hip replacement, one is advised (for life!) to avoid if possible flexing the hip by more than 90 degrees (ie. you could easily flex by more than 90 degrees by simply leaning forward while seated). Such hip joint flexing (by more than 90 degrees), entails some (hopefully modest) risk of dislocating the artificial hip (which is 'real bad'). Apparently crossing one's legs or rotating suddenly are also frowned upon. I worry that this could kibosh taking the first mate (and her great cooking) along on long trips.

So my question is, in the real world of sailing, is this observed to be a real problem? Quite apart from transferring from cockpit to galley, the mind boggles a tad at getting in and out of a dinghy moored at the stern. And then there is the delightful issue of using the head.

Kittiwake

[robbarnes1965]

Hello,

We had a member at our yacht club with his hips replaced. He eventually decided to sell the Mac and get a motor boat. Others have installed steps on the dock to make boarding easier. That said, I think it is one of the harder boats to get in or out of. Boats commonly used for racing tend to VERY easy to move around in the cockpit and boarding. Sharks and J-boats come to mind. If you can board from the stern and love your Mac, a solution would be to sacrifice the big motor for a much smaller one. This would allow plenty of room to get in and out.

Boarding, going below and walking easily to the fore-deck in bad weather have been big considerations for us as we have been to several boat shows looking for an eventual live-aboard. It should be the first consideration of buying a boat. We never bother even looking inside if the walk around goes badly and we are both very athletic and healthy. That is a big sacrifice of the mac in order to make for a big interior. I have been very disappointed at some very nice and expensive luxury boats that have terribly steep and shallow steps down to the interior and sloping decks moving forward on the topsides. I found some otherwise great boats were bad for boarding - any of the center cockpit models come to mind. It was a concern for us as a live-aboard because even if you do not have bad hit, occasionally we get hurt and you don't want it to become a cage.

Other considerations to make sailing easier: furling main AND foresail. All lines led aft. Handles on the sides of the cockpit or at least a sturdy bimini frame to hang onto help a lot.

Hope the suggestions help. There are some very creative members who may have some great mod ideas.

Rob

[Kittiwake]

Thanks Rob. Good to have a practical Engineer pondering the issue.

I will be curious to learn whether others (like your squadron member) have found it simpler to switch boats ... and especially whether anyone has actually dislocated an artificial hip playing about in their boat. I love the Mac and would be loathe to ditch it for any other kind of boat.

Kittiwake

[Catigale]

I've had my mother out on our boat a few times...with two metal hips. I don't think think the 90 degree rule applies as much when seated, since your hips arent loaded as much sitting down. In flat water and up and down the Hudson, no problems.

[Matt19020]

Kittiwake....
NO WORRIES! I can tell you from first hand expierience. My history..I have had 2 hip replacements on my Left hip and the last one was 15 years ago and going strong.
I also have dislocated it twice since then. OUCH!! When you dislocate it is a VERY distinct feeling and you recognize it when it is about to happen. I have been sailing my MAC for 5 years (and a 19' for 4 years before that) and not once have I even noticed that "feeling". You should be good to go. You are correct about the precautions you stated and you should be cautious but I would not let it stop you. Indian style sitting ...I do it everyday with no issues. My dislocations happened when I was getting up off the floor and getting out of a swival chair. DO NOT plant your foot on the ground and push off while twisting both times thats what I did and POP!
FYI..... if this does happen your trip will be over (obviously). Do not try to get to a hospital yourself (I tried that too... I made it about 20 feet before I needed a ambulance) just head for the closest dock and have a ambulance waiting.
I am not telling you this to scare you just letting you know so if you are faced with this issue you will know what needs to be done. If there are any specific questions you may have I can try to answer. But in general ...Go have fun!

[Kittiwake]

Thank you Catigale and Matt: that is exactly the sort of information needed as the first mate and I assemble a plan for the future. It is encouraging to learn that there are boaters out there who have managed the issue without disaster; and it is obviously extraordinarily helpful to have some heads-up and work-arounds.

As Rob suggested earlier, Roger's walk-through transom proved to be the ticket for entry/egress: we discovered this before the hip-replacement op. For boarding, I would cast off lines, flip up the captain's seat, and then angle the boat at some 45 degrees and hold it tight (oof!) ... while my wife placed one foot on the (flat!) top of the E-tec 60 while the other was still on the dock, and grabbed the stainless steel arc (the rear mast-carrying support). From there it is a straight walk-through. I am thinking that for entry/egress via our inflatable dinghy (a scary process since it reminds one of Matt's 'getting up off the floor'), I will borrow the double-pulley from the traveler/boom outhaul and hang it from the stern SS arc with a lifesling harness on the lower end: then I can take most of her (modest) weight during the process.

My regards,
Kittiwake

[arknoah]

Something tells me lots of us may need this information sooner or later....

[mastreb]

The way we enter/exit the dinghy might work for you. We've got an inflatable RU-260. We put the bow of the dingy right into the 90-angle formed by the outboard (motor to port) and the stern so the painter bull-nose is snubbed up against the transom. We then just loop the painter around the SS mast carrier line right at the lower holder. First to board just steps into the dingy while holding and pulling the painter, which pulls the dinghy to the transom and pulls it slightly up. The person entering just keeps tension on the painter by using it for support while they step into the dinghy and everything stays nice and tight.

The first person keeps tension by pulling on the painter while seated as everyone else boards, and they can all use the painter to hang onto while boarding. Once everyone is in, just release the painter and start moving the dinghy--the painter will pull out of the mast carrier on its own, or you can unloop it if someone can reach it.

Coming back in it's really easy to get the painter around the mast carrier, and to exit it's the reverse operation. The dinghy stays snubbed up to the transom right until the last person steps off. The last person can pull themselves up using the painter as well.

[DaveB]

I have had a Hip replaced 9 years ago. I can do anything that needs to be done on my Mac. with ease. Some times at very high tied the cockpit deck to dock deck can be high and I get off or on at the bow.
Actually my hip works much better than original with no restrictive movements except normal age for a person 61 years young.
Dave

Since Mac owners are such an innovative and determined lot, I decided to seek their experience with a rather personal issue ... figuring there must be some out there who have encountered the same problem (indeed there are, based on search).

It transpires that, once one has had a hip replacement, one is advised (for life!) to avoid if possible flexing the hip by more than 90 degrees (ie. you could easily flex by more than 90 degrees by simply leaning forward while seated). Such hip joint flexing (by more than 90 degrees), entails some (hopefully modest) risk of dislocating the artificial hip (which is 'real bad'). Apparently crossing one's legs or rotating suddenly are also frowned upon. I worry that this could kibosh taking the first mate (and her great cooking) along on long trips.

So my question is, in the real world of sailing, is this observed to be a real problem? Quite apart from transferring from cockpit to galley, the mind boggles a tad at getting in and out of a dinghy moored at the stern. And then there is the delightful issue of using the head.

Kittiwake

[Kittiwake]

Allright! I am starting to envisage continued good eating on lengthy trips to the Broughtons and the Broken Group off Vancouver Island! My own cooking is much less palatable.

Mastreb that sounds like a much-improved variant of our present method of stern transfer to and from a dinghy: we always just kind of grabbed a dangling bumper (fender) or clung to the engine lower-end. Tossing the painter around the same-side arch support and holding the bitter end wnile boarding/exiting sounds like it ought to guarantee that the dinghy nose snubs into the angle between the motor shaft and stern. We'll have to get the first mate strengthening those biceps and finger flexors ... and maybe I could invest in a thicker length of painter.

And DaveB, now that we know you are constructed somewhat along the lines of the "six-million-dollar-man" of TV fame, we will all better understand your famous somersault-over-prow dismount. But seriously, this is exactly what the first mate and I were hoping to hear: that it is possible for her to continue aboard the Mac, with the determination for which boaters are known.

Thanks to all.
Kittiwake

[robbarnes1965]

I am glad you got some more encouraging responses than mine!

I did neglect to mention that the Mac owner who had his hips replaced at my club was at least 80!

I am still skateboarding at 47 so I am sure I am headed in your direction sooner than later...

Rob

[Kittiwake]

Actually Rob I thought yours was a key 'positive' in that it harks back to a superb Mac feature: easy trailerability and launch/retrieval. This was a major attractant for me when I first saw Macs back about the time you were born (chuckle). Where else can a canoeist/camper find a light, enclosed boat with shallow-water potential, motor+sail capability, and room to sleep/cook/toilet, that one person can rig & launch/retrieve? ... and all for a reaonable price!

I take only hours to reach (by trailer) the most secluded spots of Vancouver Island; and arrive fresh for 10 days of excited & relaxing exploration. While there I always encounter heavier sailboats & motor launches who have spent 10 days fighting their way up Georgia Strait, or along the coasts of Washington and the Island, to get there (with wives fast losing interest), and still faced with the same commute to return home. Many of the motor-launch variety are retirees who went to, say, a trawler for easy accessibility: I look jealously at their accomodations, and then remind myself that I am not one who would be willing to spend 30 days at a time onboard ... and indeed I think many of them come to the same decision after a few forays ... and hence do their boating within 15 miles of home base. For a Mac aficionado life is too short for that.

This is why it would be such a blow for me and the 1st mate to be forced to switch boats even though we could afford to. And by the way, one man can easily remove and replace the Mac mast system using 1 stable step ladder plus 1 ordinary step ladder (which is why I leave the rig behind on trips to the outback where simplicity and clear decks are especially valuable).

Kittiwake

[DaveB]

Kittiwake,
Same time I had my hip replaced my Mason contractor had both hips replaced at age 50. After 3 mo. we were talking about how well the surgery was. I told him I could jog but not run full out. He ran full out without a sweat with both new hips. Thats the Bionic.
After 2 months she will easy be back in her 30-40's.
Dave

And DaveB, now that we know you are constructed somewhat along the lines of the "six-million-dollar-man" of TV fame, we will all better understand your famous somersault-over-prow dismount. But seriously, this is exactly what the first mate and I were hoping to hear: that it is possible for her to continue aboard the Mac, with the determination for which boaters are known.

Thanks to all.
Kittiwake

[Mic]

At 76 with very active physical life style I had similar concerns prior to a full knee replacement.

I solo my 26D.

Both before and after my knee replacement I had a great physio, I named tuff love, she hurt. In order to carry on with my life style I had to strengthen all the muscles around the affected area. Now a year later after lots of sailing I am pain free and fully active. I'm now waiting for the other knee to be done.

Getting on and off the low head took some time to perfect. Nearly broke down and got Depends.

The bottom line, exercise under supervision get the surrounding muscles strong in order to support the prosthesis.

Good luck
Mic

[GaryMayo]

Something tells me lots of us may need this information sooner or later....

Hope for the best. Today's food has about 10 needed minerals. Our bodies do best on about 90. Google minerals, and get on a proper suplement is my course of action.