Knockdown / blown main

[PotomacDaysailer]

Was heading in and saw this boat with full main heeling in some hard gusts, headed over that way on the motor and shot some video - you can see him heeling well past 45* in this clip.
https://photos.google.com/photo/AF1QipPlUfUksK0v60mqoOhyT8MWOSAFub9cwRPrGpHt
Shortly thereafter his main blew out. I talked to him at the dock, he said the main was old and weak and he's been meaning to replace it. Guess he'll have to now.

 

[Charlie Jones s/v Tehani]

404 error- not found

 

[LeslieTroyer]

Can’t see the video but I’ve drug spreaders in the water, never slapped the sail Down tho

 

[dlochner]

Shortly thereafter his main blew out. I talked to him at the dock, he said the main was old and weak and he's been meaning to replace it. Guess he'll have to now.

Oh, and he will be happy with his new main. When sails get old they get baggy and contribute to heeling. With a new main, he will be less likely to heel that far.

The link didn't work, what usually happens in these situations is the gust causes the boat to round up because the main gets overpowered. As the boat turns quickly and sharply to weather it will heel excessively. Once the boat is more head to wind, the heeling forces are reduced and the boat stands up. Because old dacron sails get stretched out and baggy they tend to round up more often and in less wind. During the round up, things can get a bit dicey and it feels like the boat is going to capsize, most likely it won't unless lots of water enters the cockpit and then floods the lockers and below decks. If that happens in OK, then they are probably sailing a J24.

All this, of course, makes for great stories at the club bar.

 

[Stu Jackson]

If that happens in OK, then they are probably sailing a J24.

HaHaHaHaHa

What a sense of humor...

 

[Joe]

Blaming it on the sails, eh. Look, if you're gonna sail with stretched out sails in gusty conditions you have to baby them and keep your hand on the sheets.... I'll guarantee when he gets a new main he'll still be out of control.

 

[jssailem]

he'll still be out of control.

And onlookers will comment.
Wow look at that boat. He’s going so fast. He’s Out of control.
Yeah but that is one pretty mainsail.

 

[capta]

If you are thinking about reefing, it's already too late!

 

[PotomacDaysailer]

Sorry about the link. How do you post video here? The file is too large to upload, even edited down from 50 seconds to 7 seconds. I uploaded it to Google photos and that's the link in my post, obviously not how it's done. I've seen multi-minute HD videos linked. Do I have to upload to YouTube or Vimeo I guess?

 

[PotomacDaysailer]

Oh, and he will be happy with his new main. When sails get old they get baggy and contribute to heeling. With a new main, he will be less likely to heel that far.

The link didn't work, what usually happens in these situations is the gust causes the boat to round up because the main gets overpowered. As the boat turns quickly and sharply to weather it will heel excessively. Once the boat is more head to wind, the heeling forces are reduced and the boat stands up. Because old dacron sails get stretched out and baggy they tend to round up more often and in less wind. During the round up, things can get a bit dicey and it feels like the boat is going to capsize, most likely it won't unless lots of water enters the cockpit and then floods the lockers and below decks. If that happens in OK, then they are probably sailing a J24.

All this, of course, makes for great stories at the club bar.

Yeah he did round up into the wind and stand up, and kept right on turning, looked like the jib was backwinded and threw him onto the other tack. I looked away and next I saw he was back on the original tack, with the main thrashing and two splits all the way from luff to leach. I assume the main split during the involuntary tack.

 

[Joe]

Sorry about the link. How do you post video here? The file is too large to upload, even edited down from 50 seconds to 7 seconds. I uploaded it to Google photos and that's the link in my post, obviously not how it's done. I've seen multi-minute HD videos linked. Do I have to upload to YouTube or Vimeo I guess?

Upload to YouTube then post URL in "media" icon on top line in article header.

 

[dlochner]

Yeah he did round up into the wind and stand up, and kept right on turning, looked like the jib was backwinded and threw him onto the other tack. I looked away and next I saw he was back on the original tack, with the main thrashing and two splits all the way from luff to leach. I assume the main split during the involuntary tack.

Yep, that's what happens during an out of control round up. Ought to try that with a spinnaker up sometime.

The main split because of the stress, but a bigger culprit was age and UV exposure on the fabric and threads. After the auto tack, the main probably fill quick and the shock load blew out the seams or fabric. A new(er) main probably would have held up better. But an old sail that is worn and sunburned not so much. If it split neatly along the seam, the threads probably gave up the ghost, if the seams were more or less intact, then it was the fabric. When sails and other things on a boat get highly loaded, any small flaw, such as a few missing stitches can become a huge flaw as the loads won't be distributed evenly. On a weakened structure, expect failure.

Time to find a good sailmaker.