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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Apr 2008
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    Default The GIS self-rescue thread

    I spent about 2 hours practicing self-rescue with my GIS this past week. I still absolutely stink at it. I can just manage a self-rescue on a fairly calm day. But I know I'm hosed if I go over alone in any kind of chop. It will just be a matter of hanging on until I get rescued or fetch up on shore somewhere. (The one time I was in this situation, I had to swim the boat to shore. Luckily, I had a following wind.)

    I know that some of the problem is that I'm heavy -- 200lbs / 91kg. And some of the problem is technique. I've never managed the trick of sneaking over the gunwale while keeping my center of mass below it. I'm just not that flexible. Maybe someone who is good at it can give me pointers during the Northeast Goat Herd-up in September. I hereby volunteer my boat for swamping in a self-rescue clinic. It will be worth it if I can learn the trick.

    But after a lot of playing around this weekend, I've decided that much of the problem is just my boat. My mast is heavy. Even with the sail down, the whole package isn't stable when the gunwale gets near the water. The balance is very close -- I can right the boat with just a small tug down on the centerboard or up on the submerged gunwale. But there is definitely a tipping point when the gunwale is about 2" (5cm) above the water. Let go at that point and she is going over, not up. If I try to roll in as the gunwale comes up, the very tiniest bump from any body part sends it back down.

    Knowing that I just can't get in over the side, I have rigged up a crude rope ladder over the transom. This works if the water is flat. But maintaining balance while clambering in is tough. Any kind of waves make it almost impossible. This is not a permanent solution.

    Many builders on facebook have talked about adding buoyancy. I tried tying in some old PFDs under the seats. That really didn't help at all.

    The solution as I see it, at least for my build with my heavy mast, is ballast of some sort. I have to give the boat a few more degrees of heel before it reaches the tipping point. It probably won't take much. 2 x 25lb bags of sand, or maybe just 1, tied around the base of the centercase would probably be enough. Like I said, the balance is close. I just need to get it to the point where it will reliably right itself from a degree of heel that allows me to climb in.

    The problems will be keeping those bags from shifting and not adding so much weight that the top of the centercase is flooded with my fat butt in the the swamped boat.

    What think you all? What have you found works? Doesn't? Am I the only one with this problem? Is my mast uniquely heavy?

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  3. #2
    Join Date
    Sep 2012
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    NSW, Australia
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    Default

    Just on general principles: adding buoyancy under the seats is useless. What you need is reserve buoyancy. It has to be above the swamped waterline, so it can add stability when the boat starts to heel. That's how hydrostatic stability works.

    One possibility is to drop the rig out before righting it. That will make the boat much more stable, and should be easy enough with a lug rig. Step it again once the boat is bailed out. Or, build a lighter mast.
    You know you're making progress when there's sawdust in your coffee.

  4. #3
    Join Date
    Feb 2011
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    Default

    I got swamped in twenty plus knots, when I tacked and the sheet got looped over the end of the boom so I could not let the sail out. Then the bow was pushed off the wind after the tack and no amount of hiking was going to save me. I know it was looped over the boom end because I spotted it that way before tacking, and was trying to tack to free it. No such luck. I righted her the standard way beam on the wind, and over she went again. I righted her again, beam to, and was having a heck of a time getting her to release, as the wind was increasing and holding her down. I swam around, released the halyard, and lowered the sail, then swam back and righted her with much less effort, climbing over the gunwale from the board as she popped up. I bailed her out a good bit. Unfortunately, by that time I had blown close to a lee shore of rip rap, which was not a problem, excepting that I noticed one of my oars floating away, and could not retrieve it without hopping overboard, and starting the process all over again. With not much hope of single oaring into the wind with a heavy hull, I waited until close to the shore, then hopped out, and held her off the rocks ...

    I hope this helps as a guide on how not to do it.

  5. #4
    Join Date
    Jul 2005
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    Howdy,

    First of all commendations to Paul. Everyone should know what their boat really does in capsize. Happily in Australia where water is warm we capsize continuously. I've had about 10 capsizes in Goats, over 20 in OzRacers and about a squillion in BETH, the sailing canoe.

    The important theme is every boat is different and will behave differently. As with the failed RAID boat design, you sometimes find that factors that are "meant" to make the boat safer - self draining floor, side buoyancy tanks or water ballast can shift the risk in a different direction - so the boat might be so high after righting it is too high and light to get into alone (having another person along does reduce the problems) or the boat can blow away very easily, or stay upright if the sailor loses their grip.

    There is no substitute for knowing what your boat does in realistic (decent wind and water to deep to stand) but safe (onshore breeze toward somewhere you can get back from).

    Just a check which may be irrelevant.

    One of the difficulties occurs when common guides to righting from capsize are followed.

    Holding nose of the boat to the wind is wrong if singlehanded or not planning to get back aboard over the transom

    They often start off with "the crew holds the nose of the boat head to wind ... blah blah"

    This is wrong but can be useful if you are planning to remount over the transom AND are with another person. But it might work singlehanded ... maybe.

    What really happens with most capsizes is the boat is not bow to wind but across the wind. This is ideal.

    if you are in the water beside the righted boat and holding onto the gunwale the boat will be wanting to heel away from you. This is ideal as it will help the boat remain upright and regain its stability for when you roll aboard.

    In general you need to match the amount the boat wants to heel to what you need to prevent it from capsizing as you board.

    If you are in the water and move closer to the bow the bow will point up into the wind giving you less sail drag trying to heel the boat. If you try reboarding and the boat heels to readily then you should move back along the boat and retry. If you move towards the back of the boat the bow will move more away from the wind and the windage from the rig and sail will increase the heeling.

    You should be able to push the gunwale very close to the water without the boat falling over.

    The remount

    The remount is easiest from the centreboard with the GIS or easiest from the water from the OzRacers. BETH is happy either way.

    The GIS is OK to mount from the water too.

    Practice so you know the peculiarities of your own boat.

    The Role of a properly worn lifejacket

    A properly worn Lifejacket is essential to both methods as it reduces the amount you push down on the boat and stops you from getting so tired. If properly worn it should not float up around your face. This keeps your centre of gravity higher relative to the water surface and also gives you dynamic lift at the critical point of the remount.

    Water remount

    The main principle for a water remount is to float as much as possible before the mount and float again once you are inside the boat in the water inside the boat ... just for a moment and then focus on boat balance. Think like a jellyfish.

    Boat should be at the right angle to the wind so that it wants to heel away from you before trying the remount

    I have gotten in in two different ways.

    Method 1

    Your body is upright in the water.
    Push the gunwale down so the freeboard is reduced at the same time use the push down on the boat to push yourself up vertically out of the water.
    Go vertically down into the water - the lifejacket will start trying to lift you. Use it and your momentum and kicking to get your navel over the gunwale twist parallel to the gunwale and roll into the boat - you will probably end up floating in the water in the boat on your back.
    The cutouts in the middle bulkhead or hiking straps can be a good place to grab to assist

    Method 2

    Body parallel to the gunwale - legs will be deeper.
    Similar to the method above but get your leg up over the gunwale at the same time then lever your navel over and follow it down into the boat with a slide or a roll.
    Again stay low for a moment and let the water support your weight.

    Post capsize
    Make sure mainsheet is fully released

    Make sure centerboard is fully down. Tiller to leeward.

    Stay near the widest part of the boat - immaterial with either BETH or the OzRacer. GIS crew should be behind the mid seat.

    Balance is first priority. I often find standing or kneeling with body facing forward and a knee or foot near each chine log best for control of heel.

    Boats with a mizzen .. pull the mizzen on but not too hard. If the mizzen is really tight the bow will end up pointing into the wind so you get wind on one side of the boat then the other with heel alternating. To make sure the wind is on one side only a bit of slack in the mizzen makes that happen. A neat trick with the mizzen is that you can control the direction of drift while you bail the boat out. If the mizzen is tight the boat will move more backwards and a bit sideways. Very loose and the boat will more forwards and sideways. In between just sideways. You have perhaps a 40 to 60 degree angle.

    Boats without a mizzen - tiller to leeward.
    Beyond this there is extra control but if you are not very confident yet just concentrate on balance - you do have a little bit of control of drift. If the tiller is to leeward a little trim in on the main will push the nose up toward the wind and a range of different angles is possible. It is easy to overdo this in gusty conditions. I hold the sheet under the toes of one foot. But tiller must stay to leeward and the boat given time to change its attitude without heeling. And there will come a point where the sail is too tight to be safe.

    Dropping the mainsail is an option if the boat is just too unstable. I would be reluctant to do this because the messing around to get it back up again can result in another capsize. But there will. But consider having the cleat to do this on the side of the centrecase so you don't need to go forward if singlehanded. Most singlehanders will/can/should have done this for both the downhaul and the halyard.

    Bailing
    Balance of the boat is the most important thing. Bail when you can it is the second priority. Forget about cute little bailing scoops - you need a real bucket. If two aboard one can concentrate on balance only and other one bail.

    Setting sail again
    if the sail was dropped consider reefing - and reef more than you estimate (thankyou John Goodman for this tip - I'm too much of a thrill seeker sometimes). All the designs sail well when reefed - so don't be afraid of over reefing. It is worth practicing too. If the wind does moderate, it is easier to remove a reef in moderate winds than it is to put in another reef if the wind is stronger than estimated.

    Another option if the sail is already dropped too is if the destination (or a safe place to pull ashore and reorganise is to leeward then leave the sail down and get the bow pointed in the right direction and just drift there. Sometimes the centreboard has to be pulled up to get the nose pointed in the right direction, but as soon as the boat is drifting fast enough to steer then the centreboard can go down halfway or full again.

    if the sail wasn't dropped it usually makes the best sense to sail on. But if you are uncertain or have a little try and it is too difficult drop the sail and tie in a reef - after all you have practiced this a a lot and have the stuff aboard. Reefing singlehanded does require that the downhaul and halyard are reachable from behind the mid seat.

    Final
    I commend Paul for starting to learn about righting the Goat. Every boat is very different in behaviour and many difficulties people have with all types of different boats comes from not knowing what the boat will do because of not much experience. Boats of the same type might not even behave the same - a couple of times I've capsized very familiar boats to find some or all buoyancy tanks filled up when the boat was on its side - this meant that remounting from the centreboard was impossible as the boat would sink at bow or stern as water rushed that way when I put my weight on the centreboard. Or that the tanks were too small to bear my weight on the centreboard. Or the centreboard was unreachable. Or the boat turtled and the bottom was too slippery to reach the board, or that the board fell back into the case.

    We can only know what the thousands of different boats do by actually doing it. With lots of experience you kindof get to know what will happen with a different boat. But we should certainly know about reefing (practice ashore first), hoisting and lowering sail while afloat and capsize recovery for our own boats.

    Hope this helps
    Michael

  6. #5
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    I had quite a lot of capsize practice in 420s when I was a lad. I got to the point where I could climb over the top gunwale as I felt the boat going over, step on the board to start it rolling back up, then climb over and drop back in while it rolled. Nothing above my knees would get wet, and that only by whatever water shipped in.

    Alas, I was much lighter and nimbler then. I do not think I'll ever be able to do those kinds of gymnastics again.

    I will practice my remounts with the sail up, using the pressure against the sail to counteract the tendency of the boat to roll back over on me.

  7. #6
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    I used to do the same thing with a Finn, but both the 420 and the Finn (and 470 and 505 etc) have full-height side tanks that will support the entire boat, which is why you can do tricks like that and get away with it.
    You know you're making progress when there's sawdust in your coffee.

  8. #7
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    There's all sorts of different swings and roundabouts happening with capsize in different boats.

    That's why practice is necessary.

    Remount from the centreboard is not so hard with a goat because the board is not very far above the water. So the initial part of the athletics is unnecessary. Taller does mean more chance of getting into the boat as it comes up. There is plenty of time too, unlike a full side buoyancy boat with halyards in the mast allowing the mast to fill.

    The GIS self-rescue thread-379093112_59cc08fd17_o-jpg

    After several goat capsizes I can't remember water going up on top of the tanks or mid seat even if the boat is significantly heeled. Can others remember? Also hydrostatic buoyancy provides righting moment on one side as the air tank is depressed into the water as well as on the other side of the boat as the tank is lifted out of the water.

    The GIS self-rescue thread-379094088_cd249d96fc_o-jpg

    Hope this helps visualise what is happening.

    MIK
    Attached Images Attached Images

  9. #8
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    Mik, no thoughts on ballast?

  10. #9
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    Hi Paul,

    Ballast is a different question.

    The best sort of ballast is another person. The increase in stability is really significant.

    Probably the person with the biggest experience with ballast is David Graybeal, who didn't really know how to sail and spent the first year sailing around with some pretty big sandbags under the mid seat. I can't recall exactly, but maybe 100 pounds total (not in one bag!).

    They will reduce the likelihood of capsize somewhat and keep the boat a little more stable after capsize. They will also make the boat float deeper so there will be a bit more bailing after righting the boat.

    But certainly, if the boat is a bit frisky for one's sailing experience then it is a possibility.

    MIK

  11. #10
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    Sorry if it is an offtopic:

    My BETH "YuanFen" capsized twice by my friends who sailed with her. No one of them could right her to the normal position and no capsize again when swamped.

    The rig is really heavy - the mainmast and yard and boom are wooden full, ordinary pine.

    ...
    Aloha!
    Robert Hoffman
    http://robhosailor.blogspot.com/


  12. #11
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    That is quite strange.

    I have capsized BETH dozens and dozens of times and found no problem.

    I did have more difficulty the one time I capsized and by crazy bad luck I broke the mizzen mast - I was out in way too much wind. That time was a bit more difficult because BETH didn't have her nice pointing up toward the wind behaviour by pulling the mizzen on.

    One important trick is never to pull the mizzen really tight. The sheet should be a little bit slack. If it is tight BETH will point up directly into the wind and the wind will come from one side and heel her, then the other side and heel her in the opposite direction and just keep changing sides.

    If the Mizzen has about a foot of loose sheet BETH will sit with the wind slightly to one side so you can keep your weight one side.

    Michael.

  13. #12
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    Thank you Michael for the advice!

    I never capsized my BETH and this is my problem probably.
    I saw unsuccessful attempts of my friends and I need my own practice. I promised myself to practice it by this summer when was really hot and water was really warm, but I did not, because I felt insecure and ... at present is chilly too much and I have a cold and these are not the conditions to exercise in the water for me.
    Aloha!
    Robert Hoffman
    http://robhosailor.blogspot.com/


  14. #13
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    And I think you are probably still building up confidence after your forced temporary retirement from sailing last year.

    It takes a bit of time to come back.

    MIK

  15. #14
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    Quote Originally Posted by Boatmik View Post
    And I think you are probably still building up confidence after your forced temporary retirement from sailing last year.

    It takes a bit of time to come back.
    Exactly. I think the same thing.

    And photo of Reto Brehm (who not capsized) sailing with my "YuanFen" on Jamno Lake near Mielno in Poland in Fresh Breeze - first reef taken:





    Aloha!
    Robert Hoffman
    http://robhosailor.blogspot.com/


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