DaySailer.org Forum

I broached my Day sailer yesterday, and am looking for a little feedback on what happened.

We set out in about 12mph winds, and made one big mistake from the beginning. I couldn't get the main hoisted all the way to the top, and wasn't patient enough to fix it. I left it about 6" short of the top of the mast (I later decided another halyard was in the way). We sailed well on a broad reach, but the wind was freshening (white caps appearing) so we turned around. Beating to windward was slow, which pointed out to me the benefit of a baggy sail on a run and a flat said on a beat (one of the lessons learned yesterday). Puffs were hitting us and I had to keep luffing into the wind as we were heeling enough to put the rails in the water once in a while.

I tacked on a lull in the wind, but I was slow to get to the windward side and we were hit with a gust (weather reports later showed gusts were 23 to 30mph at that hour). Over we went.

Two questions:

1) did my (ridiculous) failure to have the main properly hoisted contribute to this?
2) I was under the impression that pulling/climbing on the centerboard would right the boat. It didn't. Is there more to it than that? (I did release the sheets before we tried this).

Any input would be helpful. We have some weak kneed sailers in my house today.

--john

From my experience, it is the jib that will pull you over in high winds. When the wind picks up, I drop the jib. Then if it really gets windy, I reef the main. When you think about it, having the main slightly lower might have helped in a small way. When we reef the main sail, we reduce sail area, but also lower the sail putting less power aloft.

John,

The loose, baggy mainsail certainly didn't help the situation but if your winds really were gusting in the 23 to 30 neighborhood, there were other factors. First, it that much wind, the DS definitely needs to have a reef in the mainsail. I have two reef points in my main and in 23 - 30 I would have reefed to the second (if I was on the water at all). Second, when tacking in heavy air, you need to have the jib sheet uncleated as you go through the wind. If you are not quick in cutting the jib to the new tack, the backwinded jib will pull the bow around, fill the main, and in the water you go. When I sail in heavier air, as I go through the eye of the wind on a tack, I have the mainsheet cleated but slack for the new course and the mainsheet within easy reach. The jib is uncleated and in my hand so I can cut it quickly.

There have been many discussions on the forum regarding capsize recovery and the general consensus is that while the DS is somewhat more difficult to capsize than other centerboard boats, once you do it is a beast to rescue and generally requires assistance. I've never dumped mine so I don't have firsthand experience but I tend to err on the side of caution when it comes deciding when to reef the main.

Thank you both.

I should have been quicker to recognize the conditions. I will know to drop the jib next time; unfortunatly I don't have reefing points on the current sail.

I wish I could say I have never broached, but I can't anymore I'm in the situation of trying to learn everything I can from the experience so it doesn't happen again. Your comments have helped me on the way.

--jf

As Chris said, with winds in the 23 to 30 range the main should have been reefed. I have two sets of reef points in my main. I probably would have had the jib secured by the point also. For the jib, you might want to rig a jib downhaul line back to the cockpit to be able to bring down the jib easier from the cockpit. I don't think not having the main all the way to the mast head contributed to the capsize, just made the boom lower and easier to get hit by.

Having capsized twice, I can say it can be hard to get it back up alone. Just getting on the centerboard will not neccessarily right the boat. You need to get hold of the gunwale as well. It is a good idea to have lines running from the bow cleat to the stern cleat to be able to grab to help right the boat if needed. Hopefully if you put then on you will never need to use them.

Now that you have capsized, it might be time to check the floatation in your hull. After my first capsize, I decided to check the condition of my floatation to make sure it wasn't waterlogged. To my suprise, I found the previous owner had removed 90% plus of my flotation. I replaced the missing flotation with "pool noodles". I also added some foam flotation in the upper two feet of the mast to help prevent the boat from turning turtle. Second time my boat capsized it was heavily loaded with camping gear and supplies for five days of sailing. The boat was swamped after it was righted with the help of another sailor, but it stayed afloat.

John

+1 on the jib downhaul or "poor man's roller furler". I run a 1/16" line from the head of jib, down through the hanks, to a turning block on the forward deck, and back to the cuddy roof. Ease the jib halyard, pull on the downhaul, and the jib slips down the forestay in seconds without having to leave the cockpit.

Chris

John--

How did you check the floatation? Use a mirrow through the inspection ports? I don't know how to do this without prying the deck from the hull.

Chris--

Thanks for the solution on the jib downhaul. I would be unsure sending my young crew on the foredeck if we were getting tossed around, even if we were luffing dead into the wind.

Lots to learn!

--john

You can see some of it through the inspection ports with a flashlight and mirror (with a handle on it, like a bicycle mirror), but what I ended up doing was cutting a hole and installing an 8-inch inspection port in the forward wall of the cuddy. This gives access to the bow hook and bow cleat nuts as well as any flotation material.

I found the bow tank full of carefully packed, random-sized chunks of styrofoam, in surprisingly good shape for its age (my boat's a 1980). I replaced it anyway.

(By the way, on a DSII the bow tank is open to the bilge.)

what you said about not getting across to the windward side rang a bell with me. i was out in a fresh breeze recently and my crew didnt cross over as the boat tacked- the boat heeled considerably as we came onto the wind on the new tack and crew had a hard time coming up to the new windward side because of trying to climb uphill and the boom in the way. i suggest that you come across the boat to the windward side as the boom comes across, unless you are intentionally trying a roll tack. climbing up from the leeward side can be tough if the lee rail is getting close to the water and you are not prepared

I checked my flotation by getting a camera down in thru the cockpit inspection ports. In my case, there turned out to be nothing in there since the previous owner had removed it. I had one small piece of foam that the P.O. had missed. I put the "pool noodles" in thru the inspection ports. To get more in, I cut some in half. To stuff them in the bow required cutting them in half. When I put in inspection ports to install oar locks, I added a few more "pool noodles" inside the gunwales.

John

You write of your "ridiculous failure" to have the main hoisted all the way. This happens to the best of us. Happened to me not too long ago when, after a lengthy period of not sailing my DS I took it out again. I had a really experienced dinghy sailor with me (but with only passing familiarity with DS), and we couldn't figure out why the main didn't want to trim properly - later we checked the photos someone took from the beach and saw that we hadn't hoisted the main all the way. There was no identifiable cause - it just didn't go all the way up that day. Probably would have tumbled to it sooner, and droppped and re-raised the main on the water, if I hadn't been a bit rusty. Goes pretty quickly that you forget.

If you would like to read about my capsize in 2012 (and see a few pictures), a copy of the article that was in the Day Sailer Quarterly is on the Texas 200 site, 2012 photo section at http://www.texas200.com/2012/index.htm Look for articles, John Alesch. Some of the photos (under the photos section) show my swamped boat being towed in and bailed. On the picture of my capsized boat, I'm the blue thing on the centerboard.

John

Re: getting the main hoisted, a friend recommended something called "McLube" for the slot. He said the bolt rope can jam, so it will benefit from a little lubrication from time to time.

--john

Mine usually jams while feeding it, and once in the slot is fine. The jam while feeding it is close to the bottom, so easily visible. We saw nothing. I've since single handed the boat (very next time it's been used, after a comparable absence) and all was fine (except that everything's now blood stained - different thread here).