F-Ribs And Sibs - Inflatable Boat Community

Below is a picture of an item I’ve just made to while away a rainy afternoon.

It’s to use on my SIB and in accordance with The Gurnard’s First Law has at least two distinct uses.

Can you guess what it’s for?

Sorry, there is no prize for correct answers other than the satisfaction of being a clever clogs.

And please be gentle with me, this was my first attempt at splicing three ply synthetic rope –
it doesn’t look elegant but has passed my strength tests.

It's too early for this, but..

Is it for getting into boat after falling in?
To help pull boat onto trailer?

My guess is a grab handle to stop you sliding backwards towards the transom when helming. And for the "Gurnards first law" aspect a rope ladder to get back into the sib

To follow "gurnards law" it must have at least two uses.
1) as chris says, to tie to the bow and hold the other end for stability whilst helming
2) a foot up back into the sib should the unthinkable happen
3) a pull start for your outboard (depending on circumference)
4) a toy swing for your action man
5) washing line for socks
6) various other uses if you've been watching 50 shades

Foot hold for getting bk in! And.........
Waterskiing line for when u and donny hit the white caps and throw a couple shapes.

Wow!

You guys are just too good!

Easily guessed what I intended but also gave me some additional ideas I hadn't even thought of,
proving The Gurnard's Law to the nth degree!

I originally had three uses in mind.

enzo got one of them right straight away - an aid to getting back into the boat.
If I ever start to use a trailer, I guess it would also be handy for that.

Chris was spot on with both of his.
Mattswan was also right with the foothold.
Not sure about what shape I'd be throwing if I ever attempted water-skiing though but I'll bear that in mind.


When I just had a couple of cheap foam garden kneelers taped to the seat, there was enough friction to keep my lardy @rse in place, however when I upgraded to a comfy padded seat cover & bag combo, I found the material very slippery and struggled to avoid falling off transom-wards. During the Wild West Adventure, I made a loop in the painter to use as a handhold which got me by but it wasn't very comfy, so I planned to make something better with a proper handle. Then I came across the video linked below, which showed a design for an aid to get back in after falling overboard, also how to use it as a means of righting an overturned boat, both from the water and from standing on the upturned hull of the boat.

(It's in Russian but the soundtrack isn't necessary as the demos are very clear, it's really worth watching all the way through if you haven't already seen it)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1xxftu0 ... e=youtu.be

Martin was also spot on with his suggestions 1 and 2;
on No. 3, as he intimated, the rope circumference is a bit too thick (hence I carry a spare cord in my tool-pack for that purpose);
Nos. 4 & 5 - we were too poor when I was a wee lad to have an Action Man but there's another little fella that liked the idea, see photo below:
As to Martin's No 6 - I've never read or seen Fifty Shades, so I can only imagine what sort of thing he might have in mind.

However I do have this book on my Kindle though, it's much more my cup of tea:
Thanks for the input, if anyone else has any other ideas please feel free to post.

3rd use - I wanna see you waterskiing with it!

9-R wrote:3rd use - I wanna see you waterskiing with it!

Having met Roger, so would I ,

Paul B wrote:

9-R wrote:3rd use - I wanna see you waterskiing with it!

Having met Roger, so would I ,

If Barnes Wallis could succeed in getting a large, heavy, barrel-shaped object to skim lightly across the surface of the water,
then there's hope for me yet!!

rogerblack wrote:

Paul B wrote:

9-R wrote:3rd use - I wanna see you waterskiing with it!

Having met Roger, so would I ,

If Barnes Wallis could succeed in getting a large, heavy, barrel-shaped object to skim lightly across the surface of the water,
then there's hope for me yet!!

I think I will have to get the big boat out then Roger,