|
You would be surprized what can be used for a drogue....
I was following your thread and liked your idea of a deployable drogue.... depending on the amount of time you are over on your side it could be a help in keeping the bow into the wind....
one of my former loves was hobie sailing -- and as anyone who fly's hulls can tell you -- its not a matter of if you are going in the drink or not.... its when.... this lifestyle led me to many adventures of righting manuevers in various conditions... and one of the key factors in any righting is keeping the bow into the wind. ((I've even stayed completely dry when putting her in the drink -- only having to later jump into the sea to turn the hulls to windward because I couldn't get her righted with the windage on her bottom.)) Another trick that hobie salers use is that, if the jib is not cupping too much water... leave her sheet cinched off and only let loose the main sheet- when you start righting the boat, it gets to a point where the Jib begins to get backwinded and helps your lift -- but its imperitive that the winds coming over the bow.
Getting back to the drogue concept -- it is very tiresome for someone in the water, who has no purchase on anything solid to push the bow into the wind... and that effort, is only surpased in agony, by you having to go back to the centerboard to start the righting process... only to find all that precious positioning soon lost. If you do have any/extra crew, I always send them forward to keep the bow to the wind. They are basically doing the work of a drogue. Now, I have never utlized a drogue in the manner you discribed - however having used them for several other purposes - One of the best ones I've found in a small boat is a 5 gallon spackle bucket! you would be surprised how much drag that effect has on a vessel. If you want to check it out, tie one on and throw it over your stern!! I've heard of guys using sail bags and those canvas totes that people lug their gear around in... but I've never had a problem with my bucket deploying and filling up.
Just some commentary to keep the drogue idea alive... they have thier advantages MPK
| 
Boston Whaler Harpoon Forum
Question On Spinnaker -- Durango Dave -- 11/12/06 8:01p.m.
Spinnaker -- WAYNE, '79 5.2, OCALA, FL -- 11/13/06 5:08p.m.
-- Gene Bragalone - #485/5.2 -- 11/14/06 9:15a.m.
-- Jenny, Harpoon 5.2 -- 11/15/06 5:54a.m.
-- Jay Levy - Indianapolis, IN 5.2 #35 -- 11/23/06 7:47a.m.
drogue or sea anchor for a small boat... -- Martin P '78 5.2 nr. 505 -- 11/28/06 10:20a.m.
