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Capsized!


sscoville

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I capsized my BRS 17 yesterday and thought I would share the story for the benefit of others.  I'm pretty sure I'll be at the Messabout and look forward to learning a lot.

So, I decided i wanted to go sailing yesterday because we had some wind (I have not looked up the speed yet but certainly will).  I could not find anyone to go with me so I decided to go ahead alone.  This is probably the 10th time I've had her out.  Maybe the only smart thing I did was put my lifejacket on as soon as I stepped into the boat.  As soon as I left the dock on my first tack up wind I could tell I needed to make adjustments.  I had the cb only about 2/3 down to reduce heeling and I had the mizzen sheet uncleated and in my hand, still trying to figure it all out.  I caught some wind started to heel, the rail went under and I pushed the tiller as far as I could reach while trying to keep my weight on the rising side of the boat.  Thus, I don't think I got the tiller pointed past amidships. And slowly I went over.  The main sheet was still cleated so the first thing I did once over was to uncleat this.  I then swam around to the other side of the boat to get on the cb to try to right it.  The good thing is I was near the landing so there were a lot of people around to help.  The bad thing is I was near the landing so there were a lot of people to see.  Once on the centerboard, it came right up.  But, I have yet to install any mechanism for keeping my seat hatches closed so the lower side filled with water.  I got back aboard and started to get towed by a nearby boat but all that water in that compartment pulled that end down again and the boat eventually capsized again.  Then my friend who runs SeaTow showed up and started helping me.  The boat that was helping gathered my loose things and took them to the dock.  I got the masts out (had to cut my sheets because the boat was upside down after I got the masts out.  We got the masts, sails and sprits out of the water and into his boat.  I got the boat turned over again and he started towing me to get some of the water out.  Luckily I also have deckplates installed on the vertical faces of the side compartments near the forward thwart.  By opening this most of the water inside was able to come out.  We then were able to pump most of the rest out and he towed me to the dock.

I lost two water bottles, some sun screen, one flip flop, one oar lock, my bailing bucket, my manual pump, and some pride and confidence.  But I did not die, get hurt (just scratched and sore today) or loose my boat.  I will have to pay SeaTow, but I think it's a fair price.

A couple of lessons I learned: I was in too much wind to be alone without ballast.  Having some crew would have helped tremendously to keep the boat from going all the way over.  I need to install something to keep my hatches closed.  I think if the hatch had not filled, I would have been able to bail the boat without it capsizing again.  If I had had and been using a hiking stick I may have been able to get the boat turned up into the wind enough to keep from going all the way over.  The design is a good one and the boat seems to be no worse for the experience.  With all that weight in the boat being pulled by the bow eye I was half expecting either my stem to come apart or my transom to come off.  So far I see no signs of either.  My seat hatch did come apart on one of its forward corners but I think it was already weak.

I also had the forward bow compartment open and it filled with water.  I think with all hatches closed, the boat is unsinkable which is comforting. 

It would have been much more stressful had I not put my lifejacket on at the dock.  Be careful.

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  Sounds like a rough day, but it's good to hear there were no injuries.

  Welcome to the inverted sailing club.  Way back when, I used to be a rock climber and we had a saying about falling - "if you ain't flyin you ain't tryin."  :lol:

  As far as I know, with the mizzen sheet loose and the main cleated it is impossible to get the bow into the wind.  The centerboard being partway up would have made it even more difficult.

  I hope the mishap doesn't keep you off the water too long.

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Your problem occurred because the main was drawing and the mizzen was slack. Everyone needs to learn this lesson once. Always have the main ready to spill, worry about the mizzen later. Had the main been slack and the mizzen cleated, she would have just rounded up and flogged. Until you learn about the centerboard positions, just let it all the way down and leave it there as soon as you leave the dock.

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Wow.  What a miserable learning experience.  Having capsized and lost a (non-B&B) boat, I can attest to the fact that it is a sucky experience.  Get back on that horse quickly.

I took my oldest son sailing on Blue Peter for the first time a few weeks ago.  I made him repeat the phrase:  "The main is my enemy; the mizzen is my friend" multiple times.  He's had some experience sailing a sloop, but but was understandably confused by all the masts and sails and double-ended sheets.  Soon, he was sitting comfortably with the mizzen sheet cleated behind and mainsheet cleated before him--but tailed across his lap ready to uncleat.  Every now and then, I'd randomly ask him to put his hand on the mainsheet; just to make sure that he remembered which line was which.  It's serious business when the wind is puffing.

Hang in there.  Strap down those hatch lids and get back out there.

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I did not think it would either.  But my buddy I take sailing usually said he read it online somewhere.  We tried it, and sure enough it worked.  As far as I can tell the board down keeps you from sliding but that also results in heeling.  Lift the board and you slide but less heeling.  That's how it seems to me.  But others are much more qualified to answer that.

I had thought the opposite would be true as I figured the board down would act as a canter leaver preventing heeling but now I think the board is just no match for the sails at the other end of the leaver.

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I honestly can not see how any position on the Cboard that is unweighted would help reduce heeling.

Possibly having it partially deployed theoretically allows more leeway slippage so instead of just heeling you  the wind also loses some strength pushing you sideways.

Certainly wouldn't be a tactic I would ever employ.

What having the centerboard partially down did do was move your center of lateral resistance aft.

And when you eased the Mizzen that moved the center of effort forward and forces were such that your rudder was overwhelmed.

The boat bore off downwind, and then you exposed more main sail to the wind as the angle went right angle to the wind as opposed to a lesser angle.  The sail was stalled as air flow was only hitting one side and you had loads of drag and no lift.

All wind strength forces were then translated into heeling forces.  And Heel she did.

There is a saying here in Maine that "Knowledge Earned is Bettah Than Knowledge Learned so long as the price don't come to Deah.

Cost you a few bucks to Sea Tow and to lost gear, but no one is hurt and nothing was damaged save a few lines.

Pretty cheap tuition,  and definitely lesson well taught.

It is also said that learning to sail dinghies make you a better sailor,  that a small unballasted boat speaks to you and let's you know when you do something wrong right off.

The language used generally involves swimming too.

7-10 MPH and Gusting to 16 MPH is certainly not too much wind for single handing a BRS 17 or CS series.

It was however more than you were prepared for.

That's OK.  Get back on the horse and heed the lessons and you will be out shooting across the lake or Bay in such conditions single handed with a  huge smile plastered on your face in short order.

Work on your hatches and get them watertight.

Put the board all the way down and don't rely on it to prevent heeling.

Keep the mizzen cleated and be prepared to let the main run free.

Learn to heave to by trimmin gin the mizzen and letting main run free.  Learn to get out of irons by backing main to new tack.

Learn to play with sails and angle of attack of two sails by letting go of rudder and steering simply by easing and trimming both sails.

Learn and practice reefing out on the water underway.

Do this in winds under 6 mph to get those lessons learned.

As confidence and competence increases then go out and stretch your skills in progressively stronger winds.

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I expect you have already learned a lot of things to do differently. 

There is a reason that the hatches have waterproof (at least resistant, I hope) covers and the tanks not in use are closed and sealed well enough to survive a dunking.

A hiking stick is much more than a convenience, its necessary to sail the boat well and you can't hike without one.

We have preached about the importance of having the mainsheet near to hand, now you know that too.

With the CB partially extended, the CLR is raised.  This does indeed reduce the heeling moment although it also moves the CLR aft which can cause lee helm and what Ray describes.

The truth is that small boats can capsize and you should always have the boat prepared for that.  Anything loose can be lost.  This is why I earlier questioned the wisdom of having drawers and storage boxes aboard a small sailboat.  Stuff that can't survive a capsize should be stored in a sealed locker or otherwise secured.  I lost stuff many years ago in learning this.  Eventually many will become automatic in responding to conditions and rarely or never capsize.  Unless you are seriously racing your boat, avoiding capsizes should be fairly easy. 

Most of the other 50 boats I saw at the Small Reach Regatta in Maine last year could not be sailed to their limits because they would be a disaster in a capsize.  All of my small sailboats (and all of Graham's small sailboats) are equipped with adequate flotation to allow righting and getting sailing again.  It is called "self rescue capability" and needs no outside assistance. 

CS boats are designed based on experience learned from the best teacher.  Mistakes made and corrective action taken.  As a result they are very safe but do need that the sailor know and practice the safety built into them.

End of sermon.

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Most of the other 50 boats I saw at the Small Reach Regatta in Maine last year could not be sailed to their limits because they would be a disaster in a capsize. 

Well, they could be sailed to their limits,  But G-d love the person who tries. 

I was appalled by the capsize demonstration Ben Fuller gave with his ducker to show how to recover from capsize in his Ducker.  Ben was in a dry suit and capsized his Ducker on purpose to show us how to recover from capsize.

Boat was full with an amazing amount of water.

He stuffed rags in cboard slot and used a 5 gallon bucket to bail.  It took a long time.  And this was in harbor near the dock with dead calm water.  I can't imagine having to do same out in open water in nasty chop.

In 08 the Small Reach Regatta did have a capsize out on the water and it caused them to be much more proactive and ad required equipment and boat inspections.

I have a 3 gallon bucket attached by lanyard and stowed under foredeck at Small Reach Regatta's now.  And that is the only time I have it on board.

Also this year the inspector was rather squeaky cheaked that I didn't have rags on board to stuff the center board trunk of my CS 20.

I told him the boat didn't need any as the c board slot would never ever be below waterline and if it was I had bigger problems to deal with than stuffing cboard trunk.  Only way I could see the cboard trunk below water was to have some serious hull breaches.

I showed him a 8 x 10 glossy photo of a CS 17 laying on it's side very very high in the water with Graham sitting on the centerboard to right it.  At that he relented.

Next year I will bring some rags just to keep them quiet.

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Like I said, welcome to the club - I had to do about 5 wrong things in a row to get my boat inverted.  :lol:

I learned a good bit from it, though.  Go sail and have fun.  Now that you know about the main sheet you shouldn't hesitate to go out in exactly the same conditions (once you're used to the boat you'll consider that windspeed perfect singlehanding weather).  Try letting the mainsheet go when you're sailing comfortably on a nice day and you'll see how well the boat rounds up.

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  • 4 weeks later...

Very insightful thread.

I usually lift the centerboard partially or fully when the wind starts to kick up, especially when close hauled.  I have a stub keel that houses the CB so little shift in balance is felt, but heel tendency is reduced considerably.  Typically, I've already reefed and would like the tamed boat a bit more as my next move is to drop the jib.  A real performance killer.

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I spoke with the Apostle of Speed after I capsized and he said that raising the centerboard some is a good way to reduce heeling, just not to raise it too much.

Today was my first time back out since the capsize.  I did not have as much wind as I'd hoped for, very little actually.  One thing I've really come to appreciate is the tiller extension.  I was able to move around much more and my arm did not get tired from holding it out to reach the tiller. 

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One thing I've really come to appreciate is the tiller extension

I even forked out the money for the telescopic tiller extension (see below) as it increases the range in the boat a lot, yet still clips down to the tiller and doesn't cause a problem with the mizzen sheet. It's very nice but was a bit expensive

https://www.whitworths.com.au/main_itemdetail.asp?cat=200&item=87957&intAbsolutePage=&LinkedItem=87965&search123=

Cheers

Peter HK

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A tiller extension greatly expands you capability to sail any of these boats better.  I much prefer the plug in type that can be moved from boat to boat since they are so costly.  At one time I had two but one of them now resides on Southern Skimmer.  A non-extendable one is adequate for small single handers and is easily built and costs only the price of the swivel fitting and a bit of wood.  To sail a CS single, you need the extendable type so the boat can be balanced properly.

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