OK..so how DO you right a boat????

S

Sunray

New Member
I have a Force 5 (very similar to a Laser)..I would like to know how to right the boat in deep water.... Also, what reasons can you all think of that my boom would dis-locate itself from the mast?? I know it did...and I could not put it back under the wieght of everything...This happened in a deathroll ..I think what may have happenend was that as I was trying to put my wieght on the centerboard..the mast slipped out of the mast-step, and dragged everything elso under...but somehow I saved the lower section.......very strange.....

Any thoughts??
Ray
Miami Beach
 
Hello Sunray,
My suspicions are that you didn't have the boat rigged correctly. The cunningham should have held the sail to the boat, even if the mast became unstepped, the outhaul should have kept the boom attached to the sail and also kept the boom in the gooseneck.
I'm saying this from a point of not knowing the rigging. So take it for what it's worth.
As far as re-righting the boat the thing is to get on the centerboard and use your weight to bring the boat back upright. When your sailing upwind and capsize most of the time you will tip to leeward or mast pointing downwind, if your semi-agile you can swing your leg over the side of the boat and get onto the centerboard from the top side, then climb back in as the boat comes back up. Now downwind deathrolls are a different story. Since your sailing in Biscayne Bay there is a possibilty of sticking the mast in the bottom, if or when that happens your need to be able to recognize it. Don't try to force the boat back up by jumping up and down on the board or pulling hard on the gunnel while on the board to force it up.... You'll break something either your mast, center board or worse mast step. The best way to get back upright in that situtation is to get on the board and then let boat will swing with the wind until you are far enough downwind of your mast tip to free itself from the bottom and come up.
The best way to learn how to recover from capsizing is to go out and practice recoveries. I know I practised this tons of times inadvertently of course.....
Good luck and have great fun with your Force 5, our family owned one when I was a kid. I think they are beautiful boats and can be dang near as fast as a Laser and they are a bit more user friendly.
Regards,
Fishingmickey
150087/181157

P.S. I wish you well on your sail and mast recovery mission.
 
not having enough vang on can also lose you the boom...tried to re-tie my outhaul on water once in 20 kts by taking off the vang...dumped, lost the boom, and drifted around for 20 mins till I was rescued
 
Thanks fishing mickey, for the helpful advice. I did try to hang on the board one time and my weight did not seem to make anything happen, maybe a few minutes more and I would have had success.....I'm a bit nervous about going out alone to sail now as I needed my brother to tow me in on HIS Force 5....well..I guess jumping back on the horse is the best way...practice practice....it WAS a lot of fun

Thanks 167542 for your comments too...

Ray
 
Ok, this is kind of an embarrasing question seeing as I've been sailing for years, but is there a knack to getting onto the centreboard when the boat has capsized without needing a great deal of strength?

I managed to rite the laser I sailed the other weekend by just hanging off the end of the board and pushing my feet on the bottom gunwale.

However, I usually sail double-handers which are a fair bit heavier and I don't think that method would work for them. Due to a strange set of events, although I've been sailing these boats for years and had many capsizes, I've rarely taken the role of the person who rites the boat. Those times I have attempted to take that role I couldn't get onto the board.

To be perfectly honest, no matter how long I spend pumping weights at the gym I don't think I will ever have enough upper-body strength to pull myself up onto the centreboard. I am only small - I only weigh around 50 kilos and I don't think I am naturally intended to be hugely strong.

Any ideas, tips or advice?
 
I was involved in a capsize last autumn in a larger 3 crew dinghy called a Thistle. There were only two of us to right the boat, and we were turtled. We ended up tying a line to the thwart inside of the cockpit, throwing it up over the gunwale and trailing over the hull. We held onto the line and hooked our feet onto the gunwale, and after a lot of oomph, we righted the boat. It was pretty hard on me though. The Thistle weighs over 500 pounds. How much does a Laser 2 weigh anyway?

laser2_9804 said:
Ok, this is kind of an embarrasing question seeing as I've been sailing for years, but is there a knack to getting onto the centreboard when the boat has capsized without needing a great deal of strength?

I managed to rite the laser I sailed the other weekend by just hanging off the end of the board and pushing my feet on the bottom gunwale.

However, I usually sail double-handers which are a fair bit heavier and I don't think that method would work for them. Due to a strange set of events, although I've been sailing these boats for years and had many capsizes, I've rarely taken the role of the person who rites the boat. Those times I have attempted to take that role I couldn't get onto the board.

To be perfectly honest, no matter how long I spend pumping weights at the gym I don't think I will ever have enough upper-body strength to pull myself up onto the centreboard. I am only small - I only weigh around 50 kilos and I don't think I am naturally intended to be hugely strong.

Any ideas, tips or advice?
Click to expand...
 
The minimum weight for a laser 2 is 79kgs/174lbs. I've never raced mine so it's never been weighed, but I would say it is close to minimum weight.

The other boat I sail - a 125, weighs around 60kgs

That sounds like hard work with the Thistle. I wouldn't fancy turtling one of those!
 
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