Accidental Gybe

[Don Guillette]

I've told this story about an accidental gybe a couple of times but maybe some new listers might find it interesting. and more importantly, get something out of it.During the Redondo Beach to Long Beach race (once you turn around the point it is mostly down hill to Long Beach) a couple of years ago I was standing on the cockpit seat about 1' forward of the end of the boom. I was watching two guys on the foredeck. The skippers girl friend was driving. She was about to sail by the lee. She did not understand what I was saying to correct the situation so I gently put my fot on the tiller and brought the boat back to DDW. A coule of minutes go by as I continue to watch the goings on with the foredek situation. For some unknown reason I just take one step back and at that very moment I see the brown shape of the boom go straight across my face at eye level. I never would have known what hit me. In fact, a Hollywood producer was killed about 1 month before in a similiar situation. What had happened was the boat driver let the wind get behind the main and over it came. Frankly, I never noticed if the jib had flipped over first. This thing happened so fast that it was in the blink of an eye.Needless to say I now always wear a self inflator (never did before but I bought one that day) and I'm always watching that boom going downwind.

 

[Mike]

Don, a question for you

Why didn't they use a preventer on a downwind run?

 

[mortyd]

accidental

two things don. the jib will jibe first and over half the people who go off sailboats are hurt badly. keep that pfd on.

 

[Ross]

It is said that the boom is the second

most deadly thing on a boat. The first is the liquor locker.

 

[achue]

boom

to quote my 10 year old daughter "that's why they call it the boom..."

 

[Rick Macdonald]

Preventer

In May I was on a 37 footer for ten days with some friends (west Coast of British Columbia). A few days in, after an hour or so of having to now and then gently turn the wheel with a toe to keep the boat DDW since the helmsperson wasn't noticing, I finally dug around on the lockers to find some lines suitable to rig preventers (one on each side). I could relax after that!Are there any "gotchas" about using preventers that anybody has to share?...RickM...

 

[Stu Jackson]

One gotcha for U

DON'T EVER connect them to stanchion bases!

 

[Moody Buccaneer]

Don't need one ...

If you feel the need for a preventer, attach it as far aft on the boom as possible and run it forward to the stem or rail.It should prevent the boom from gybing, but NOT hold the boom down (that's what your vang is for). If you hold the boom forward and down with a preventer and happen to roll the boom into the water, the boom will bend or break.Having a preventer rigged prevents more than just gybes. Suppose you and your mate are sailing DDW (why? since it is so slow) and one of you goes overboard. Now the boat cannot be gybed or headed up until the preventer is off.IMO the best preventer is a proper course.

 

[Dan]

Stu - Why?????

" DON'T EVER connect them to stanchion bases! "Why?Please explain.

 

[Rick Macdonald]

Stanchions

Lifeline stanchions are (typically?) not strong enough to attach preventers, or docklines or any such thing. In fact, I've read many times not to count on lifelines to save your life!Moody's point about being able to release a preventer quickly is well taken. On the charter boat that I mentioned, I was able to run them back to unused cluches on the deck inside the toerail, reachable without leaving the helm. Plus, the lines were long enough that one could gybe the main without detaching the preventer(s) from the boom. IE just open the clutch.The preventers on my own boat are not set up ideally; I need to improve the setup. I seem to only sail DDW wing-and-wing (in my boat) in fairly light winds. When the wind is strong enough to fill the sails for a deep broad reach, I go with that. ...RickM...

 

[Don Guillette]

Stanchions

I agree that stanchions are not the best place to attach a preventer but on some boats I've been on it was the only choice left to me because the boat owner had not thought about and rigged a proper attachment point. The choice I had was to get as low on the stanchion as possable or go without a preventer. Turned out I didn't need it but that's not the point - you just never know when you'll need it.

 

[Alan]

Rigging a preventer

With many newer boats that don't have toe rails an alternative for rigging a preventer would be to take a line tied at the aft end of the boom forward to the bow cleat. To jibe simply release the line at the bow and jibe. Then re cleat the line on the opposite side.

 

[Stu Jackson]

Dan -- here's why

Take a look at the base of your stanchions. They have maybe three or four small diameter bolts thru the deck, and MAY have only washers underneath. They are NOT made for BIG loads. Then take a look at your tracks with the jib fairleads, with the huge number of bolts, their large diameters and repetitive close spacing, which are designed to take the load of a jib, which is a smaller sail than your main. The loads on a preventer, if it is needed to actually work, are tremendous and stanchions and their hardware were only designed to hold the stanchions and maybe the lifelines, NOT the load of a mainsail. You risk pulling out the stanchion, first, and then, even if you don't you weaken the joint at the base which is a potential source of leaks (it does rain where you live, right?).Either do what the folks have advised, or at least clip the preventer to one of your shroud bases, which are made to take a large load.StuPS I still don't get it when I see people tying up their boats by putting docklines on stanchions. It does the same thing, creates a loose stanchion base with potential for leaks. Add a midships cleat, either on the track or on deck.

 

[tweitz]

Stanchion base

On many boats the stanchion is held into the base with an even weaker attachment, like a few set screws. If a lot of force is applied, especially if it has an upward component, you can end up removing the stanchion from the base, at which point it doesn;t matter how the base is attached, the line will be free.

 

[Rick Macdonald]

My setup

I modelled my preventer after George's (see link) but George terminates his at the stanchion base. I run mine from the block at the chainplate (U-bolt on gunwhale) to the stern cleat. Much better, I think. The stanchion is not involved, and I can reach it cleat while still sitting at the tiller.Undoing the tie-off at my stern horn cleat is not a quick one-motion task, but still faster than a MOB retrieval. There has been talk of an intentional weak point. I hadn't thought of that, but in our case this point would be the block/shackle on the chainplate where the line turns back.The bitter end of my line is permanently attached to the same stern cleat. The snap shackle at the other end that attaches to the boom and all the slack line is just stetched out and draped over and around my lifelines back towards the stern, ready to be used when required. Sounds messy but they aren't in the way at all. To deploy, I just unsnap from the lifeline and snap to the boom (mainsheet bale), and vice versa. If coiled in a locker or down below, they wouldn't get used as often.I could use longer lines on mine. When attached to the boom but slack (with the bitter end permanently attached to the stern cleat), the line is long enough for the boom to return to mid cockpit. That's not too bad if I'm going up head-to-wind. Not so good when gybing to have to pause there to remove one and attach the other. I'd rather the two preventer lines be long enough to allow full swing of the boom when both are attached to the boom. Gybing would be unhindered in that case, once the wraps on the stern cleat are thrown off....RickM...