One Armed Boating

R

RobLL

New member
Unexpectedly left shoulder went out, almost completely. Pain is mostly tolerable but keeps me from sleeping, to the point that surgery is essential. Many severe tendon tears.

I really don't want to miss boating the next few to several months, on the other hand I intend to follow the recommendations of non-use of shoulder to get the benefits of healing.

I will add a 50s style knob to the steering wheel. I have a 7 foot hook, also with a loop. I am thinking marina to marina or dock only, fair weather, and enlisting friends as well as wife.

Suggestions including warnings are welcome. Thanks
 
I'm in the recovery phase of a herniated C/S disc, causing neuropathic pain in L shoulder and L arm/hand numbness. Not the same thing as you but some of the same symptoms and definite activity restrictions. Your idea of enlisting help is a good one. Now would be a great time to teach others and delegate as many tasks as reasonably possible. Boating involves a lot of vibration and pounding over waves so slow down and stop if it aggravates your symptoms. Obvious high-stress activities such as manually lifting your kicker up, hauling coolers, winching the boat back onto the trailer, etc., should be avoided. You might want to wear a sling to immobilize your arm and support your shoulder. If your MD or PT has prescribed icing, you could do that while traveling over water, as the ice will tend to numb things up and temporarily reduce pain. Pre-medicate (as prescribed by MD) prior to any boating activities (if you have help in the captain's chair). Good luck and be patient: shoulders do take time to heal. Best, Mike.
 
Get the admiral to do everything and you sit along as a passenger. Don't think the ladies can't do it, they are more than capable. Also there are several females on the C-Brats who boat single handed.
My admiral drives the truck when we tow.
Backs it down the ramp for launch and recovery.
Drives the boat in and out of marinas.
Likes to do the anchoring, manning the anchor and chain by hand.
The only thing she doesn't like is driving the boat in open water, say's it's boring!
I had to put my foot down in the end because I never got to do anything. I now do most of the marina docking and hauling up the anchor. Plus I still get to drive on open water. So enjoy your forced rest and let the admiral spoil you.

Martin.
 
Agree that enlisting others to help is the best plan. I have been there with a fracture dislocation of my left shoulder many years ago. I got away without surgery, but with immobilization and then a long period of rehab. I had to have boating help during that time. 50 years later, I still have limited Range Of Motion of that shoulder.
 
On the bright side, it's your left shoulder and all the C-Dory boats are set up with a helm to starboard. This puts throttle in your right hand and it shouldn't be too hard to move from wheel to throttle and back. Obviously though, that movement takes a little bit of time and you won't be able to simultaneously pull the throttle back and make a quick evasive movement with the helm. Hence, you'll probably need to cut back on the speed.

Getting on and off the dock can be aided significantly by setting up the boat for easier handling. I like to have both a stern and a bow line running down both sides of the boat and terminating in the cockpit on each side. This permits a single individual to hop off with BOTH lines in their hands to control the boat. Getting aid from others on the boat is great but they really need to be more fully briefed than you might anticipate. I don't know how many times someone in my boat has wanted to "help" and jumped off with just the stern line in their hands or been over aggressive about making a long, dangerous leap to the dock before I was ready. But it's happened enough that I provide a much longer pre-docking briefing than I used to provide. I make sure they don't jump too early, that they allow me to get close to the dock and perhaps take a second shot at it AND that the always get off with both lines in their hands. I make sure that they know that the aft end of the boat is the only end I have control over at slow speeds and that the worst thing they can do is jump off with just the stern line in hand and pull the stern to the dock while letting the bow swing away.
 
I played collsion sports back when I was stupid (I'd do it again!), and now I hurt, sometimes debilitatingly so, but I need to run a boat regardless, sometimes through whitewater and very very very challenging conditions. I have literally been to the neurologist before a bigger trip asking if it was okay for me to go and uttering the phrase "I'm just worried that my head is going to come flying off if i hit a big standing wave or something" in all seriousness. This condition has caused one of my arms to be generally useless on occasion, so I feel like this is something I can weigh in on with some real-world advice. If I'm running the boat injured, I set it up for that before I go and try to load it up simply.

1. Do you have autopilot? If not, that would be a major advantage for you.

2. Get your engines serviced by a pro preseason and attend to any issues. Change your water pump, lower unit, and engine oil. In other words, do everything reasonable to mitigate a possible mechanical breakdowns.

3. I may prep lines and keep them looped through themselves onto a grab bar or similar on deck instead of stowing coiled to themselves. I coil the line into a loop and put it behind the bar then pull the top half around the bar and through the bottom so I can grab it and go one-handed. This makes the deck a little more cluttered, but I don't need to open a hatch and then wade through gear to get at a line. No problem two handed, but not as easy one handed. I need lines regularly, and could easily need one in a pinch, and I give up a little deck space, but have lines when needed.

4. bring extra stuff: you plan to go out in fair weather, but be ready for bad weather, and being laid up, plan to wait out the nasty stuff, so extra food, a change of clothes, a full compliment of water, and full fuel tanks before you head out. If things get snotty, find someplace quiet and relax til it blows over. I have survival kits that go with me everywhere. They fit in my pocket and help me to live through the unplanned. I also have comfort kits which are large dry bags full of good stuff like tents, sleeping bags, MREs, playing cards, etc etc etc. But that's on a jet boat, you can just load this into your CDory if it's not already there.

5. bring less stuff: If you have downriggers, pot pullers, fishing poles etc on board, you might want to get rid of them. If I were in your spot, and had them, I'd use them, and they are two-handed gizmos. So I would come back to port more injured than when I left, and I'd be considered a dope in my own home, and my Admiral would probably keep me shoreside until I was ready for active duty.
 
Just take it easy,boating should be good therapy for the mind and physical healing. If you don't go probably be wishing you did,just get some extra help. I would rather be on the mend on the water. Just don't over do it and re injure it.
 
RobLL":1n96g53s said:
Unexpectedly left shoulder went out, almost completely. Pain is mostly tolerable but keeps me from sleeping, to the point that surgery is essential. Many severe tendon tears.

I really don't want to miss boating the next few to several months, on the other hand I intend to follow the recommendations of non-use of shoulder to get the benefits of healing.

I will add a 50s style knob to the steering wheel. I have a 7 foot hook, also with a loop. I am thinking marina to marina or dock only, fair weather, and enlisting friends as well as wife.

Suggestions including warnings are welcome. Thanks
Click to expand...


Listen to the DOCTOR & Physical Therapist You will HATE the second surgery on the same shoulder! :wink:
 
From my personnel experience following surgery & observing JoLee after several of hers, I think it will be awhile after your surgery before you can stand the pain without meds of being bumped or jostled around. When you can, I say go for it, within the limitations & extra help as others here have well advised. I was pretty much in the same situation as you about 10 years ago. With my left arm still useless from surgery, we launched the boat at Yellowstone Lake & when retrieving it about a week later at the launch ramp, I stepped with one foot from the dock up on the side of the boat just behind the hand rail to retrieve a rope, I had on the bow. What followed was the classical boat moving away from the dock with me stretched out in between. Knowing it was to late for my one good arm to pull me onto the boat, I gave it all I had with the foot still on the dock & was able to collapse there, but in doing so, pulled a hamstring muscle on my right leg. JoLee had to load the boat by herself & me into the pickup to drive me to the Dr in Jackson. A week later we were back on Yellowstone Lake being much more careful & me down to just one good leg & arm & still enjoying the boat.

Jay
 
If you don't have an autopilot one would be beneficial even with two good arms. If you put the autopilot remote to the left you can most likely stear with your bad arm and free up your right arm to throttle and return the wave to other passing boaters.
 
We boated one summer while I had to wear a walking boot and yet was not allowed to be weight bearing. I had to basically hop every where. A true PIA but my right thigh got very strong... :wink:

Could I do it now? I doubt it.

People were very helpful. Lots of offers to help tie dock lines etc. I was pleased with the care and concern from the boating community. Fortunately, my wife was present the entire time, otherwise it would have been impossible.
 
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