Preventin turtleing

Posted By: Jay Levy - Indianapolis, IN 5.2 #35
Date: 8/25/06 5:12p.m.

Report: outside forum guidelines

In Response To: 5.2 Turtleing (Blaine)

Blaine, There are a couple of things you can do. The most important thing you can do is to keep any and all weight off of the spars! The Harpoon sits relatively high in the water when on its side and, since its so beamy, the mast is also very high out of the water at the base. You should never hang on the boom or mast. If possible, support the end of the mast with a PFD or other flotation device. Some Harpoon Sails even have a flotation pillow sewn into the head. If yours doesn't, you can get any sailmaker to add one. You should also try to turn the boat, even while it's on its side, into the wind. After capsizing, the hull provides a huge surface for the wind to blow on! More than likely, this is what is causing your turtleing. The owners manual has a pretty good description of the easiest way to right the boat from a turtled position. You should have a rescue line on each side of the boat (I keep long lines - old halyards - tied under each seat to the thwart). If the boat turtles, point it into the wind, take one of these lines over the "TOP" of the centerboard and lean back on the other side - 270 deg. altogether. It takes quite a while for the boat to start to break the suction and come back around, but it should eventually. You will need a couple of people though, unless you're a big guy.