222 stability

[Scott]

My wife and I purchased a 1984 222 in very good condition this summer. My wife and I sail her at Spruce Run Res. in New Jersey. I am an inexperianced sailor and this is our first real, owned sailboat. I can handle her very nicely in light winds(under10knots). However, in winds over this, I and my wife become concerned about the heeling and capsizing of her.The questions I have are as follows:1.The boat heels very easy, at what point should I become concerned about capsizing the boat?( 30 Knots, 20 Knots or at a heel angle of 30 degrees, 45 degrees etc.)2.Do sailboat manufactures design thier balist weight and sail area to provent the capsizing of their boats.3.At what wind velocity should one reef the main.4.Is there anyone who has or knows of anyone who has capsized a 222?My wife and I love the 222 and sailing her has been a great. However we need some confidence in the heeling of the boat. Thank You.

 

[Don]

Your Confidence Will Grow With Your Experience

Scott, what your experiencing is just inexperience, but I congratulate you for questioning your boats capabilities. I can certainly remember my first sails aboard a heeling keelboat, and wondered with my knuckles if we were going over many times. I am keenly aware of new sailing guests aboard my boat and their normal fears about heeling. I keep reminding my guests that the boat would have to pass beyond 100 degrees of heel to completely turtle the boat.Usually at about 30 degrees of heel things start to happen. Pots fall out of cabinets, cushions start to slide off of seats and peoples eyes get wider. But your a long way from capsizing. Long before things would get dangereous, the rudder handle would probably pull out of your hands due to extreme rudder weatherhelm. I would suggest reducing sail size as your anxiety increases. Try to keep the boat at about 20 degrees of heel as this is the most efficient angle for most boats. Unless I was caught out in 30 knot winds I would urge you to leave those sails for the future. Not because I think your boat can't handle it, but you do need an experienced crew as things happen very quickly at that windspeed. Your boat was built to take far more than you can imagine.Don

 

[Justin - O'day Owners' Web]

Keelboats

Scott -In theory, a well designed keelboat cannot be capsized by the action of the wind alone. You need would need massive waves to finish the job (according the Lin and Larry Pardy, quoting experiments following the fastnet disaster in twenty years ago, researches found that a breaking wave of a heigh equal to 40% of the waterline length of the boat was the LD50 for most cruising sailboats). Your O'day is a well designed keel boat.As Don points out, however, heel can be uncomforatable and tough on rig and sailor. The solution is to reef early. My girlfriend would not believe that a reefed boat could sail in high winds as easily as a boat sailing in moderate winds until we got caught out a few weeks ago. Does your boat have a roller furler? Its a great way to dial in precise amounts of sail. If you main does not have a second reef point, consider adding one. Being able to control the amount of canvass you present to the wind with precision is a big help. I like to think about reefing main and genny like the gears on a bike. Reefing the main is like changing the chainwheels attached to the pedals. Reefing the genny in and out is like jumping around the cogs on the rear wheel.Justin - O'day Owners' Web

 

[Paul Rondina]

Advice for a new sailer

I have an Oday 23, which I bought last summer, 1999. I have been sailing for about 40 years now. Every boat has its own "personality" and that is the joy of sailing, i.e. discovering the limits of your boat's capabilities, both good and bad.I have discovered from reading these skipper's notes that Oday's tend to be a little more tender than most boats, but mine "round up" (i.e. pulls up into the wind and thereby spills the winds from its sail, causing the boat to stop heeling) when the heeling gets to be to much. Yours might do the same thing.I have discovered that the best sailing, i.e good speed, tolerable heeling, comes with winds in the 12-16 mph range. Below this speed and it is rather calm day; above it and you begin to be more cautious. I reef at about 16-18 mph, then begin furling the jib.My advice: Always sail under control, meaning heeling excessively and constantly, over 25 degrees list, should be avoided. A rule of thumb: If you ask yourself "should I reef", you should. Heavy wind sailing stresses everything, sails, rigging, skipper and crew.Hope this helps.

 

[Guest]

Don't worry about your 222's stability- you'll be fine. For the sake of comfort, however, consider reefing as soon as you think of it. The 222 has a big mainsail and handles very well under a reefed main. I have a 84 222 and generally reef at @ 12-15 knots- much earlier than I did with my Catlina 22- and can still sail at hull speed. Adding single line reefing will facilitate the process.