Adapting a Power Boat for a Power Chair?

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Adapting a Power Boat for a Power Chair?

Postby jazzh1 » 15 Aug 2021, 12:57

Hi Guys,

Has anyone here adapted a power boat so it is accessible for a power chair, just to drive on, no hoist or switching chairs etc (just like an adapted drive from wheelchair car conversion with ramp). Something around 7 to 9 meters.

I'm not prioritising actually adapting a power boat so I can drive it, I just want to be a passenger.

After looking around online, I've only really found the Cheetah Marine boats that have conversions. https://www.cheetahmarine.co.uk/en/. These do look good for powerchairs but I would be sharing the boat with able bodied people, so they aren't too keen on the Cheetah's for a bunch of reasons.

I was thinking of adapting something more common, maybe a Merry Fisher, or a Beneteau.

https://www.jeanneau.com/en/boats/power ... 95-marlin/

https://www.beneteau.com/en

I know converted power boats aren't too common but if by chance any one here has done one, please let me know...?
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Re: Adapting a Power Boat for a Power Chair?

Postby biscuit » 15 Aug 2021, 14:50

That's problematic. First you have to manage to board the yacht with the chair Then once aboard I imagine you roll one way, then the other, you can't get it below deck and the manoeuvring space on deck is nil. And if you fall ob you're dead meat or if you can ditch the chair and swim that's good, it's just your chair sinks. I have a little Shoprider Vienna and it stayed on shore when I went sailing. But I have usable legs, with zero balance.
Might be different on a cruise liner.
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Re: Adapting a Power Boat for a Power Chair?

Postby jazzh1 » 15 Aug 2021, 16:25

"That's problematic. First you have to manage to board the yacht with the chair Then once aboard I imagine you roll one way, then the other, you can't get it below deck and the manoeuvring space on deck is nil. And if you fall ob you're dead meat or if you can ditch the chair and swim that's good, it's just your chair sinks. I have a little Shoprider Vienna and it stayed on shore when I went sailing. But I have usable legs, with zero balance."

Yeah all good points. Being around water can be a bit dodge IMO especially being a C5 quad!

Still, I think as long as the wheelchair user isn't wearing a belt but is wearing a life jacket... and the boat isn't doing mad stuff... It should be safe enough...

FYI These 2 are running accessible day trips in smaller type boats :

https://www.loughreeboattrips.com/?gcli ... poQAvD_BwE
&
https://wetwheelsfoundation.org/
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Re: Adapting a Power Boat for a Power Chair?

Postby ac06 » 15 Aug 2021, 22:44

I thought about getting a pontoon boat. Looks like it would be pretty wheelchair accessible. Maybe one day.
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Re: Adapting a Power Boat for a Power Chair?

Postby slomobile » 10 Sep 2021, 18:13

ac06 wrote:I thought about getting a pontoon boat. Looks like it would be pretty wheelchair accessible. Maybe one day.

While a pontoon is great for deck space, anything with a catamaran type split hull will not roll naturally in turns like a vee hull. Turns at speed will tend to roll you to the outside of a turn. Wave action can be worse in vee hulls without a keel, but a sufficiently heavy vessel relative to wave height mitigates that. How sensitive are you to chop? I used to live near Lake Superior where the waves were not particularly big, but ever present, and their length was about the same as most small craft making the chop brutal. In a 18ft 5.5 meter boat you ride over the crest of a wave as it rolls out beneath you dropping you 'smack' into a trough. Speed up, catch some air, and you skip crest to crest for a while. If you don't have enough top end, then the ride is a spine crunching bang, bang, bang, bang. Then turn a bit and 'thud' you drop into a trough sideways at speed trying to rip your head off. Step onto a 30ft 9 meter cruiser in the same water and you only hear a 'slap' every 3rd wave or so and the reaction on deck is much slower. I'd advise finding an experienced captain familiar with the waters you plan to sail on and get his or her advice for the best type of craft for conditions and plan your access after that.
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Re: Adapting a Power Boat for a Power Chair?

Postby slomobile » 05 Dec 2023, 20:18

I use a Hest dropstich air mattress mounted atop a Quantum drivebase to work on stuff around the house while lying down. Dropstitch is firm, but yields under elbows, hips, shoulders.

That got me searching for dropstitch boats and I found this
https://www.boatstogo.com/inflatable-ca ... -mc330.asp
An inflatable 11' or 12' catamaran with dropstitch floor and a front 'ramp'. It looks like it might be possible to roll onto it from an ordinary boat ramp. Thoughts?

Elsewhere they suggest cutting a roll of vinyl kitchen flooring material to fit the floor to make it resistant to punctures from fish hooks, pectoral fins etc. It also ought to help spread the concentrated point loading of an occupied wheelchair. If it were cut a bit extra long and reinforced it could serve as an extension of the loading ramp. Rolled up when under way.

Now this craft is obviously much smaller than the 7-9 meter boat suggested in the original post. However, some of those boats will have a dinghy or tender hung from davits. If this little cat were your tender, and your davits were strong enough, you might be able to use slings under the hull to lift the boat with you atop it onto the larger cruiser. Then you roll off the inflatable onto the deck.

I have no idea if anyone would be willing to try that davit lift with you onboard. I would just like to try the inflatable to run up and down our local Mississippi River tributary with a trolling motor powered by my chair batteries.

If someone is looking for something able to be rolled up and transported in a car trunk, maybe this https://www.boatstogo.com/inflatable-chair.asp
Not just the inflatable chair, but the chair/SUP combination shown in the videos.
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Re: Adapting a Power Boat for a Power Chair?

Postby thamesmud » 06 Jan 2024, 17:02

I'm years late on this thread, I must have missed it when it came out.
I have adapted a 60ft Dutch Barge for wheelchair access. When I was mainly using a manual chair I could use the crane on the boat to lift me and the wheelchair from the quayside to the boat
DSCF5791-small.jpg
this is useful in tidal situations. When on a pontoon a section or rail can be removed and a 3m ramp used to get on the back deck.
Inside there is a lift in the companionway to allow access to the saloon and master bedroom with a wet bathroom. There are 2 small cabins under the wheelhouse and another shower and toilet.
She doesn't get any use now as the "crew" have all grown up and we have got too old to manage it on our own.
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Re: Adapting a Power Boat for a Power Chair?

Postby martin007 » 06 Jan 2024, 17:29

I live 200 km from the coast and I don't like the water.
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Re: Adapting a Power Boat for a Power Chair?

Postby Burgerman » 06 Jan 2024, 17:40

I dont like brussel sprouts.
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