Well, the plan was to go camping with the family for a week bringing the Capri in tow. I wanted to spend some quality time with her. I figured in a week, we'd see enough variety in wind and waves for me to finally get comfortable with this boat. Alas, it was not to be.
We launched the boat with my daughter and her friend as crew. The friend had never sailed before so we put her on the jib while my daughter took the tiller and I tended the main. We showed her how to come about and jibe, how to hike out and keep the boat flat. We eased her into the sailing vocabulary. She was really enjoying herself; learning this foreign sport; feeling like she was really getting it. After about two hours of stiff winds, excellent sailing and some good abdomen exercises ... BOOM ... and the main sail disappeared.
It was the eeriest sight. One minute, I was tending the main and the next it was gone. I looked down at our friend and she had somehow managed to grab enough of the boom to allow me to come forward and grab the mast which was now laying horizontal in the water. At first there was a sense of disillusionment slowly followed by disappointment as we each realized that our week of sailing had just come to an abrupt end.
So we gathered up the pieces, disconnected all the lines, sheets, sails and what-not. Laid the mast along the boat's length and started sculling for home. It would have been a long slow scull, and I was seriously contemplating a gerry-rig using the boom and a sideways hoisted jib, when a motor-boater came by to offer us a tow. We took it.
Thus ended a week of sailing ... after only two hours.
That was the story, now comes the repair. The culprit was a weak shroud which snapped at the chain-plate. The repair for that is simple. But the falling mast ripped all the mast-step screws out of the deck, leaving clean holes where once there was threaded holes.
I see three possible repair options.
1) Fill in the screw holes, re-drill and re-tap to fit the design screws. But what to refill with? Epoxy, rolled up fiberglass dipped in resin? Any suggestions?
2) Re-tap the holes with larger diameter screws. Will this be strong enough?
3) Drill the existing holes through, use a backing plate and re-mount the mast head with thru-bolts. Or will this result in ripping out the deck next time the mast shrouds let go?
Any advise? Thanks!
We launched the boat with my daughter and her friend as crew. The friend had never sailed before so we put her on the jib while my daughter took the tiller and I tended the main. We showed her how to come about and jibe, how to hike out and keep the boat flat. We eased her into the sailing vocabulary. She was really enjoying herself; learning this foreign sport; feeling like she was really getting it. After about two hours of stiff winds, excellent sailing and some good abdomen exercises ... BOOM ... and the main sail disappeared.
It was the eeriest sight. One minute, I was tending the main and the next it was gone. I looked down at our friend and she had somehow managed to grab enough of the boom to allow me to come forward and grab the mast which was now laying horizontal in the water. At first there was a sense of disillusionment slowly followed by disappointment as we each realized that our week of sailing had just come to an abrupt end.
So we gathered up the pieces, disconnected all the lines, sheets, sails and what-not. Laid the mast along the boat's length and started sculling for home. It would have been a long slow scull, and I was seriously contemplating a gerry-rig using the boom and a sideways hoisted jib, when a motor-boater came by to offer us a tow. We took it.
Thus ended a week of sailing ... after only two hours.
That was the story, now comes the repair. The culprit was a weak shroud which snapped at the chain-plate. The repair for that is simple. But the falling mast ripped all the mast-step screws out of the deck, leaving clean holes where once there was threaded holes.
I see three possible repair options.
1) Fill in the screw holes, re-drill and re-tap to fit the design screws. But what to refill with? Epoxy, rolled up fiberglass dipped in resin? Any suggestions?
2) Re-tap the holes with larger diameter screws. Will this be strong enough?
3) Drill the existing holes through, use a backing plate and re-mount the mast head with thru-bolts. Or will this result in ripping out the deck next time the mast shrouds let go?
Any advise? Thanks!