Jumper stays

[Capthowe]

I capsize my day sailor during the holidays. Obviously the cockpit flooded and then she turned turtle. Long story short the braces on the jumper stays broke at the bracket. I’d like to get some opinions should I rebuild the jumpers? Or, does anyone feel comfortable with just taking the whole rig off.

[GreenLake]

Sorry to hear about your capsize.

If the only damage is to the jumper struts (the ones holding the diamond stays away from the mast) then you are very lucky. The collective wisdom is that you don't need diamond stays or jumper struts and in fact the rig may have better gust response without them. (I've sailed for quite a few seasons now without them, and definitely do not notice that there's anything missing).

Better gust response is often the difference between capsizing or not (depending on the particular circumstances) so if that was instrumental in your case it might even help you avoid a repeat. Adding a vang may be something else that will help you push the envelope a bit further in terms of what wind conditions are ones you can keep the boat upright in.

We are interested in the details of your capsize, of course, and there's a thread under "Seamanship" that is called "Capsize Stories" (or something to that effect). You might add your experience there (and anything you think you learned from it). I'm sure it would interest other readers on the forum (and according to the traffic data I get, there are a good number of people who quietly follow the discussion here).

That would be a great place to discuss all the techniques, both for avoiding capsizes and for making a rescue easier.