I recently purchased a used 170 and have virtually no prior sailing experience. I sail on the Magothy River which is a tributary of the Chesapeake Bay and can experience 12-24" chop. My first two outings were in 10-15 knot winds and that combined with the chop scared me and my first two, never to return, passengers. My questions are, one, can any ballast be added to the center board or hull to help stabilize it, two, if it tips over will it promptly turn turtle, and three, what is the procedure necessary to get it upright if it does go over? I would appreciate any comments from experienced 170 sailers.
Tippy 170
- Thread starter Grays Creek
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The H170/H18 & H146/H15 Daysailers are really only ballasted by distributing the weight of the occupants to suit the conditions. This, with setting up your sails appropriately before you go out and trimming them correctly when you are sailing, will allow you to sail with more comfort.
When I purchased my first boat (as an adult) I enrolled myself and my son in a sailing course at one of the local clubs. That provided me with enough basic knowledge to confidently take my family out for a sail. It's a great way to start what can be a great past time.
Re turning turtle, do you know if the PO 'foamed' the inside of the top of the mast? If it was, that should give the mast enough buoyancy not to sink. See the owners modification section for H146’s. There is a good article posted on how to do this.
You could also put a mast float on the top of your mast. Hunter distributes, as an accessory, the ones made for Hobbie 16’s.
The process for righting a boat that has been knocked over is the same for all light boats. I am sure you will find a number of videos on You Tube which will demonstrate the technique.
Good luck and happy sailing.
When I purchased my first boat (as an adult) I enrolled myself and my son in a sailing course at one of the local clubs. That provided me with enough basic knowledge to confidently take my family out for a sail. It's a great way to start what can be a great past time.
Re turning turtle, do you know if the PO 'foamed' the inside of the top of the mast? If it was, that should give the mast enough buoyancy not to sink. See the owners modification section for H146’s. There is a good article posted on how to do this.
You could also put a mast float on the top of your mast. Hunter distributes, as an accessory, the ones made for Hobbie 16’s.
The process for righting a boat that has been knocked over is the same for all light boats. I am sure you will find a number of videos on You Tube which will demonstrate the technique.
Good luck and happy sailing.
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I would think sailing any small boat in a 12"-24" chop would be a bit unsettling, especially beating into the chop. Have you tried reefing the main and only letting out about half the jib (I assume have roller reefing on the jib)?
That is a big chop for 10-15 knots of wind. Is that the norm on the Chesapeake? I don't see that size on the bays of the Swan River here unless it is 25+.
Welcome to sailing! I had a H170, what a great boat to learn on. Pick your weather carefully, be sure to check forecast and don't sail in winds that exceed your comfort level.
If or when your boat heels to the point of capsize, climb over the high side but first UNCLEAT both sails. If you can get a foot on the centerboard you can leverage her upright and hop right back in without going for a swim. Practice capsizing on a light wind day for fun. Once you do it a couple times it won't scare you anymore. I did this with my daughter at age 5 (with life jacket on) and she grew to love dumping over in small sailboats.
Be sure you have floatation on or inside your mast to prevent complete turtleing.
Using the centerboard is the key to leveraging a small daysailer upright after a knockdown.
If or when your boat heels to the point of capsize, climb over the high side but first UNCLEAT both sails. If you can get a foot on the centerboard you can leverage her upright and hop right back in without going for a swim. Practice capsizing on a light wind day for fun. Once you do it a couple times it won't scare you anymore. I did this with my daughter at age 5 (with life jacket on) and she grew to love dumping over in small sailboats.
Be sure you have floatation on or inside your mast to prevent complete turtleing.
Using the centerboard is the key to leveraging a small daysailer upright after a knockdown.
It was also my first boat - I took lessons on a flying scott and loved it. Then I bought a 170 because it "looked about the same" as the scott. Looks about the same and weighs about 1/3 as much is an interesting combination!
It scared the crap out of me the first few times I sailed on it. One of my first trips out in my 170 was to Lake Huron in wind and waves that I should not have been out it. I also embarrassed myself quite a bit at the local sailing club (on a smaller lake) - but some friends came out sailing with me and gave me a few pointers, and I eventually learned how to sail that boat.
I have had the boat almost ten years now and love it. It can sail in almost no wind - and properly reefed it can take quite a blow. It can be sailed by one person and can carry 6 (although really 6 is too much if you want any of them to have fun). It is quick to rig and easy to tow and easy to maintain.
See if you can find a friend with a little more experience to come sailing with you.
Don't give up - and wear your life jacket!
john
It scared the crap out of me the first few times I sailed on it. One of my first trips out in my 170 was to Lake Huron in wind and waves that I should not have been out it. I also embarrassed myself quite a bit at the local sailing club (on a smaller lake) - but some friends came out sailing with me and gave me a few pointers, and I eventually learned how to sail that boat.
I have had the boat almost ten years now and love it. It can sail in almost no wind - and properly reefed it can take quite a blow. It can be sailed by one person and can carry 6 (although really 6 is too much if you want any of them to have fun). It is quick to rig and easy to tow and easy to maintain.
See if you can find a friend with a little more experience to come sailing with you.
Don't give up - and wear your life jacket!
john
We just acquired our 170, trailered it to the boat launch, first time out the winds were to much, but we stuck it out.
We have been practicing rigging and we are getting pretty good at it.
We won't sail in high winds again if we can avoid it.
I understand reefing the sails are a good plan in high winds. It seems to me the decision to reef should be made before you set sail, (reefing the sails is not something I feel comfortable doing while out on the water)
So my thought is if I am not going to reef , should I just remove the lines? Two less lines for this novice makes sense to me. What do you think?
We have been practicing rigging and we are getting pretty good at it.
We won't sail in high winds again if we can avoid it.
I understand reefing the sails are a good plan in high winds. It seems to me the decision to reef should be made before you set sail, (reefing the sails is not something I feel comfortable doing while out on the water)
So my thought is if I am not going to reef , should I just remove the lines? Two less lines for this novice makes sense to me. What do you think?
I might add a note to this procedure re the centerboard. Make sure it's locked down. In addition to cleating it down, I clip a small strap from the aft end of the center board to a clip on the deck about 6" behind the centerboard. I saw a 170 that went over and the centerboard slammed back up when the boat went over. Without it in the down position, there is no way to lever the boat back upright. While I'm not sure, without cleating the centerboard down, it act like a "kick-up" centerboard in shallow water and is definitely a consideration when beaching the boat. I don't sail in shallow water where this is a consideration for me so my centerboard always gets locked down when I'm underway and getting ready to hoist the sails.
You can reef underway.
Congrats!!! New boats are always fun...
Conditions change and you can reef underway.... just bring the boat into irons and reef your main and keep sailing. We do that all the time with both our 146 and out big Columbia.
Just stop... think. plan and then act....
Congrats!!! New boats are always fun...
Conditions change and you can reef underway.... just bring the boat into irons and reef your main and keep sailing. We do that all the time with both our 146 and out big Columbia.
Just stop... think. plan and then act....
Well, with someone to steer, pointing into the irons would work fine. Single-handed, I'm not so sure. However, reefing in the jib, dropping the main and then putting in the reef on the main, rehoisting the reefed main (with the sheet uncleated) works for me in single handed mode. It goes without saying that a bit of room from the shore is also necessary while drifting without steerage.
My personal rule is to reef before I start IF I see ANY whitecaps.
"...with someone to steer, pointing into the irons would work fine. Single-handed, I'm not so sure."
I hook a bungy cord between the rear corner cleats, and installed a plastic pinch cleat under the tiller, a bit forward of the bungy. When I need an "auto pilot" type steering help when singlehanded, I strech the bungy into the tiller cleat to hold it steady.
I hook a bungy cord between the rear corner cleats, and installed a plastic pinch cleat under the tiller, a bit forward of the bungy. When I need an "auto pilot" type steering help when singlehanded, I strech the bungy into the tiller cleat to hold it steady.
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