Honestly, that looks like a poor substitute for pool noodles. It’s expensive, and I am no physicist, but adding 1.5 pounds to the top of the boom must have an impact on the righting moment. Plus, pool noodles don’t stand out as much as that big thing up there.
About half of the dinghies I see here in the states have milk jugs. Do you have plastic milk jugs in England?I'd still go with an old milk jug.
Yes we do! We still have glass milk bottles too but they are getting rarer. All of the training boats at my club used to have milk jugs on the masts but these have been replaced with things like this recently.About half of the dinghies I see here in the states have milk jugs. Do you have plastic milk jugs in England?
I'm impressed you could climb back in the boat. I usually have to swim to shore and get a motor boat tow for the boat. Any tricks to share?I am 75, have been sailing/racing small sailboats since age 16, have capsized at least once per season but never turned turtle....until last summer. I was sailing the Sunfish close hauled in gusty, very shifty conditions and sailed right into 20 mph 100 degree shift. The sail instantly filled on the other side, pushed the boom into my chest and over it went with me scrambling to get out from under the rig and back to the surface. The boat turtled before I could get around the hull and grab the daggerboard. Righting the boat and dragging my sorry butt back on board took about 5 minutes (glad I was not racing when all this happened.) In retrospect, I wondered if a better move would have been to swim out to the head of the sail and grab it to prevent a turtle then swim for the daggerboard when things stabilized a bit. Any thoughts? And, no, I will not tie a plastic milk bottle to the rig!
Alan Glos
Cazenovia, NY
The Hoofers Sailing Club in Madison WI has, among it's fleets, 12' dinghies. Most everyone that sails them, likes to go out into the middle of Lake Mendota, capsize and turtle, and sunbathe on the hull bottom!
Speaking of masthead floats, my Hobie Cat Getaway has a big obnoxious float (they call it a Bob) attached to the masthead. I always tell people it's my radar dome. But it does keep the boat from turtling, and you really don't want to turtle a catamaran.
I assume you got the boat back on its feet.I'm impressed you could climb back in the boat. I usually have to swim to shore and get a motor boat tow for the boat. Any tricks to share?
I've been a Hoofer on and off since 2006. Yeah, the little 12' dinghies. It's always been common to turtle them, in my experience particularly by the college kids. Did you ever do a dry capsize and recovery of them? Grab the mast, lean back, roll the boat and step over the gunnel as it turtles? Then grab the board and right it the same way, stepping over the gunnel into the boat. If you do it right, almost all the water drains out too. I got pretty good at it, didn't even get my feet wet. I could sometimes do it with the Lasers, too.When did people start doing that? Are you talking about the ‘bath tub’ dinghies? I can’t think of anyone doing that when I was in the Hoofers Sailing Club, but that was back in 2007-2010. Feeling old now, as I realize how long ago that was. I do recall sailors putting great effort into trying to capsize them for practice, as they are very hard to capsize.
I've been a Hoofer on and off since 2006. Yeah, the little 12' dinghies. It's always been common to turtle them, in my experience particularly by the college kids. Did you ever do a dry capsize and recovery of them? Grab the mast, lean back, roll the boat and step over the gunnel as it turtles? Then grab the board and right it the same way, stepping over the gunnel into the boat. If you do it right, almost all the water drains out too. I got pretty good at it, didn't even get my feet wet. I could sometimes do it with the Lasers, too.
Hard to capsize? Do you mean the 18' Badger sloop? Those are hard to capsize and really hard to right.
If you lock back a few items you will see the story on thisI thought this looked like a good idea (4 big pool noodles on the upper spar to prevent turtling). Has anyone done this? If so, have you tried capsizing? Do you have any advice?
Yeah. it leaks lol. Also when i got it it was full of water, so the foam is still wet. There's a hole from when i changed rudder styles, that I filled with calk, and put a piece of ducktape over.Samystine have you leak tested your boat?
I'll be teaching my 6 year-old grandson to sail on my Sunfish this year. Our first 'lesson' will be capsizing, so this guidance on preventing turtlling is especially useful to me. Righting the boat will be hard enough for him without having to deal with the challenges of a turtle!
I"m IMPRESSED TOO! I am 75 yrs old (with Arthritis in my lower back) and the only way I can climb back into the boat is by using a line around the mast with a bowline knot as a stirrup to help me leg up into the cockpit. I capsized with my 10 year old Grand Daughter last year which was not as much fun as sailing but we both had a great time. What is the method you use in climbing back onboard?I'm impressed you could climb back in the boat. I usually have to swim to shore and get a motor boat tow for the boat. Any tricks to share?
Posts 45 and 46 have some adviceWhat is the method you use in climbing back onboard?
Have you forgotten that all visitors from Remulak have a very literal sense of humor? I got your joke and enjoyed it almost as much as I enjoyed Beldar's reaction.Silly rabbit..Trix are for kids. Sorry, I thought it was obviously a bad thing to do and my old man joke, failed once again. Boathead, you may need to adjust your cone for predicting incoming sarcasm!
it sounds like the same crazy wind that flipped you over attacked us as well. We were on Whitmore Lake Sunday afternoon when that storm came up out of nowhere. A strong gust of wind ripped the Bimini off of a pontoon boat in front of us and snapped the halyard on my super sunfish. I had to flag the pontoon boat down to tow us in to shore, as paddling would have taken too long and I was worried about lightning.… I was in gusty conditions yesterday and a rogue gust just yanked the boat over and I slid off before I knew what was happening. …
I was on Ford Lake near Belleville on Sunday about the same time - but luckily was already heading for shore and got out before the big winds really hit. Glad you made it to shore ok.it sounds like the same crazy wind that flipped you over attacked us as well. We were on Whitmore Lake Sunday afternoon when that storm came up out of nowhere. A strong gust of wind ripped the Bimini off of a pontoon boat in front of us and snapped the halyard on my super sunfish. I had to flag the pontoon boat down to tow us in to shore, as paddling would have taken too long and I was worried about lightning.
I am right up the road on Silver Lake(!) and it got a lot gustier right after I came in (and right before a brief downpour). Must have been the same system! Glad to meet you, neighbor!it sounds like the same crazy wind that flipped you over attacked us as well. We were on Whitmore Lake Sunday afternoon when that storm came up out of nowhere. A strong gust of wind ripped the Bimini off of a pontoon boat in front of us and snapped the halyard on my super sunfish. I had to flag the pontoon boat down to tow us in to shore, as paddling would have taken too long and I was worried about lightning.
I haven't tried the Aerosouth dinghy-bob yet, but I have their sapele daggerboard and rudder, and I'd vouch for anything Kent makes. Yes, the dingy bob is $100 and looks like a radar antenna, but I'd bet it works well and is more aerodynamic than just about anything else.