Expo 14.2 turtling

Donald1

New Member
Sorry about the repetitive question but has anyone had problems with the Expo 14.2 turtling.
Perhaps the fiberglass mast is sealed and floats to prevent turtling. Anyone with experience
with capsizing an Expo. I sail alone most of the time and a boat that turtles easily would no
be a good choice for me.
 
In my opinion, I don't think the Expo is more prone to turtling than any other dinghy of its size.

I sail Capris that usually have either a buoyancy bag or customized Hobie Cat float at the top of the mast which help a lot. And floating seat pads.

Ihe only capsizing experience I had in a Capri was my own fault because I hadn't secured the daggerboard and it slipped neatly into the hull as I went to grab it. But I could still stand on the edge of the hull and gradually bring the hull back over. I also hadn't secured the cuddy and it was full of water, but I eventually bailed and drained everything out and set off again.
 
I have photo's and instructions for attaching a Baby Bob to the Catalina masts with clean lines and very little trouble. Other methods have been posted in the past but this design does not have a metal bracket being bolted to the mast head and setting the float off-center. I am not able to post the photo's so a friend is going to send them into here. He is out of town and will not be able to post until this coming Friday or Sat.
 
Here are the instructions, and some photographs courtesy of Tom, above:

I used standard 3/4 inch oak. Pine board would not have the strength for the job and small oak boards are readily available at any home improvement or builder's supply store for less than $10.

1. I made a paper template for the plug that would fit into the top of the mast by simply coating the mast head edge with black paint and pressing the paper onto it to get the correct sized image. I transferred that image to 1/4 inch plywood (best to make a solid template). I cut it out on my band saw (could be done with jig saw or by hand by anyone). Then I did the fine adjustments to the template on my belt and disc sander (also could be done by hand if one does not have a lot of wood tools) until I had a perfect fit for the mast. Then the template was used to trace the shape onto oak and again use the above machines to cut and finish the plug.

2. I then made the block that would fit into the bracket on the float using that bracket to get the measurements ( I did make the block a little longer than the bracket for stronger support) The block is 1 1/8 inches thick. The width of the stock for the block was cut on a table saw and left long for safety. The length was then cut safely on the band saw. A second block was cut to 3/8 inch thickness the same way and was glued to the first block to make it the 1 1/8 thickness needed.

3 The plug was then glued to the block making sure the alignment was correct for fore and aft. Once the glued parts were solidly secure the jig was placed in a vise and drilled/tapped for the two 2" long screws that would give the block added lateral strength as well as secure it to the plug. The bottom of the plug was gouged slightly to give the halyard wheel more freedom of movement once the plug was set into the mast at a 5/8 “ depth.

4. Five holes were drilled for the short screws that would hold the pug in the mast head. The soft metal of the mast allowed the holes to be easily made. With the gig secure on the mast the float was placed over the block on the jig. The block was marked for the bolts that would pass through the holes in the float bracket and was then drilled for those bolts. With the jig remaining affixed to the mast head the float can now be put on and taken off easily by simply removing the two nuts w/lock washers on the bolts and slipping them on or off just as with the manufacturer’s original bracket.

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Thank you for the pictures. I don't believe that this would work on the Expo fiberglass mast. However it is a
very neat job. Thanks again
Don
 

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