Turtled dinghy and lost my mast

S

Seanjkavanagh

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Jul 6, 2015
2
Johnson boatworks miniscow 12 Lake Waukewan
I was given a johnson boatworks 12 ft scow to use on lake in NH. Turtled and couldn't right the boat using classic stand on dagger board technique. Floated a bit and friend helped me right boat...but...no mast or sail. Managed after hour of searching to find it in 30 ft of water.

Need advice on righting this boat if turtling and is there a way to avoid losing the mast either sailing technique or rigging.

It's a great little boat but worried I'll end up in this situation often.

ideas? advice?
 
kito

kito

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Sep 13, 2012
2,011
1979 Hunter Cherubini 30 Clemmons
Maybe attach some kind of float on the masthead to keep it from turtling. Also, rig some kind of line that will keep the mast from coming out. The only way I could lose my mast on my Force 5 is if the boom comes loose from the mast. I don't know anything about your boat though.
 
C

Chief RA

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Nov 26, 2012
2,315
Catalina 250 Bodega Bay CA
Gunni's got it! Foaming the mast will help with the righting and mast retrieval as well. My friend sailed a 16' Hobie cat and she would secure a strong plastic bottle to the mast top to prevent the mast from pushing too deep into the mud. A securing line to the mast, as mentioned will work well. Chief
 
py26129

py26129

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Oct 25, 2011
576
Island Packet IP31 Lake St. Louis, Montreal
On my kid's Laser, the cunningham runs form a grommet on the main sail, down the mast to a little fairlead on the deck. That effectively keeps the mast in the boat, when they turtle it.
 
Brian S

Brian S

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Nov 9, 2012
2,500
Oday 192 Lake Nockamixon
Tying a plastic bottle to the masthead might work, but it would be annoying to me. My Harpoon 4.6 came with a piece of foam sewed into the head of the sail, and also a foamed mast section. Naturally, I did buy new sails WITHOUT the masthead foam, y'know, for better performance! :D:D:D And deliberately capsized her to see how she'd behave. She turtled. But 2 guys could right her from a turtle. I never tried just by myself, figuring it would be rare that I would allow a turtle. I usually climb over the high side directly onto the centerboard, preventing a turtle and often righting without me even getting my shorts wet.

If this little boat will routinely capsize, I would take the main to a sailmaker and ask him to sew in a bit of foam at the head. Stuffing the mast with pool noodles might be a decent way to get some flotation in it. Pour in expanding polyurethane foam (or spray in weather stripping stuff for the house) will generally absorb water. Pool noodles are relatively closed cell and won't absorb. And as others have suggested, there are myriad ways that the mast can be tethered to the boat, either by Cunningham or a dedicated tether. I guess this is a sleeved main that slips over the mast, otherwise the main halyard would have kept the rig in the boat.
 
C

Chief RA

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Nov 26, 2012
2,315
Catalina 250 Bodega Bay CA
There are all kinds of spray foam and most of it is waterproof. We just went through this on a recent posting. Read the label. Chief
 
thinwater

thinwater

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Mar 26, 2011
3,571
Corsair F-24 MK I Deale, MD
Was there no mainsheet? That should have held it.

I would not foam the mast--that just makes it heavier. Instead seal the mast airtight, like beach cats.
 
Joe Blizzard

Joe Blizzard

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Feb 5, 2009
255
Gloucester 20 Kanawha River, Winfield, WV
Brian S said:
Pool noodles are relatively closed cell and won't absorb.{/QUOTE]

Plust they're a buck apiece at Dollar Tree. My mast is noodled, but I only did it to keep the mast-light wire from slapping around in there. Flotation is an added bonus.
Click to expand
 
walt

walt

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Jun 1, 2007
3,518
Macgregor 26S Hobie TI Ridgway Colorado
Internal mast floatation isnt always enough to keep the mast from sinking plus you want a little reserve for high winds, waves and the initial impact from the capsize. You may also need an external float at the top of the mast.

Easy to test on a small boat.. the picture below is a test in no wind. When I did capsize this boat, I could not see the float (very high winds at the time) but the float and mast floation made it fairly easy to upright the boat. Float has saved me from needing a rescue several times but I also look like Im out sailing with training wheels.. lol

 
Ukeluthier

Ukeluthier

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Jan 7, 2015
77
Menger 19 Catboat Annapolis, MD
The mast on my 9' E. D. Stokes "Conny" sailing dinghy is tethered to the boat by a short length of 1/4" line that connects a padeye on the mast to another one on the boat near the mast step. Just slip the line through one or the other when you step the mast and tie a stopper knot.

Works like a charm and dead simple.
 
C

Crazy Dave Condon

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Jun 8, 2004
10,271
-na -NA Anywhere USA
Scouts are taught in sailing merit badge to step on the centerboard while grabbing the mast to upright either a Sunfish or Aquafin. With a Catamaran it is a little different and I use to include with the rigging a 3/8 inch line secured around the base of the mast so when to upright it, the person could brace his feet against the side of the hull and lean out holding to that line. It works.

Then there is foaming the inside of the mast. It helps and does not add much weight but the best way is to add what I called a Hobie Bob or that white cyndrical round pointed ball as seen on the Hobies and one for example is on the top of the mast of a Hobie Bravo. I suggest going that route with floatation on the top of the mast to prevent the boat from turtling all the under.

In addition on the Aqua Finns there is a line tied to an eyestrap on the mast about 2-3 feet up and to an eyestrap secured to the deck to keep the mast from coming out.
 
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