how do cats handle big waves?

I should have mentioned using a parasail/spinnaker for the jury rig. You could use it cruising, use it upside down if you lost the mast and use it to help a righting instead of the waterbag method. Having an engine that would be above the inverted waterline that you could rotate might work bot the drive would be a bit more complicated, lets hear it for outboards.

 

When a mono is turtle, the CG used a harpoon to shoot into the FRP hull forward. When towed, forces caused the hull to upright and follow nicely until stopped. Culd another boat reright a cat or (get creative) cud an anchor? Where wud one attach? Just alst year, an acquaintance salvaged a 40' cat that was completely submerged and hanging from an A-4 Norfloat, amongst other things. He had a heck of a time dragging it to a beach to let the tide go out from under to refloat.

 

(Hoegaan dit Fanie?

Jyweet seker wêl wat 'n "fanny" is?

'n Vriend van my, in Brisbane moes sy naam verander na Farney, om the uitspraak reg te kry, en die lag te vermy!)

Yes, its still floating. I want to respond to some concerns raised here, about blue sea cats strength and limitation based on my experience, and will do so in due course.

 

Another boat can recover a multihull, attach bridle to bows, lead line over opposite end and start pulling. Or vice versa, it is in Jim Brown's book and a few others. Trying to tow over from the side takes a lot more power and causes more damage according to those who have tried. A 40' cat is a heck of a catch, nice to let the tide do the work.

 

By coincidence the day I started work as a designer for Derek Kelsall, over 30 years ago, was also the day that he did a full size capsize/recovery test on Gunter Ulrich's selfrighting 35ft catamaran. The boat self-righted by flooding the front half of the boat. It rotated about 270deg, so not a full righting, but enough to allow pumps to bail the boat out.

So the system worked, but the boat was quite a compromise to achieve this righting ability. So little wonder that few have followed that route, while no large selfrighting catamaran has ever capsized in anger. I saw Gunter's boat a few years ago safely cruising the Caribbean, still upright.

You can however see some Youtube videos of the Firebird Orion capsizing and righting by means of airbags. And similar videos of the Gougeon 32.

As Cavalier says, it requires some lateral thinking, but in fact it is much easier to right a catamaran end over end rather than sideways. A fishing boat can do it easily using a long bridle tied to the AFT beam. Then when the boat is pulled forward the bows go down and the boat will cartwheel.

Some boats need pulling backwards with the warp on the front beam, it depends on the individual design.

I believe the largest boat righted that way was a 60ft day charter cat in Hawaii.

There are several practical problems with upside down boats that need thinking about before going the self-righting route. Like battery acid dripping out; water, fuel and holding(!?) tanks emptying through breathers. Never mind damage to engines or the washing machine effect emptying the boat of anything useful.

Probably better to stay upright in the first place.

Richard Woods of Woods Designs

www.sailingcatamarans.com

 

Those are all good things to think about before you have a problem, afterwards it can be a bit late! Nobody will argue about staying upright in the first place!! Jim Brown did some tests righting a model by pulling a line led through the centerboard trunk as well, and everybody agrees that different designs may need different approaches to righting. If the designers don't offer information on how to right their designs it is left to the owners to work out. Models can work, are there any simulation programs available?

 

Capsize bugaboo

Cav

You should fly on over to my place and read my old multi mags. In it there are many retrieval stories. Sometimes the multis did not want to come up as Brown recommends. Indeed that is what happened to an 11 metre Pescott in Thailand so they towed it to a crane.

The best book on the subject is "The capsize bugaboo". I have only one copy. Try and get one secondhand if you can.

My take on it is to not worry about rerighting but to put in some inverted flotation and upsidedown survival spots.

cheers

Phil

 

I have that book Phil, it is a good read. I should apologize for proceeding laterally to the wave topic but they can be cause and effect. To me the research seems worthwhile. It is an expensive thing to write off any boat when you can put some effort into salvaging your craft. I also hate the thought of waiting to be found, hence the capsized sailing comment, going 1-3 knots towards the crane beats getting taken off with just the ships papers. It really isn't rocket science, any boat can be made safer with flotation and pumps,compartments etc... without disrupting the living space to a great extent. Now if I was capsized with a all female crew I might not be in such a hurry...

 

I should point out that we dropped our mast a few years ago when the previous owner's incorrectly installed headstay fitting let go. I got so bored waiting for a tow that I put the sailing canoe on deck and started to rig it for something to do. I also have made sure to have spare sparkplugs onboard......

 

Do masts usually break when a cat capsizes?

 

Bloody boat designers. Leave them for a minute they design something totally off topic and which is not required in the first place

The safest place is under the waves. I had a talk with some friends who dives and they were in a storm under water, hardly noticed. On top it was hectic.

So why not just adapt the submarine stance. Flood the hulls, release a floating buy with an air pipe and the cabin becomes the safe place. The cat then hangs off the air buy while an air pump pumps, wel, air down.

If you want to surface you start the water pump while it's exhaust escapes into the water and air is pumped back into the hulls. Sure it's going to work better than the 270 deg.

Why not just increase the strength of the masts and add enough flotation on the mast so the cat will only lie on it's side, the mast serve as a sidestand. There is a good chance it will right during the storm. If it doesn't and conditions improve you can slack the stays on the upper side and winch the lower side stays in. It will pinch the mast toward the hulls, and at some stage the cat will right itself. You can winch the mast back up and be underway.

Now just one comment regarding this james bondy setup - the reason I like cats is because I don't want to walk on the walls of my boat, and here one would have to do it untill she is righted again. So a bit of a letdown.

As jy moet weet, so skyt skyt die bult uit Blerrie Afrikaners is ook orals, en meer daar as hier ne'. Ten minste is dit lekker om na ander lande toe te gaan en hulle praat Afrikaans met jou terug. Voorheen moes ons die woordeboekie saamneem en vreemde tale praat.

Was so rukkie terug in Moz, as ons mense daar raakloop dan vra ek hulle in Afrikaans of hulle Engels of Portugees praat Dan praat ons maar weer Afrikaans

Terloops, net my goeie vriende noem my Fanny. En niemand los hulle vrouens of girl friends sonder toesig by my nie. Se vir jou pel hy moet daai kein blou pilletjies kry. As niemand sy vrou of girlfriend daar los nie dan sal hy ten minste nie van sy bed afrol nie Ek se altyd vir die vrouens ne' You can call me anything, but call me... Die ouens kry gou maniere en leer die regte uitspraak. Ons kan mos nie help as hulle ongeletterd is nie.

Mark, gutsy move ! Sounds easy but it's not. A lot can go wrong there. Tell you man well done.

The problem still remains the weight of these boats, and if only partly filled with water even the worse. Self righting is not going to be easy no matter which way you look. Like Richard said better to stay upright in the first place, so get a good drogue and or sea anchor and deploy it in time the right way. Make sure the boat has positive flotation even when filled up.




(DENKER ? Jy meen seker drenker )

 

I was browsing craigslist as I regularly do and ran across this baby,WHOOAA! How do you think this Momma would handle big waves. I dare someone to take this thing past the sea bouy.

http://tampa.craigslist.org/hdo/boa/1857399266.html

 

And those Wharram b*stards (his design office) told me I couldn't put a low profile deckhouse on one of their boats. Somebody has to send this picture to them! ha ha ha

Truly frightening...