Inverted Capsize

daddycool

New Member
I've just bought an old Laser 1 with a radial sail for my daughter and was a bit surprised that her first two capsizes (one in a real blow, the other in much more moderate winds and both to windward) resulted in the boat flipping right over.

I've sailed more modern lasers on holidays and don't recall them going beyond the 90 degree line. She's only a lightweight and found righting it a real struggle. Anything I can do to make it easier for her?

Thanks
 
ahh the turtle, yes this often happens if you do not get to the other side quick enough to right the boat, i dont know why it happens more for your daughter than you, it may be the weight but is she sailing in freshwater and were you sailing in salt water cause it seems to me that a boat capsizes quicker in freshwater due to the low amount of salt.
 
if anything the boat would capsize faster in salt because it would float better, therefore les wetted space to keep it stable. That would certainly not have any affect on capsizing. Did she capsize while going downwind, or up wind?
 
Most important for me would be making sure capsizing isn't scary for her.

If she's scared, she might be hanging onto the top rail once it's over and causing the turtle.
 
i teach at a saailing camp and ive seen the being scared or just not knowing how to react and grabbing the rail causing a turtle thing before. thats a possibility.
as far as righting goes... idk, get to the board fast and get all your weight on it. if its turtled, puttin ur toes near the rails and hands on the board and lean back?
 
daddycool said:
I've just bought an old Laser 1 with a radial sail for my daughter and was a bit surprised that her first two capsizes (one in a real blow, the other in much more moderate winds and both to windward) resulted in the boat flipping right over.

I've sailed more modern lasers on holidays and don't recall them going beyond the 90 degree line. She's only a lightweight and found righting it a real struggle. Anything I can do to make it easier for her?

Thanks

You didn't mention how light she is, but if it's under 120 lbs, it will be a struggle to right it.. Like everything else though, with practice she will learn what to do and what not to do.

If she is capsizing and turtling a lot while learning at this stage, the easist way to prevent the boat from turtling is to tie a sealed 1 gallon milk jug to the webbing at the top of the sail.
 
Howdy Daddycool,
After reading this thread... I think this maybe a possible solution for you... She's scared of capasizing and not being able to re-right I'm assuming (we all know what happens whenenced de assuming commences). Have you had her practice re-righting the boat in shallow water so the boat doesn't turtle? Dump her (the boat that is) over on purpose, show her how to get up on the board, always leading edge first close to the hull. Pulling down on the trailing edge even your lightweight could possibly snap off the corner or take a "shark bite" off of the trailing (skinny edge). Once she is able to climb up on the board she should be able to right the boat easily. It might take some time for the bow to turn into the wind while she's standing on the board but it will and the boat will be much easier to re-right.
Now as far as turtle-ing goes. Go out to deeper water with dad close by if not in the water with her. It's much easier to get up on the hull, have her stand with her toes on the gunnel with her hands on the board leaning back and as the boat comes up (it'll be slowly due to all of that water resistance) have her work her way up onto the board as the boat gets to 90 degrees. Then she can crawl in as the boat comes up the rest of the way.
Another thought that comes to mind with the turtle is the board slipping down or out of the centerboard slot. Show her that she can go under the boat and there will be an air pocket in the cockpit so she can push the board back into or raise it up in the slot.
As her skills progress, her confidence will go up and the fear factor will go down if not completely away. Make it fun, be close by to assist if necessary, start on those light wind days and work your way up to windy days.
Maybe even as her skills progress, she can master the "dry" capasize, which involves swinging her leg over the high side as the boat is going over, get on the board and climbing back in as it comes up, without getting wet.
Above all get her comfortable in the water, being tense is exhausting, practising will only help that comfort factor go up.
Best regards,
Fishingmickey
150087/181157
 
Fishingmickey is exactly right I've taught sailing for 3 years, and one of the first things we always do especially with young opti kids is go do a capsize drill, we even sometime do them in a pool, once they realize its nothing to worry about they will sail with a lot more confidence.
 
One thing that I've noticed when teaching sailing is that when trying to right a boat a LOT of beginners tend to bend over and stick their butts out instead of staying straight and leaning back. I used to tell my students that in spite of what Jenny Craig says, "your butt ain't that big!" The way I would teach people to right the boat is to keep their hips in line with their torso and legs straight and then lean back. Your upper body weighs a lot more than just your butt and gives you much better leverage if you lean back at the shoulders. For someone who is very light, patience is sometimes called for -- I have often seen people just starting to get the boat upright when they give up because they can't tell that anything is happening and then they have to start all over again. When the boat is turtled it moves VERY slowly at first.

One mechanical thing to check is to make sure the top mast section is sealed as well as possible and isn't taking on water when it's turtled. It doesn't take much in the mast to make it VERY hard to right.

Hope this helps.

-Steve
 

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