BLUEMOMENT

Olive Page has a rather nice wheelhouse, warm, dry and quite comfy.

The only problem with it is that SWMBO finds it difficult to hear my commands when she is on deck. This has led to some awkward situations with anchoring and with raising and lowering the gaffs.

To try to help her with this I suggested that I could fit a loudhailer on the wheelhouse roof so she would hear my orders more clearly, and thus not make so many errors in boat management.

I was surprised at her reaction, she seemed utterly opposed to the idea. I won't quote exactly where she said she would install the loudhailer, but I doubt she would have heard it very well.

I wondered how others managed these small problems with difficult crew.

How about training swmbo to "the whistle"? 1 short blast 'standby', 1 long blast 'let go', long and a short 'haul away' etc: A referee's whistle I suggest, and then when she finally snaps it will be a lot less painful than having a loud hailer inserted...

I gave the wheel to the soup-dragon, but it doesn't help, now all the shouting is outside the wheelhouse. We have worked out that standing on the bow with slumped shoulders, hands on hip and exasperated expression means "almost , dear. Just come round again....."

Ass - you never know whether to kick it or kiss it!

Not a wheelhouse job but I got fed up with having to lean to the side around the side screen, then shout directions to the foredeck. Solution was a pair of cheap hand held radios, the sort you see in toy shops. Modern day solution could be a hands free kit and mobile phones ?. Reception is a problem in some marinas though.

You could try hand signals.

you mean these

That could cause a bit of

i thought i`d left the rude ones out

Oh the rude ones would get this

I thought radios

So I bought a pair.

She refuses to use them.

First time we tried she tried to transmit, but forget to speak into the radio and turned round. and spoke

Then she decided she had pressed the wrong button and changed channel so I couldn't hear anyway.

So I shouted through the window, and she went into a huff because I had shouted at her

I have tried hand signals but she can never remember what they mean and what signals to give so its a bit like trying to decypher sign language.

And I usually end up with with my hands over my eyes awaiting the inevitable so not really a solution.

Olivepage wrote:So I shouted through the window, and she went into a huff because I had shouted at her

After asking her to "let go forward" came the grumpy reply "I have a name"

Crewmember picking up mooring is in control. They can see the mooring/ anchor etc. They tell me with hand signals; Ahead, Left, Right, faster, slower & stop as required. I just do as I am told at the controls. It works well for us.

If anchoring I may also have someone in the cabin shouting out depth readings at regular intervals.