Heavy weather upgrades

[paphman]

We have a 1984 Catalina 22, that we sail on lake Ontario. I would like to know what everyone has done to upgrade their boats. By that I mean what have you done to make your boat handle heavy weather better, and safer. What do you have in the way of sails etc. What have you done to the rigging ect. I thought this might be an interesting topic

Dale

 

[Benny]

There are a few things you can do. 1) upgrade your standing rigging with wires one size up. 2) Strengthen your tiller and rudder. 3) If you have a swing keel insure the lockdown mechanism is fully operational. 4) Lead control lines aft. 5) Make sure hatches and ports can be secured and are in good condition. 6) Install a heavy duty outboard motor mount . 7) Any through the hull should be of a quality ball type. 8) Make sure you have a good working VHF radio with a mast mounted anntena. 9) keep a pair of wirecutter aboard. 10) A set of good life jackets. 11) Sail smart, use a lot of prudence and sail the weather not the schedule. The most important upgrade you can make is to your knowledge and experience.

 

[Bill Roosa]

Faile safe

I'd be wary of making the shrouds too strong. if you go inverted the mast IS coming off. You do not want the cabin roof to come with it. The shrouds have been engineered to break before that happens.

When the mast comes off the antenna comes off too. Have a spare or move the whole thing to the aft rail.

 

[sailingdog]

Install a full bridgedeck and reduce the volume of water the cockpit can hold in the case of the boat being pooped. I did this on my boat, since the boat companionway was a only three inches high, and we'd get water down below in heavy weather if the crew forgot to replace the bottom dropboard. The bridgedeck I added takes up almost FIVE CUBIC FEET of the cockpit, reducing the amount of water the cockpit can hold by over 300 lbs. It also is a couple inches taller than the transom, so if the boat does get pooped, the water will pour out the cockpit drains and transom, and not into the cabin.

A few notes on Benny's recommendations—First, the VHF should be a Class D DSC-capable VHF unit and connected to a GPS. Second, the through-hulls should also have softwood plugs in plastic bags tied to them. The plugs should fit the through-hull, and should have a lanyard and a hole drilled through the fat end, so that they can be lashed into place. Third, the PFDs should have retro-reflective tape, strobes and whistles on them, and preferably have harnesses with crotch straps—and you should have jacklines and tethers as well. Fourth—learn to reef early, and practice reefing until you can do it in all conditions in under two-to-three minutes.

 

[Stu Jackson]

The best info we ever got is found in the book

Sailing llustrated, by Pat Royce. He shows and diagrams a C22 with lines led aft, etc. Very good info we used here on SF Bay. The boat's very sturdy, rig it right and sail it well.

 

[David in Sandusky]

More thoughts

My first reaction was a VHS radio, and then not much!

We cruise a Hunter 27 on Lake Erie, and have sailed the east end of Ontario in a number of boats. With the great weather radar available in every port, you can avoid most nasty weather - or run to port in 8 hours or less if the unexpected happens. In talking to experienced great lake sailors, I have concluded that eventually we will get caught and knocked down or roughed up by a pop-up thunderstorm, or by a big packet of cold, high speed air off that thunder head 20 miles away. With that, and after reading some of the other ideas, here are some additional things we have done to our boat:

- Jacklines, harnesses, and tethers will keep you safe when the weather kicks up. We also rigged a strong point in our cockpit for hook on to.

- Carry the recommended safety equipment. The air horn feels kind of funny until you find yourself in a fog bank with nothing else in sight, an the sounds of big motors around you!

- The first aid kit is in the same category.

- Have a third reef on our main, and the ability to reduce your headsail. Roller furling is our solution. I don't believe you will need any extra stays or sails.

- We have a good depth transducer in addition to our GPS.

I agree with the opinion that you should stick with the designed stays. I'm not aware of any special weaknesses in the Catalina 22 design.

Enjoy the Lake - we sure do!

 

[Ross]

two things come to mind first, Be able to reef your sails and be able to secure your companion way drop boards in place. Another good thing would be to get a large manual bilge pump.

 

[soulesailor]

Extra strength, safety, redundancy, etc. etc. are all good ideas...but don't forget that you are still sailing (we're not talking about anchoring or motoring here, right?). A nice set of appropriately sized/reefable sails is very important.

I've redone my mainsail's reefing system to make it simple and strong. I do it all from the mast which I don't consider dangerous and don't really have the room or cabintop to run controls back to the cockpit anyway.

My headsails are hank-on, which I inherited, and I like them. They are more work, for sure, but each one has a great shape and I've got a whole suit for all conditions.

I also have an inner forestay and running backstays if I really want to reduce sail and bring the effort into the center. My mast has a second dedicated track for a trysail.

I have a tiny little 6hp outboard for an auxiliary so short of being at anchor I have to use sails to get around everywhere in rough conditions.

 

[BobM]

Well, to cover some new ground, my boat has all lines led aft, including reefing lines (single line reefing). It also have roller furling and the 135 had a foam luff added. This seems an important addition to me, as shape seems much better than when I rolled my old sail (different boat) without one.

I'd also put a GPS chartplotter near the helm at the top of the list. If it gets dirty having ready access to where you are is critical. Yes I know you could lose power and should have a chart, but assuming your boat is functional and the weather is just ugly I'd rather be able to glance at my little color screen than fight the wheel and find the right spot on a 24 x 24 chart ;-)

Another thing that shouldn't be overlooked are cockpit drains. Many, especially on smaller boats, are less than adequate. As Sailingdog alludes to...your cockpit can literally hold enough water to weight the stern down and contribute to the boat foundering if the water can't leave the cockpit rapidly. Something like 8.8lbs per gallon if memory serves and a cockpit will probably hold 100-200 gallons easy. This is where the guys with walk-through transoms have a big advantage. Mine has two 1.5 inch drains at the back corners that are pretty well designed, but I wouldn't want to be out in a following sea breaking over the stern repeatedly.

 

[paphman]

Thanks for the answers. We have already done most the the mentioned ideas. We sail the east end of Ontario, and find the sailing great. We are on Henderson Bay, so we can be in out of the heavy wind on real windy days. We have led all lines aft to the cockpit, and find this to be a must do. We put a second reef in the main four years ago, and use it four or five time a year. We can now reef the main in 30 to 45 seconds with the system we now have. When we first got the boat the reefing system was very poor, and we replaced it the second year. When you sail a small boat on the real large lake you come to respect it very fast. We started with a hand held VHF, and this spring will be upgrading to a mast mounted radio.

Dale

 

[Joe11688]

I'd be wary of making the shrouds too strong. if you go inverted the mast IS coming off. You do not want the cabin roof to come with it. The shrouds have been engineered to break before that happens.

When the mast comes off the antenna comes off too. Have a spare or move the whole thing to the aft rail.

Bill is right, Benny. I went thicker on my stays and an "L" bracket that held my chain plates to the bulkhead inside the cabin broke on me. This was why I installed O'Day 25 chain plates on my O'Day 222.

 

[novelman17130]

Dale,
I have a article on this which was published in Sail magazine. If you are interested I can send it to you at your e-mail address you send to me at novelman@roadrunner.com
Duane "novelman"

 

[sailingdog]

Bob—

I'd recommend double-line reefing as you will get far better sail shape control with it. Pineapple sails has a great article on it.

As for the cockpit—saltwater is about 64 lbs. per cubic foot, so do the math. My cockpit footwell, which was about 4' x 1.5' x 6' would have been a problem. Now, with the bridgedeck and three 1.5" drains, it isn't.

BTW, walkthrough transoms are also a serious safety hazard, since you can get washed out through them...I prefer a regular transom.

Well, to cover some new ground, my boat has all lines led aft, including reefing lines (single line reefing). It also have roller furling and the 135 had a foam luff added. This seems an important addition to me, as shape seems much better than when I rolled my old sail (different boat) without one.

I'd also put a GPS chartplotter near the helm at the top of the list. If it gets dirty having ready access to where you are is critical. Yes I know you could lose power and should have a chart, but assuming your boat is functional and the weather is just ugly I'd rather be able to glance at my little color screen than fight the wheel and find the right spot on a 24 x 24 chart ;-)

Another thing that shouldn't be overlooked are cockpit drains. Many, especially on smaller boats, are less than adequate. As Sailingdog alludes to...your cockpit can literally hold enough water to weight the stern down and contribute to the boat foundering if the water can't leave the cockpit rapidly. Something like 8.8lbs per gallon if memory serves and a cockpit will probably hold 100-200 gallons easy. This is where the guys with walk-through transoms have a big advantage. Mine has two 1.5 inch drains at the back corners that are pretty well designed, but I wouldn't want to be out in a following sea breaking over the stern repeatedly.