What I do

Posted By: Jenny, Harpoon 5.2
Date: 6/16/09 4:58p.m.

Report: outside forum guidelines

In Response To: righting 5.2 whaler (allen)

is tie a line to the foot of the mast which is polypropylene so it will float. Then either the person who is under the boat pushes it out or it will stream out as the boat drifts. My new one is longer than the old one--I want it long enough so I can wrap it around my rear when I'm on the gunwale, because I don't have a lot of arm strength at that point. I still would really, really not want to try it by myself, but last time we got the boat up with only two people and a powerboat holding her nose into the wind. It's good to attach stuff to the boat if it doesn't float--even if it does, it saves a certain amount of chasing around after stuff. Small stuff tends to come out from under the seats. YMMV depending on how you sail, but I'm at three capsizes in my boat and one in a friend's Harpoon after six and a half years. Boat turtled in all four cases. One time I jibed, sheeting the main in, and then came up too far and the sheet had cleated itself, one time I basically dropped the tiller on a jibe, one time a friend dropped the tiller extension on a tack and had it wedge in the corner of the cockpit, and one time a friend sailing my boat got hit with a big puff and couldn't get the mainsheet uncleated in time. All in 15-20 knots. It's not that easy to do, but when it happens, it happens really fast. At least one person under the boat in all four cases, mostly me. Which is handy because the board generally falls down if it wasn't up to start with (I just have the original double clam cleat).