aaron_stokes
08-23-2008, 12:48 PM
Over the years, I have heard stories of people accomplishing the unthinkable. Specifically I have heard that a person in the right circumstances can actually capsize a weekender. Depending on the conditions they can do it easily. Well I will leave the word âeasyâ to be regarded as a relative thing. I consider the boat to be a tank as far as stability goes.
Recently, the south fleet gathered at Yuba lake in central Utah. I made a point to be there a day early as it is way too much work to get a boat up and ready for a mess about and only get one full day to sail. I think one extra day is perfect so I showed up at the lake a day early. For me the trip started Thursday and ended Sunday. I waited to get my boat ready until Thursday morning and planned to spend the entire day getting the boat ready and driving down that night when I got done. As usual, I had way too many things that needed to be done and I rushed the job. This is an important part of the story as this is how mistakes are made. I was ambitious enough that I decided to lengthen my mast stump that day along with all the other to dos. This required me to put longer shrouds on and put longer ropes on my main sheet because the height made the original ones a little too short. I did all this because I was sick and tired of my lines and shrouds interfering with my gaff under sail. So to make a long story shorter, I arrived with my family at the lake a little later than planned but a day early none the less. I counted the day a success.
As soon as the sun came up Friday morning, I got up and worked out breakfast with the family and promptly set sail (solo). It was a great sail. The wind kept changing direction and speed but I was having fun. It wasnât long before I noticed that my mast was leaning to starboard about 35 degrees from where it should be. It seemed to be affecting my handling of the boat and I was worried that if it started to lean any farther, it would wreck my tabernacle. I doused the sails and adjusted the turn buckles on the shrouds. I really had to do a lot of adjusting and maxed out the turn buckles. I wondered if my shrouds had stretched because the clamps on the shrouds showed no sign of slippage. I shrugged my shoulders and went back to enjoying the day on my ship. We had a cold front coming in that day so some of the gusts were getting a little stiff. It wasnât long before I again, found my mast sitting 35 degrees off. I quietly cussed to myself and noticed a nearby island. So I stopped at the island to make some on shore adjustments. This required actual tools because I had spent all of my adjustment on my turnbuckles earlier. So I got into my on board tool locker and moved the clamps on all of my shrouds so I could get the mast back to where it should be. After about a half hour of doing what I would have proffered to do in my drive way, I set sail. I was proud of a job well done and it was kind of cool that the island was there. It was kind of fun, all things considered. At this point the wind was really starting to whip up. I was flying around the lake with a one word vocabulary for a while. WHEEEEEE! The fun lasted about 15 minutes before I noticed that yet again, my mast was leaning too far over!! Well now I was getting pissed! The problem I was faced with was that the wind was too active for me to be able to walk away from the cockpit and take care of the problem. I determined to turn the boat the other way and try to tack back to the shore to figure out what the problem was. I started to flounder. The boat was handling poorly and I could not seem to get it to come about. All at once, a big gust hit me and healed the boat over. It went over so fast that I got scared and did what I always do when I am in trouble. I let go of the lines and the wheel and waited for the boat to weather helm. It not only failed to weather helm but it turned broad side to the wind! I have never had this happen and I did not know what to do. For a moment I froze. Just then another big burst hit the boat and the boat heeled until the main sheet was lying down in the water. I remembered talking to Phil gawans about a close call he had once. He told me that you just have to clime over the up wind side of the boat and it should stand back up. It took a minute for the wind to die but the boat started to recover. Keep in mind that the boat was moving at a considerable speed while this was going on. Just then, an even bigger burst hit my sail and it put the tip of my mast in the water. I remember looking at the deck and seeing it submerged up to the cabin windows. The splash coming was submerged too. (Change of linens anyone?) I climbed over the side of the boat which could now be called the top and leaned over like I never leaned before. I leaned for what seemed like an eternity and the boat again, started to tip back up. The wind was still too strong to let the boat all the way up right so as soon as I could move, I ran over to my lines and doused my jib. (It is on a furler thank goodness.) And relieced the lines on the main sheet. The boat stood back up and the water that was trapped on deck came cascading into the cockpit. It was like I scooped out gallons of water with my boat just like you would with a bucket. I finally decided that I was in peril and dropped my motor. I made it back to shore with out a hitch.
Later that night, when I wasnât shaking so much and the sun had gone down a little, I dropped my mast and inspected the clamps that attach the shrouds to the mast top. This is where I discovered what the fruit of a rushed job is all about. There was only one clamp on each set of shrouds and they were only finger tight. The mast was not slipping down below. It was all happening 15 feet above the cockpit and I had no idea. As I inspected the area of concern, I remembered that as I was rushing to get the boat on the road to Yuba, I decided that I would add the rest of the clamps when I arrive at the lake and that I would tighten the ones I installed there too. I promptly forgot and here we are. Thankfully, I had a feeling I should bring extra hardware so I had all that I needed to get the boat back together. The rest of the weekend was a blast for me and no more technical problems were had.
In a final note. Making the mast one foot taller over all does wonders for the problems that these boats have with the gaff interfering with the shrouds. Most people put an angle iron or something at the top of the mast to spread the shrouds and get them away from the mast. I donât think I will bother. A taller stump did wonders for me. I did not have any problems with the mast being taller. (Besides what I caused myself).
Another thing is that I hate to think what it would have been like trying to douse my jib with out a furlerâ¦. I bless the day I made it. It only cost me about $2 to make and it has been as good as gold to me. I solo a lot and it is indispensible to me.
Let it be said! While I consider myself blessed not to have had a major catastrophe that day, the weekender design is a rock solid and dependable one. The boat is a tank when it comes to stability. I was able to recover the boat in what I consider to be unreasonable conditions. I feel bad for the problems some of our members are having trying to obtain plans for these boats. Trust me on this one. They are worth the trouble. I am more enthusiastic about my boat than ever and I look forward to more adventures out on the water. I will try to plan better in the future so I wonât have to suffer from a half done rush job again.
Recently, the south fleet gathered at Yuba lake in central Utah. I made a point to be there a day early as it is way too much work to get a boat up and ready for a mess about and only get one full day to sail. I think one extra day is perfect so I showed up at the lake a day early. For me the trip started Thursday and ended Sunday. I waited to get my boat ready until Thursday morning and planned to spend the entire day getting the boat ready and driving down that night when I got done. As usual, I had way too many things that needed to be done and I rushed the job. This is an important part of the story as this is how mistakes are made. I was ambitious enough that I decided to lengthen my mast stump that day along with all the other to dos. This required me to put longer shrouds on and put longer ropes on my main sheet because the height made the original ones a little too short. I did all this because I was sick and tired of my lines and shrouds interfering with my gaff under sail. So to make a long story shorter, I arrived with my family at the lake a little later than planned but a day early none the less. I counted the day a success.
As soon as the sun came up Friday morning, I got up and worked out breakfast with the family and promptly set sail (solo). It was a great sail. The wind kept changing direction and speed but I was having fun. It wasnât long before I noticed that my mast was leaning to starboard about 35 degrees from where it should be. It seemed to be affecting my handling of the boat and I was worried that if it started to lean any farther, it would wreck my tabernacle. I doused the sails and adjusted the turn buckles on the shrouds. I really had to do a lot of adjusting and maxed out the turn buckles. I wondered if my shrouds had stretched because the clamps on the shrouds showed no sign of slippage. I shrugged my shoulders and went back to enjoying the day on my ship. We had a cold front coming in that day so some of the gusts were getting a little stiff. It wasnât long before I again, found my mast sitting 35 degrees off. I quietly cussed to myself and noticed a nearby island. So I stopped at the island to make some on shore adjustments. This required actual tools because I had spent all of my adjustment on my turnbuckles earlier. So I got into my on board tool locker and moved the clamps on all of my shrouds so I could get the mast back to where it should be. After about a half hour of doing what I would have proffered to do in my drive way, I set sail. I was proud of a job well done and it was kind of cool that the island was there. It was kind of fun, all things considered. At this point the wind was really starting to whip up. I was flying around the lake with a one word vocabulary for a while. WHEEEEEE! The fun lasted about 15 minutes before I noticed that yet again, my mast was leaning too far over!! Well now I was getting pissed! The problem I was faced with was that the wind was too active for me to be able to walk away from the cockpit and take care of the problem. I determined to turn the boat the other way and try to tack back to the shore to figure out what the problem was. I started to flounder. The boat was handling poorly and I could not seem to get it to come about. All at once, a big gust hit me and healed the boat over. It went over so fast that I got scared and did what I always do when I am in trouble. I let go of the lines and the wheel and waited for the boat to weather helm. It not only failed to weather helm but it turned broad side to the wind! I have never had this happen and I did not know what to do. For a moment I froze. Just then another big burst hit the boat and the boat heeled until the main sheet was lying down in the water. I remembered talking to Phil gawans about a close call he had once. He told me that you just have to clime over the up wind side of the boat and it should stand back up. It took a minute for the wind to die but the boat started to recover. Keep in mind that the boat was moving at a considerable speed while this was going on. Just then, an even bigger burst hit my sail and it put the tip of my mast in the water. I remember looking at the deck and seeing it submerged up to the cabin windows. The splash coming was submerged too. (Change of linens anyone?) I climbed over the side of the boat which could now be called the top and leaned over like I never leaned before. I leaned for what seemed like an eternity and the boat again, started to tip back up. The wind was still too strong to let the boat all the way up right so as soon as I could move, I ran over to my lines and doused my jib. (It is on a furler thank goodness.) And relieced the lines on the main sheet. The boat stood back up and the water that was trapped on deck came cascading into the cockpit. It was like I scooped out gallons of water with my boat just like you would with a bucket. I finally decided that I was in peril and dropped my motor. I made it back to shore with out a hitch.
Later that night, when I wasnât shaking so much and the sun had gone down a little, I dropped my mast and inspected the clamps that attach the shrouds to the mast top. This is where I discovered what the fruit of a rushed job is all about. There was only one clamp on each set of shrouds and they were only finger tight. The mast was not slipping down below. It was all happening 15 feet above the cockpit and I had no idea. As I inspected the area of concern, I remembered that as I was rushing to get the boat on the road to Yuba, I decided that I would add the rest of the clamps when I arrive at the lake and that I would tighten the ones I installed there too. I promptly forgot and here we are. Thankfully, I had a feeling I should bring extra hardware so I had all that I needed to get the boat back together. The rest of the weekend was a blast for me and no more technical problems were had.
In a final note. Making the mast one foot taller over all does wonders for the problems that these boats have with the gaff interfering with the shrouds. Most people put an angle iron or something at the top of the mast to spread the shrouds and get them away from the mast. I donât think I will bother. A taller stump did wonders for me. I did not have any problems with the mast being taller. (Besides what I caused myself).
Another thing is that I hate to think what it would have been like trying to douse my jib with out a furlerâ¦. I bless the day I made it. It only cost me about $2 to make and it has been as good as gold to me. I solo a lot and it is indispensible to me.
Let it be said! While I consider myself blessed not to have had a major catastrophe that day, the weekender design is a rock solid and dependable one. The boat is a tank when it comes to stability. I was able to recover the boat in what I consider to be unreasonable conditions. I feel bad for the problems some of our members are having trying to obtain plans for these boats. Trust me on this one. They are worth the trouble. I am more enthusiastic about my boat than ever and I look forward to more adventures out on the water. I will try to plan better in the future so I wonât have to suffer from a half done rush job again.