Who dunnit?

[David Hudson]

Twenty foot sailboat...capsize.

How many "Swallowers" have actually capsized?

[david]

Not me. Barely had any water over the rails!   

[Graham W]

Here's one http://www.swallowyachtsassociation.org/smf/index.php/topic,414.msg3540.html#msg3540 and here's a passing reference to another http://www.swallowyachtsassociation.org/smf/index.php/topic,1034.msg6823.html#msg6823 both BR20's and both under racing conditions. I've been very close several times.

[Matthew P]

Thanks for the reminder Graham!  My top capsizing "tips" (pun intended) are:

a) Don't - unless you intend to.
b) A practice in a safe place at a safe time is a good idea
c) Don't put your fingers in the centerboard slot before the centerboard slams back into it.  You've no idea how tempting this is when climbing onto an (upturned) hull.  I didn't and so I still have four fingers and a thumb on each hand.

Have you any capsize experience David H?

Matthew
BR20 Gladys
 

[markbatey]

Yup, once. And the BR17 didn't self-right, but maybe I accidentally didn't have the tanks full. I was very glad of the step in the rudder to climb back in after hauling on the centreboard.

[Graham W]

My experience with near-capsize is that I've always been distracted by something else at the time (usually bits of string at the mast) and haven't been able to let go the mainsheet quickly enough.

[David Hudson]

"it's the boater not the boat"! with apologies to the movie, "The singer not the song".

Very informative.
David H

[Peter Cockerton]

Our near capsize was down to under estimating the strength of the wind when changing course from a run to a beam reach when a gybe was in the equation as well. An opportune loss of footing by the helmsman and release of the tiller may have helped the recovery, i was only thankfull that i had a firm grip on something at the time and the ballast tanks were full. Lesson learnt remember to think about wind strength when running and dont let the lack of wind noise and the smooth ride of the boat lull you into a false sense of security.

Peter Cockerton

[Michael Rogers]

I've written FAR too much already about my spill. Besides, as mine isn't a 'twenty foot sailboat', it doesn't count.

May we know why this info is being collected? - in a good cause and not for titillation, I trust.

[David Hudson]

Hi Michael

Titillation is gybing a windsurfer in a '5'!

Just an innocent enquiry.

[Graham W]

I'm in favour of old-fashioned maritime titillation. Especially at this time of year when most of us (in the UK anyway) will not be getting back on the water for a while.  It's like reading the best bits of Webb Chiles and his Drascombe exploits, while sitting next to the fire with a dog or two.

On the subject of Drascombes, they had an interesting insight on their forum a while back.  Which is that if a buoyant boat capsizes in high winds, it is quite likely that the top of its mast will be lying slightly underwater and away from the wind.  Before you know it, the windage on the buoyant hull has pushed the boat downwind and pressure of water on the sails has forced the mast underwater, causing complete inversion.  I think that this is probably what happened to Matthew's 'Gladys' during Sail Caledonia in 2012. The encouraging thing is that after the shock of being dumped into the briny and turning turtle, the crew managed to get the boat upright and sailing again in double-quick time.  They were aided by the BR20's asymmetric buoyancy and the safety boat, which was waiting nearby, wasn't needed.

If you know that inverting after capsize is a possibility, then you may just be able to prevent it.  Something like this might help http://www.tridentuk.com/gb/secumar-anti-capsize-cushion-20lt-720.html. Or as Matthew tips (ho ho), you could try not to capsize in the first place.

[Michael Rogers]

I can't speak for 'Gladys', but that describes exactly what happened to 'Cavatina' off Durdle Door. It all happened quite quickly and was unexpected (!) so I didn't survey the scene in a 'that's interesting, I wonder what will happen next' way: but I clearly recall that I was surprised at how high out of the water the boat on its side floated, because of her side buoyancy which is the full length of the hull. She was tipped over by a wave plus wind with the rig to leeward, and the windage on about 2/3 of her rather plump hull above water would have been considerable, and working to invert her. Like a properly RYA-trained sailor, my first action was to swim to the stern to try to turn the hull round: had I managed that, I'm pretty sure the wind would have righted her, or made it easy to do so. But she inverted almost immediately.

The masthead airbag is a most ingenious idea (now why didn't I think of that!?), and seems to be quite compact until inflated. A bit pricey, but worth thinking about.

[David Hudson]

This is just like "In the psychiatrist's chair."

Happy Christmas to you all from an expectant Expedition owner.

David H

[Peter Taylor]

Which is that if a buoyant boat capsizes in high winds, it is quite likely that the top of its mast will be lying slightly underwater and away from the wind.  Before you know it, the windage on the buoyant hull has pushed the boat downwind and pressure of water on the sails has forced the mast underwater, causing complete inversion.

Complete inversion became a problem with Seafly racing dinghies (my "other boat"!) when, many years ago, they changed from wood to alloy masts. The Seafly is indeed very buoyant when capsized and the inversion happens much as described for the Drascombes.  One suggested solution  ( not recommended for a SB!) has been to cut down the buoyancy in the side tanks so the hull sinks more and the mast is parallel to the water. I have a masthead float on the alloy mast of my Seafly (permanently inflated and therefore cheaper than the secumar one - you don't need much buoyancy at that location to prevent inversion).

For Swallow Boats with their sealed, buoyant carbon fibre masts I would have hoped that the chances of complete inversion are much less. Indeed, you can see the effect of the mast buoyancy on the published gz curve.  However gz curves are theoretical, I'm hoping not to do a verification the hard way using my BC20!
Peter

[Tim Riley]

Er well hands up here
But if Gladys and cavatina were capsizes then Ristie only managed a part capsize! Sail flat on the water, bit of swimming and some embarrassment much to the amusement of a moored boat we were close to at the time. However as Matthew found, the Bayraider does everything it is supposed to and we recovered ourselves without any help.
Tim