I think that is the most scary feeling of all. I had two false alarms with my Gulf 32 , the first one was literally a false alarrm! I was sailing single handed off Diamond head using the autopilot and I heard by bilge level alarm go off. I pulled up a floorboard and sure enough the water was high. I got a flashlight and looked at all through hulls - no leaks, and I have a leakproof seal also. I put on the emergency bilge pump (high flow) and the level was going down and stayed down. When I got back to my slip I noticed that the float switch on the regular bilge pump had been jammed by the bilge sock, so all I had in the bilges was water from the shower! The second time was last week. I took the boat out of the Ala Wai with guy who was on vacation. There were SW swells and really quite short an steep and yet very little wind so that we were sailing out (close hauled) quite slowly against these waves. We kept plodding out until way past Diamond Head, when rain was coming and the wind and waves suddenly built very fast. We gibed around and started to come back- boat very heeled, even when I partially reefed the jib. We were now surfing down the waves and I when I looked over the transom I thought- seems a bit low in the water! Looking at the boat seemd to be the same and on the side that was heeled seemed very low in the water. I thought My bof- we could be sinking!. I started the motor and motor sailed " hell for leather" towards the marina. The boatt seemed very sluggish and things passed through my mind about the passenger, insurance etc! Then I put on the emergency bilge pump and pulled a floor board- the bilges were much as normal! When the boat was back at the slip I looked closely and the waterline was still as normal After thinking about this I realized that the steep short swells were sort of pushing the boat down into the water. The waves were piling up against the stern and pushing the bow into the preceding wave, and the faster I went (with motor going hard) the more this was pronounced. Anybody else seen this? Any other scary tales? Jim W
- Status
Overpowered
When you observed this phenomenon, were you exceeding your theoretical hull speed? AS I underatand it, beyond a boat's hull speed the boat is trying to climb up its own displacement wave, an enormous task for a displacement hull that will not plane. The result is enormous drive force and power in a forward direction confronting exponentially growing resistence to moving forward. Almost everyone has observed their stern section sink lower in the water if the engine RPMs are too high and the boat is pushing beyond its hull speed. I do not see why the same would not happen as a boat tries to surf down a wave beyond its hull speed. If this is the reason, slow down. If under power, reduce RPMs. Under sail, shorten sail. If surfing down large waves and exceeding hull speed, think of dragging drogues or warps from the sturn to slow down to somethinf at or beneath your hull speed. Jack
When you observed this phenomenon, were you exceeding your theoretical hull speed? AS I underatand it, beyond a boat's hull speed the boat is trying to climb up its own displacement wave, an enormous task for a displacement hull that will not plane. The result is enormous drive force and power in a forward direction confronting exponentially growing resistence to moving forward. Almost everyone has observed their stern section sink lower in the water if the engine RPMs are too high and the boat is pushing beyond its hull speed. I do not see why the same would not happen as a boat tries to surf down a wave beyond its hull speed. If this is the reason, slow down. If under power, reduce RPMs. Under sail, shorten sail. If surfing down large waves and exceeding hull speed, think of dragging drogues or warps from the sturn to slow down to somethinf at or beneath your hull speed. Jack
I Think Jack May Be Correct
And that you were overpowered and the boat was exceeding hull speed. I had a 26' race boat that I put a way-too-big 15 HP outboard on it because I got a good deal. I never could run it full throttle, and at that speed I was doing 25% over hull speed. The bow and stern waves were WAY up there, so that's probably it. Especially with a round-bilge hull as has the Gulf 32. (I was going to have one built for me with a special RF tall rig, but then my wife saw a Vision 32, and that was that.) Rick D.
And that you were overpowered and the boat was exceeding hull speed. I had a 26' race boat that I put a way-too-big 15 HP outboard on it because I got a good deal. I never could run it full throttle, and at that speed I was doing 25% over hull speed. The bow and stern waves were WAY up there, so that's probably it. Especially with a round-bilge hull as has the Gulf 32. (I was going to have one built for me with a special RF tall rig, but then my wife saw a Vision 32, and that was that.) Rick D.
This is pretty common.....
The weather you described is pretty common stuff if you were to sail in the great lakes. Weather fronts here give you very large waves high winds and a very short wave peroid. Or white caps as they are commonly called. As mentioned by others, speed is the key to your dilema. If you go too fast and at an angle to the wave where you stuff your bow into the next wave the water conditions push your hull down into the water. The thing I have learned is reduce your sail, attack the next wave at a 45 degree angle, now, I start my engine and just let it idle. Just so its available if I need it. I have a diesel engine and it doesn't burn enough fuel at an idle to worry about fuel consumption for the ammount of time I run it. You end up tacking alot more, but the ride is alot smoother and can be fun at times. Again this is for sea states where you have large waves with a short period.
The weather you described is pretty common stuff if you were to sail in the great lakes. Weather fronts here give you very large waves high winds and a very short wave peroid. Or white caps as they are commonly called. As mentioned by others, speed is the key to your dilema. If you go too fast and at an angle to the wave where you stuff your bow into the next wave the water conditions push your hull down into the water. The thing I have learned is reduce your sail, attack the next wave at a 45 degree angle, now, I start my engine and just let it idle. Just so its available if I need it. I have a diesel engine and it doesn't burn enough fuel at an idle to worry about fuel consumption for the ammount of time I run it. You end up tacking alot more, but the ride is alot smoother and can be fun at times. Again this is for sea states where you have large waves with a short period.
- Status