14.2 easy to capsize?

[Mooseman]

Your opinion please,

I have not yet sailed my new 14.2. So, in preparation, I have read owner reviews of the boat to learn about its sailing characteristics. Almost every site I viewed mentioned that the Capri 14.2 is very tender and prone to capsize at winds greater than 10 knots. The question is to my fellow association members: Is the 14.2 prone to capsize?

Thanks...Mike(Mooseman)

 

[GML]

Not Especially Prone to Capsize

Mike,

I wouldn't say that the Capri 14.2 is especially prone to capsizing in winds over 10. In four years, I've only had one unintentional capsize. I think she's heavy and beamy for her length, so she generally goes over more slowly than a lighter and more narrow boat. Her gunwales are broad and comfortable, so it's easy to hike out. Also, her rudder is somewhat short, so she'll tend to head up if the heel gets gradually excessive.

But, on the other hand, her weight and beamy bottom can work against you if she comes up fast, building momentum towards a capsize, with the exposed hull providing lots of windage.

Other than the possibility of going turtle or getting your mast stuck in the mud, the real problem with capsize is getting back in the boat - there's so much freeboard. My solution was to rig a primitive swim ladder off the transom.

Hope this helps.

-Greg

 

[c14656]

good day,

i have a 14.2 and it has gone turtle on me quicker than i would have liked. after going over, the mast quickly filled with water and 180 she went!

i have read that some people have rigged a mast float, i put that "expanding foam" stuff in the top of my mast so water may not fill the mast so quickly. it is sold to fill cracks in the foundation etc. do it sparingly as it does expand quite a bit.

also friends in the next cove over got the capri 16.2(?) and had the same problem of tipping and then turtling so you might want to plan ahead for that fateful day.

best of luck and good sailing!

tony

 

[jdtaillant]

Capsizing a C14 in Argentina

Hi, I am a self taught sailor and sailed my C14 for 9 years before my first capsize which was this year! I happened when my wife stepped out on the bow just as I was turning winward. Needless to say, her weight up front threw everything haywire and I couldn't react in timne. Otherwise I have ALWAYS been able to manage even the trickiest winds and have never gone overboard. I am very cautious and ALWAYS very tuned in to what is happening with the wind, ALWAYS rudder and mainsheet line in hand and ready to let it out if the wind all of a sudden picks up. If you're a capricorn, like I am, and alert, you shouldn't ever capsize, unless your wife steps out on the bow!

That said, my wife however, a LEO, and rather careless about detail, procedure and position, has capsized our C14 about 3 or 4 times, which is about 20% of the time she has ever sailed the boat alone. Given that she is an experienced windsurfer and knows the winds better than I, I attribute her frequent capsizing to: 1) her carelessness, and 2) that the C14 will capsize if your not alert!

Hope this puts things into perspective.
Lesson to be learned: If you cap size to often, get a divorce!

Daniel in Argentina
jdtaillant@gmail.com

 

[kentth]

I capsized mine the first time out. One contributing factor was the wind. We got hit by a 20 knot gust and over it went.

One item that I have added to be boat is and item I bought for when we charter to get back into the dingy. It is made by C-Level and is a Sea Step. I tie onto the transom and then if we have to get back in, it makes it simple to get back in if need be. web site www.clevel.com.

It really works great.

Here is a picture of it.

Kent

 

[Scott Ethridge]

I guess, I'll find out soon enough! Hoping to get mine wet for the first time in couple of weeks. I've read a lot about how tippy they are but like some of the previous replies..., hand on the tiller, sheet in hand and just being smart should keep you out of a lot of trouble. I have to admit, I'm a bit nervous as well as I bought this boat for a couple of reasons; $, ability to find a decent little boat I can single hand and be challanged with, but most importantly, to teach my daughter with! I don't want to capsize or turtle until my daughter is REALLY comfortable on the water with the boat. My plan is just to be conservative with regard to wind and weather, take my time getting comfortable with the boat and just trying to be smart. I have rigged a step line (similar to the pic above) to the transome just in case!

I wouldn't rule out getting a 14.2 just because I read they were a bit tippy. There are a lot of tippy boats out there. From what I have read, the 14.2 can be GREAT boats that you learn a lot from and have a good time with. Like I said, I guess I'll find out soon enough!

 

[outtolunch]

Capri 14.2 easy to Capsize?

Fairly new to the 14.2, but based on my experiece so far I do not believe it is "tippy" at all for it's size. Compared to others I have had the pleasure to sail, the Capri 14.2 is comfortable and well behaved.

When sailing any boat, one should be alert and prepared to deal with a sudden wind gust or situation that could cause a capsize. In fact, it is a good idea to capsize the boat in controlled conditions to gain the experience of what will happen and practice how to right the boat and get back aboard. It adds a little excitment to those hot "drifter" days not to mention the increased comfort level with your boat and your skills.

To prevent a "turtle", I tie an old life jacket to the top of the mast in windy conditions.


Happy Sailing.
Ron

 

[MikeMarchi42]

Not too tippy *

The very first time my wife and I took our 14.2 out, we had her rigged exactly as she came from the dealer. It was a fairly windy day (12mph gusting to 17). We found that when running close to the wind, the boat wanted to heel over a lot. I found myself being very vigilant on the tiller, heading up to ride out the worst of the gusts. We were very concerned about the aparent stability of the boat -- it seemed very prone to heeling over.

We took her back in, and went through the association manual again. We modified the traveler as outlined in the manual (lengthening the traveler with two stopper knots holding the boom more to center).

We took her out again, and found she behaved much more as we expected. We have never managed to capsize her ... yet.

 

[Scott Ethridge]

Dang!

Well, I got mine wet for the first time 2 weekends ago with my wife as crew and had a great day in probably 7-10 knots of breeze. Then exactly what I didn't want to happen, happened this past weekend. DANG! I capsized on my 6 yr old daughter's first time out. It happened so quickly, I'm not exactly sure what actually did happen. The wind was probably blowing about 10 (maybe less), I was seated to weather with my wife to leeward, we tacked, and over she went. There might have been a little gust but nothing really hard. I THINK, 2 or maybe 3 factors came into play. 1) I didn't give my wife time to prepare for the tack and therefore she couldn't get to the high side quickly enough, 2) Although I had my hand on the mainsheet, I couldn't ease it fast enough (I was trying to tack the jib) and the main was actually cleated while over on her side, and 3) I think I tacked the boat to quickly. Like I said, it happened so quickly, I'm not exactly sure what did happen but that is the absolute last thing I wanted to happen on my daughters first time on a sailboat.

Observations..., the 14.2 seems to be pretty weight sensitive. They also seem to do better with a slow tack. With all that I have read about the turtling potential of these boats, I was ever so grateful that didn't happen as that could have prolonged "the worst day of my life Daddy!"

Now my real problem..., my 6 year old (who I bought the boat to teach on) is terrified of the boat. I really wasn't expecting to teach a 6 yr old but was really just trying to take the family out on a nice casual little day sail around our lake. Although the capsize was no big deal as we didn't turtle and my kid didn't come up under the main like my wife did, we handled it very well and were back under way in a matter of minutes. My wife and I tried to minimize the experience and praised our kid for how well she handled herself and have actually laughed since about parts of the experience. So..., with my kid swearing that she'll never sail again and "don't even think about sending me to that sailing camp my cousins are going to", how do I move forward from here??? I want my daughter to learn and enjoy sailing 1/2 as much as I do, but am fearful it's gonna be a long time (if ever) before I can ever get her back out there.

Suggestions about anything mentioned above are appreciated. Scott

 

[fish89]

Teaching the Young How to Sail

Sorry to hear about the bad (capsizing) experience, Scott. I too bought my Capri 14.2 to "teach my boys how to sail." At the time they were four and one (O.K., so it was a little early, but I got our 14.2 for a GREAT deal from our neighbors), so my wife made me sell it again or risk have her selling our Jet Ski (an "either or" proposition). After selling it to friends with older kids, I was able to buy it back again last spring (3 years later) once they bought a pontoon boat and couldn't see using the Capri much anymore (plus their kids were older). This time I was in a better position. Now that my boys were eight and five, they were much more ready for the boat. My eight year old loves it, but my five year old still prefers the Sea Ray (call it a "need for speed"). I really want to encourage my eight year old to take the helm (tiller) more often, but am leery about turning him lose with both the tiller and the main primarily for fear of going over. I have yet to get her on her side in all the times we have been out (even in stiff winds), but I ony credit that to past sailing experience and the fact that I never sail without the main sheet in one hand and the tiller in the other (your "crew" needs to learn how to work the jib for you). Also, as you pointed out, ALWAYS inform everyone of when you are going to tack/jibe so that they can get prepared and don't execute until you get a "thumbs up" (or equivalent) from your crew. I'm not racing her (yet), so I am not worried about "coming about smartly."
All that being said, however, I am considering getting my eight (turns nine tomorrow) year old into an Optimist or Sunfish for the next two to three years until he really gets the feel of sailing himself and feels he is ready for the Capri. The chances of going over in either of those two boats is not very great, he can sail them single-handedly, and heck, on a hot summer day, going over in the Sunfish can actually be fun because before you can even think about it, you stand on the daggerboard, right her, and you're on your way again. I really don't want a younger child to roll the Capri and then have to figure out both how to get it righted and (sometimes even more difficult) how to get back in the boat. We have a couple of local parks/lakes within 12 miles of us where you can rent a Sunfish for $10/hour (Raleigh, NC). For that little, I take both of them out here and there for an hour or two and let them knock themselves out with the smaller boat. Just a thought. The smaller boat might not be as intimidating (to a six-year old) as the Capri.

 

[DragonFly]

Haven't gone over yet, fingers crossed!

Been sailing ours about 10 or 15 times over two years and haven't gone over yet, and not really close...yes, it is sensitive to weight placement, and since I am the heaviest I usually dictate the heel...and its cool that it is sensitive to weight as you can adjust your position and usually prevent any mishap.

I too always have my hand on the mainsheet, but I have found the closest we have come to the drink is when the jib gets backwinded during a tack (I have to wonder what one of you were thinking when you were tacking with your wife was on the bow...life insurance? just joking).

My kids, girl now 8 and son now 10 started with me at 6 and 8, and like me when I was that age have a healthy fear of going over, and are really scared when the wind is up. But they, like me have slowly learned to crave the wind and water experience. I am hoping to sink some deeper roots ths summer as we are finally biting off the big one and forking over 630 bucks to get a dry dock off our North of Atlanta Lake Lanier...I am hoping this gets us in the water more often....what with the drought I am sick of battling all the fishermen and jet skiers at the public ramps that are far and few between now that the water level is so low...last year I spent over an hour each way in line to put the boat in and agin to get it out - you talk about killing enthusiams to go boating!

I think the 6 year old will be fine, and once she gets some successful sails under belt in the ensuing years she will be the old salt that will relish the days when the wind is up!

 

[maryjane]

Easy to capsize

I find the Capri 14.2 easy to capsize. I find her very sensitive to the wind and I only take her out in gentle winds .. 5-10 knots. Anything more and I make sure I only have hearty sailors on board. I think she is over powered for her size and I'm thinking of putting in some reefing points. On occassion I have used the second grommet on the mainsail which takes away a little sail and that seems to help.

Maryjane in MN

 

[Mooseman]

Keep her level

Thanks Maryjane,

I agree with you. You have to be on your toes with the 14.2. However, she acquires speed quickly and demands that you watch where you place your weight. A set of reefing points (4) would do wonders and it would also reduce cockpit tensions.

Thanks and Happy sailing!!!!

Mooseman