First solo sail

I

iconoclast

New Member
After taking lessons and 4 class sails, and 2 sails with wifee, went solo today.

I'm learning everything the hard way, went over 4 times.

Learned that you should get back into the boat from the windward side (capsize #2).

I misunderstood my friend who took me out in his MC Scow that in a puff you should turn away (down wind). Apparent wrong, turn into trouble.

Got so tired couldn't get it out of full turtle. (found out later, lots of water in the mast)
Friendly canoeists helped.

Decided I was too tired to go over again so headed to shore and dumped it again (dammed MC Scow friend).

One of my instructors was also out sailing with his granddaughter, and told me to wrap my forearms around the daggerboard instead of using my very exhausted fingers to climb it.
Much easier but quite bruising on a 62 yr. old.

Laugh away but I did really learn a lot.

Where's the Tylenol?
 
You should be happy you learned so much in one day. I have seen people that, after many years sailing, still try to right the boat from lee side only to have it come right over on them. You are ahead of them in that game! If I go over and can get the bow into the wind, the wind will help bring the sail out of the water. Works better with 2 on the boat. Pointing into a puff is a good instinct to acquire, only don't go into a full luff and start drifting backwards, not good in windy conditions. Sounds like you are well on your way to learning how to sail and will reap many rewards from sailing. Enjoy!!
 
Flat is fast, head up in the puffs and down in the lulls when sailing to weather. When sailing off the wind head up in the lulls and bear off in the puffs. This should help reduce your Tylenol intake. Regardless it's all better than work.
 
iconoclast said:
One of my instructors was also out sailing with his granddaughter, and told me to wrap my forearms around the daggerboard instead of using my very exhausted fingers to climb it.
Much easier but quite bruising on a 62 yr. old.

Laugh away but I did really learn a lot.

Where's the Tylenol?
Click to expand...

Take two and call me in the morning :)
 
What you need to do is control how far the boat heels over by letting the sail out or pulling it in. On a beam reach or close haul, watch the water level on the lee side rub rail. Try to keep the water just under the rub rail by adjusting the sail. As soon as you see the water go over the rail, loosen your grip on the main sheet letting some line slip through your hand,( let the sail out). If the boat starts to flatten out pull the line in. You are going to be very busy making lots of constant adjustments to the mainsheet. Sort of like riding a bike to keep your balance. This is how you keep your balance on a Sunfish.

The part about turning downwind has to do with windspeed on a beam reach or close haul. The more wind the closer you can come into the wind. If the wind suddenly lets up and the sail luffs, quickly move the tiller so the boat bears off downwind and you can repower the sail. Once the wind starts to pick up you can point the boat higher into the wind and regain your course.


And now, here's what I think your friend was talking about. . .

Be carefull about pointing too high into the wind on a gusty or windy day. A sudden shift in wind can put you on the opposite tack before you can shift your weigtht. Over you go! THIS IS THE PART WHERE YOU NEED TO SLAM THE RUDDER OVER TO HEAD DOWNWIND. As soon as you see the sail go slack and the boat start to heel over in the other direction slam the rudder over to go downwind and regain the tack you were on. Unlike your constant adjustment to the sail to keep your balance, you will not need to do this very often if you make sure don't try to push too high into the wind. You will not see the happen at all on calmer days.

Tie a empty milk jug or empty detergent bottle to the gaff. This will prevent you boat from going all the way over and be much easier on you!

Pick a calm day to learn to sail, like a wind speed just enough to let you coast along. You can make mistakes this way and not get knocked down. Also you have more time to think about what you are doing. High winds are a rip but not what I'd call relaxing fun. The boat gets really touchy and the smallest mistake or change in wind can dump you. Takes the fun out of learning to sail.
 
Where on the gaff would you tie the bottle? Near the mast tip? (newbie mark of shame?)

If the mast didn't take on water in the first place, would it resist turtling a lot more?
I was thinking of filling it with expanding foam and them sealing the leaking end cap?

Does anyone place lines to drape over the sides near the cockpit to make getting up on the daggerboard easier.

Could you use the end of the halyard tied to the cleat?
 
It should be easy to seal the mast, and avoid filling it with foam. If you flip your SF try grabbing the daggerboard and pulling it towards you, the more the boat heels towards you the further you can adjust your grip towards the base of the daggerboard, at this point the boat should right itself quickly.
 
One thing you can also do to avoid a capsize is to learn to read the wind on the water. You can see a puff coming and be ready to head up and/or shift your weight to counteract the puff. Watch the water and the boats that are to windward.
You can only learn so much in lessons, the most important learning curve is going out and doing what you did. You'll soon get a feel for the boat and the wind and reduce or eliminate your capsizes.

Fred (71 year old)
 
By all means seal the mast. Take the caps off, apply sealer and reinstall the caps. It will make the boat easier to right.

Bottle can go on end of gaff, top of mast, your choice.

No shame in learning, I learn something new almost every time I go out.

Daggerboard is a reach if capsized. You could coil some line and attach it to the bow handle with thread. Yank it loose if in the water, tie it in a loop and throw it over the daggerboard. Not sure how well it would work, you would need to try it a few times to see if you can toss the loop over the daggerboard. Wayne made the suggestion of having enough rope to form a loop around the entire hull as something to hang onto yet not be attached to the boat.

Gotta think about your last failed attempt to recover your SF. Not a good thing it you can't do it and are stuck in the water. Sealing the mast and the bottle will help. Be aware that a Type III life jacket with become waterlogged after a few hours. Suggest you find a friend with a support boat just to be on the safe side until you get a few hours more experience. Need to be sure you can recover the SF no matter how many times you flip it. At the very least, have someone on shore keeping a eye on you.
 
iconoclast said:
If the mast didn't take on water in the first place, would it resist turtling a lot more?
Click to expand...
The mast (and spars) barely float their own weight when dry. What you gain by sealing is not lifting water weight while raising the boat from 90° to upright. Underwater, a water filled mast becomes only the weight of the aluminum since water submerged in water is neutral.
 

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What you get with a mast full of water is a mast weighing 16 pounds more than it did with the weight of air. When upright the boats center of gravity will be raised and will tip over much easier. Capsized the center of gravity is lower making the boat harder to right. You never loose total mass of the water inside the mast, even when the mast is in the water. If comparing water to water you get netural bouyence but we went from air, that would add some type of positive bouyence factor, to netural water. We have just fllooded the ballest tank, so to speak. We have also increased the amount of force it takes to overcome the inertia of the mast both at rest and moving.
 
I don't know if this applys to you but if you have a drain in the transom (I have an aftermarket drain here) make sure it is closed TIGHT!!! On my first sail with the '71, I left mine a crack open. I then capsized purposefully to show my crew (a new sailor) how to recover and found myself an easy 300 yards out with a boat that refused to come back up and was slowly turtling on top of me. That was not a fun sail.
 
btsunfish said:
I don't know if this applys to you but if you have a drain in the transom (I have an aftermarket drain here) make sure it is closed TIGHT!!!
Click to expand...

Not getting any younger, I guess it's a good thing that stock Sunfish, including mine, don't have a drain in the stern....

 
It is a good thing, wavedancer, because the bozo who put my drain plug in (the previous owner) had the good sense to put it below the waterline. And there are three inspection ports besides. Guess he had some leaking problems. (the whole bottom of the boat looked as if it had been smashed out and then repaired)
 
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