Turned Turtle - Stuck in the Muck

Wayne

Member Emeritus
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I was practicing capsize recovery with my son this weekend and turned turtle. Apparently my mast does not float. I was in too shallow of water but I was able to get to the centerboard before the upper pole bent.
 
I was practicing capsize recovery with my son this weekend and turned turtle. Apparently my mast does not float. I was in too shallow of water but I was able to get to the centerboard before the upper pole bent.
Unfortunately the mast has minimal buoyancy as you can see if you just float it alone. Wind, choppy waters, and people hanging off the deck side of the boat easily overcome what little float you get from it. And, with it's angle to the water in a capsize you only benefit from a fraction of its total flotation at that. If it's leaky it even works against you.

When practicing, tie an empty 1 gallon plastic jug to the top of the spar. Heck, even an empty 1 qt bottle helps a lot..., but they don't usually have a handle to tie onto.

You can do some cool stuff with pool pasta too . . .


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It's not pretty, but our club attaches empty milk jugs to the top of the mast to keep from getting stuck in the mud. Seems to work and it's cheap! The racers joke that the jugs are how you spot a newbie, but if I ever see one stuck in the mud, I'll toss them a free jug. ;)
 

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