Multihull storm tactics?

[44'cruisingcat]

Originally Posted by cat man do

I have actually seen on some multis the underwing or underside of beams painted signal orange.

Not such a stupid idea

Dave

Signal orange - non skid. I wont ever need it, but that's what I will be doing.

The ammas are not yet painted, but will also be "VIVID" yellow. The non skid areas on deck will also be bright yellow,

[Lodesman]

KN,

Are you doing the topsides yellow too? It's always amazed me that people pick white and blue (and sometimes, black) as colours for their boats. They sure look nice, but are bloody hard to be seen. I'm thinking of going red for the hull and yellow topside; might make me look like the coast guard, but my motto is "see and be seen".

Kevin

[sneuman]

personally I prefer the look of darker colors, but here in the tropics white is preferable, as it is less heat absorbing.

I know of a beautiful black-hulled mono here in Thailand that looks fabulous but it hotter than blazes down below. Owner admits now that he made a mistake on the color choice.

[cat man do]

Also with dark colours they suck up enugh heat to compramise the laminate.

Epoxy's can start to soften around 50 degrees c and can start showing print through of glass and joins in core or plank lines.

I have even seen on a black stripe signs of delamination in a production polyester boat, but I suspect it may have been bodgy work.

Dave

[Talbot]

while dark is bad, so is brilliant white on the superstruture. it may be the best heat reflector, but it is very bad for the eyes, due to those reflections.

[Tropic Cat]

We have a Yellow 42 footer in our marina. Around the docks it's not so affectionately called "The Banana Boat".

Sometimes white is best.

Rick in Florida

[BambooSailor]

Sorry to jump in, but what does the color of some boat in some marina have to do with multilhull storm tactics?

[44'cruisingcat]

Originally Posted by BambooSailor

Sorry to jump in, but what does the color of some boat in some marina have to do with multilhull storm tactics?

Yeah I guess it isn't really a "tactic" as such, but it stemmed from the idea of painting the boat in a highly visible colour to aid potential rescuers.

[Lodesman]

I'll take some of the heat on this one, too. My point was that you often hear of someone painting the bottom side of their multi bright orange to aid visibility, but they rarely consider the top side. If multis flip so rarely, and I believe that flips are rare, then chances are greater that you'll be upright when you need to be spotted for rescue. Give me the banana boat anyday - that's a sailor that's looking beyond esthetics.

Kevin

[Tropic Cat]

thread drift .. it happens

[fhrussell]

It's Kai Nui's fault.....

[schoonerdog]

Just quickly back to storm tactics and parachute anchor. I read Richard Woods account several times, and I'm not bashing Richard (I had lunch with him a couple months before this happened), he's a great sailor, but it helps to sit back and see if there was anything that could have been improved upon.

In his case it would have been better if he had:
*A properly sized chute (12' minimum for storm conditions is recommended as less than that will tend to collapse in broaching seas, his was 10 ft, too small for storms and too small for his boat),

*used a modern sea anchor instead of a cargo style parachute (modern sea anchors such as paratech have panels which are designed to give way to allow the sea anchor itself to continue to work but releave the pressure in the most severe storms, all the older cargo style chutes are destroyed in any serious storm as his was),

*sufficient chafe protection.

I'm by no means an expert, but this is what the manufacturers recommend as they know that deploying a sea anchor in a storm is something that has to be done right. I would like to know though from those who've deployed sea anchors how you properly gauge adequate rode length? Do you just deploy 400 ft knowing that it would be more than enough and go below decks for hot coco?

[unbusted67]

Seems like this is a bit of a dead horse thread but has anyone read "Fastnet Force-Ten" by John Rousmaniere or the story of the 1998 Sydney to Hobart Race, "Fatal Storm" by Rob Mundle? These are both great heavy weather tales and more importantly they take an in depth look at heavy weather tactics. What was unique about these two survival situations was that the culmination of everyone's harrowing experience resulted in a pool of data. This data gave us how many ships entered the races, how many were knocked down, capsized, dismasted, and of those vessels which one's used which storm tactics: same storm, relatively same boat size, different outcomes.
To make a long story short all of the data lead to the conclusion that there is no real "right way" to ride out a storm. Generally speaking it is more effective to use active tactics (deploying a drogue, going to bare poles, or reducing canvas and trying to dodge breakers) than to use passive tactics (lying a hull, heaving to, or using a sea anchor). In the end the experience level of the crew was the determining factor which lead to either a boat's survival or demise.
I am curious about people's thoughts on this topic.

[Absolute Wind]

I thought I was 100% convinced on a multi-hull until I read Lin and Larry Padey's book called Storm Tactics. I know I will be out there sailing in a storm eventually and worry that a big wave crashing on the stern of the boat will break the big door wall windows on a boat like the Lagoon 420 or Fountaine Pajot 60. First...i recommend reading Storm Tactics and concur with author that the para-anchor is critical on any boat of any type size or shape. Second I want to know of people that have heaved-to in cats and what the angle to the wind. 50 degrees seems to be magic number for monohulls using a trisail. Are cat people using a trisail? The reason I am rethinking cat versus monohull is the trade off of the safety you get when heaved to in a monohull with a deep keel. The deep keel of the monohull breaks the wave front pattern far better then the shallow hulls of a cat. Karman effect. In fact the Pardey's imply the cat's Karman effect is so small it is better to lay a cat at 0 degrees to the window and depend on a 28ft diameter para-anchor. What worries me is that was for what I consider to be a small cat. If I get a bigger one like the Lagoon 420 or even a 60ft Fountaine Pajot I have no idea how big of a para-anchor should be used. Pardey's book outlines the futility of running before a major storm and that a-hull isn't a good choice either.
On to the big questions:
1. In a force 10-12 blow, is it possible to get a cat to heave-to and stop sailing?
2. How big of a para-anchor do you need on a big cat?
3. Is that big wide glass door on the back of a cat safe in a storm if the boat is properly hoved?

Signed
Future monohull or cat-owner. Still not sure.