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Champipple
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
6855 Posts

Initially Posted - 11/02/2004 : 08:02:00

We got her out of the water on Saturday... The haul out went like clockwork, as the yard crew is very trained and experienced. The events leading up to it weren't so pretty.

Our lift time was 2 pm, the winds were out of the South at about 15 to 20, the lake was flat. So we threw up a 90 and sailed inside the inner breakwall. Nice reach down past the Rock hall of Fame, Browns Stadium, the downtown skyline and the local airport. It was beautiful. A quick gybe and we headed back to the dock to pull the mast. (something that the club mandates prior to haul out for boats on jackstands.)

Luckily, or so we thought, we had the benefit of the mast hoist, so the job should take about 2 minutes once everything is set up. The line for the hoist was 3 deep, so we pulled into the staging dock opposite the hoist to pull the lowers, unbend the main, and un rig the halyards. Our spot opened up on the wall by the hoist, so instead of losing the spot, we decided to finish the minor unrigging after moving the boat.

This is where it all broke lose... With half a rig (remember the lowers are off and so is the main) we had to pull a simple U-Turn and parrallel park. Difficult, but far from impossible. Others had pulled up fore and aft on the long dock to do the same things we were doing. That made it a tight fit and a hard turn to starboard to get off the dock and spin the boat. Dock lines off, guy on bow to fend if neccessary, and a quick push off the bow. Ooops. Did we forget to have someone fend the port transom? Crack - There goes the throttle arm on the motor...

Twenty mile an hour winds, unknown repair costs, and 4 jib sheets later we were able to pull ourselves over to the hoist. Still not too bad because we have 5 months to fix the motor.

We rigged the mast hoist (a set of quadruple blocks with one inch line on a huge crane) took up the tension and removed the uppers and the forestay. Just a simple lowering of the mast...Except the blocks twisted, which is normal, but our mast wasn't heavy enough to get out the kinks. Now we have a mast, suspended in the air, and no way to get it down.

With the swing of the boom, a probable OSHA violation and a fork lift we were able to solve the problem, but did we ever look like the idiots...

The boat is on the stands, The mast is ready for new wiring and there weren't any injuries, but it never does go as planned, does it!

D. Wolff
DPO C25 Hull 401
Currently Sailing "Champagne and Ripple" 1982 O'day 30

Chief Measurer 2002-2006
Vice-commodore 2007

Edited by - Champipple on 11/02/2004 08:21:59

MattL
Admiral

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USA
990 Posts

Response Posted - 11/02/2004 : 09:20:45

Thank god I'm not the only one that does stuff like that.

Edited by - on

ClamBeach
Master Marine Consultant

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3072 Posts

Response Posted - 11/02/2004 : 09:55:09

Heh.. I came close do doing some damage on Sunday myself. I was out single handing in 20-something... (I think it may have been gusting up near 30 as the rigging was starting to 'moan' in the stronger puffs.)

At any rate, it was blowing hard enough to pull the slack out of my jib downhaul, (normally pulled tight to the forestay) which incredibly managed to snag and wrap on the jib clew during a flogging tack.

I ended up with the jib bound to the forestay in a nice spinnaker-like bag about halfway up. WOTAM heeled over 30 degrees and took off downwind... shortly followed by a rather nasty uncontrolled 'bang' jibe.

After a few moments quietly and calmly pondering "now what?" (actually it wasn't quite like that) I sheeted the main in so it wouldn't do another unauthorized jibe and managed to get the downhaul and jib sorted out. With the boat back under control discretion overcame valor and I headed over to a quieter part of the bay for the rest of the afternoon. On the way back, (with perverse satisfaction), I noted a half-dozen other boats sorting out rather unorthodox sail configurations.

Nothing like a blustery day to point out the shortcomings of your rigging. Also makes a fellow realize just how good (and brave) those single-handed transpac and round-the-globe sailors are.

Edited by - on

Champipple
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
6855 Posts

Response Posted - 11/02/2004 : 11:00:14

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by MattL
 Thank god I'm not the only one that does stuff like that.
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">

I did feel much better when the yard crew told me that problem happens often to small boats on windy days.

Edited by - on

tinob
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
1883 Posts

Response Posted - 11/02/2004 : 13:20:23

Today the Gods looked kindly on his humble servant and allowed Calista to emerge from her watery berth with none of the calamity that others here had fared. Thank you, thank you all.

And so signing off let it be said that

Vals on the hard DAGNABIT

Edited by - on

Champipple
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
6855 Posts

Response Posted - 11/02/2004 : 15:09:14

Hey Val, I've wondered for years - whats a Tinob?

Edited by - on

Buzz Maring
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
1774 Posts

Response Posted - 11/02/2004 : 15:41:55

Hey Val, I've wondered for years - whats a Tinob? - Duane

I think it's ValenTino Bisagli ...

Edited by - on

Champipple
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
6855 Posts

Response Posted - 11/02/2004 : 15:53:26

One other note for this thread - after the first two debacles we were told $#!t like this always happens in threes. Looks like we escaped that one, we were actually hoping they dropped her, it would have made moving up to the next size a much easier sell to the wives.

Edited by - on

tinob
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
1883 Posts

Response Posted - 11/03/2004 : 10:32:24

Buzz,

You've got most of it right it's Valen/TINO B/isagni But it's still Val on the hard DAGNABIT

Edited by - on

lcharlot
Master Marine Consultant

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Antigua and Barbuda
1301 Posts

Response Posted - 11/06/2004 : 11:46:28

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by ClamBeach
 
I ended up with the jib bound to the forestay in a nice spinnaker-like bag about halfway up.
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">

My first year of sailboat ownership - a 1984 Mac 25 purchased used in 1987 - I managed to get the jib wrapped around the headstay several times. One of these incidents occured in a narrow part of the San Joaquin River, with the northwesterly wind blowing hard against the south bank of the river, which was a levee covered in rip-rap. In the couple of minutes it took to get up to the foredeck and get the sail and sheets untangled, we came oh so close to getting blown right up on the rocks. Taught me a valuable lesson about boat handling when a lee shore is just a hundred yards away (that lesson being that sometimes it's more sensible to stay in port when the conditions are rough). I had my wife and 11-year old kid with me that day and managaed to scare both of them so thoroughly that it was a LONG time before I could het either of them to come along for another boat ride. After I equipped that boat with a roller furler, I never had another headsail wrap-up, and on my next three sailboats, which all had furlers, I've never had a wrap-up. I guess I've gotten a little more skilled at sailing in general since those early days, plus, since the furler is designed to rotate and the sail is hank-less, if it gets wrapped around the headstay, I can easily pull it off again by just pulling the sheets.

Edited by - on

ClamBeach
Master Marine Consultant

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3072 Posts

Response Posted - 11/06/2004 : 15:17:15

Larry wrote...

"I guess I've gotten a little more skilled at sailing in general since those early days,"

I think you have too... as I've seen several boats struggling back to the marina with badly fouled roller furling sails. They are not immune to wrecks, and (from my observation) when they get fouled, there can be real problems getting things sorted out.

"if it gets wrapped around the headstay, I can easily pull it off again by just pulling the sheets."

As I recall, one of the nasty hang-ups I saw had the jib sheets flogged up around the wrapped sail and knotted around the forestay. They were really stuck. Couldn't go in/out up/down with the sail at all. It was on a Venture 23 (not mine ;>) and they ended up taking the mast down to sort out the mess. They managed this on an 25 kt day... with a little CDI furler on the Yankee, somehow they got things 'stuck' when about halfway furled and flogged the whole mess into place.

Edited by - on

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