Vessel turned around

[Grottie Yachtie]

Hi, I own a 43' Tasman elite catamaran and on a solo trip from Sydney to cairns, Qld. It was new years day and I was between Bundaberg and the town of 1770, I was stuck in heavy seas, about 45kts, I had the main tucked away with just the Genoa out, I was streaming a warp of 200mts of 16mm rope with my dingy anchor shackled to it, on a bight. It was about 1730hrs when a larger than normal wave hit me and spun the boat around facing the way I had just come before I had a chance to do anything. The boat was on autopilot at the time and I was beside the wheel, but it happened that quick I couldn't do a thing. I was not hurt and the vessel was not damaged, I just started one of the motors, turned around and kept going. What I would like to know is how did it happen especially when I was dragging a warp and only under headsail? Has this happened to anyone else and what else could I have done for this not to have happened.
Would appreciate any feedback.

Grottie Yachtie

[CSY Man]

Auto pilot malfunction?

I had a P.O.S. Autopilot that spun my boat 90 degrees of course in heavy weather.

[Chris66]

My guess would be that you caught something very large with the dingy anchor. Not an imovable object, such as a rock, but something more flexible, like a whale, sunfish or perhaps a big stingray. Check the anchor for DNA evidence.

[atoll]

sounds like your vessel "tripped" ie dug a hull/bow in on one side and a wave at the same time pushed the sterns around,you were lucky not to have pitchpoled,similar scenario to a broach in a mono when in large waves and get turned on the face of a wave trough, then knocked down by the breaking crest on the side of the vessel.

having less weight forward would help in bad weather

smoking some of chris66's funny cigarettes might also help!

[ausaviator]

My guess would be that you caught something very large with the dingy anchor.

Hmmmm... I don't think so.

Mayyyybe if the anchor rope was dragging from just the one hull and maybe over a distance of many metres, but otherwise, no.

More likely wave action and perhaps the auto-pilot didn't handle things that well to correct the situation.

[JPA Cate]

Did the autopilot shut itself off from too much current draw? That would leave the rudders free to turn. It is our autopilot's favorite way of aggro-ing me!

Good luck figuring it out, Grottie.

Ann

[RaymondR]

Sounds like you dug in a hull. It's only about 50 miles from Bundaberg to 1770, and the weather predictions in the bay are good, and Bundaberg is a nice safe secure harbour with numerous reasonably good pubs, what were you doing out there in a multihull in those conditions anyway.


There is a lot of shallow water in and around Harvey Bay and I would not put any sort of anchor on a drogue in there, that's deep, open sea stuff, I'd suggest a short length of anchor chain spliced into your drogue or get yourself a steel mono with big cleats.

[Neptune's Gear]

Originally Posted by Ann T. Cate

Did the autopilot shut itself off from too much current draw? That would leave the rudders free to turn. It is our autopilot's favorite way of aggro-ing me!

Good luck figuring it out, Grottie.

Ann

Ann, I used to have an AP that did that. Crap design, a good pilot should never be able to do that, it happens at the worst possible moment!
I fixed mine with a mosfet based H bridge - so the ap pump is driven by the H bridge, just taking direction instructions from the AP computer, but drawing the current direct from the batts.

[JPA Cate]

Matt:

It's not hydraulic; it's a Whitlock arm sort of deal. It is just that we have a choice, we can let the circuit breaker pop, or set the max amps that we let it draw. If it has a hissy; it shrieks and lets go the wheel! Quite annoying, but we've learned to cope. However, it is necessary to move quickly when you're headed for the rocks out of control at 15 kn....as you might imagine.

Aggro!

Ann

[Grottie Yachtie]

Hi, I think the only logical explanation is that it was the autopilot, although after I got going again, I put the autopilot back on again without any further problems. I don't suppose that I'll never know for sure. I don't think that I snagged anything with the anchor as I was out from shore a ways and in deep water. What was I doing out in such heavy weather? I called Bundaberg coast guard just before reaching there for a weather report and I was told it was going to be 15-20 SE winds, so I carried on. It wasn't until about an hour later that it got really rough and I wasn't going to turn around and slog back into it.
The seas were on my starboard quarter. When I got to 1770, I pulled in for the night, for a well deserved rest.

[Factor]

Originally Posted by RaymondR

Sounds like you dug in a hull. It's only about 50 miles from Bundaberg to 1770, and the weather predictions in the bay are good, and Bundaberg is a nice safe secure harbour with numerous reasonably good pubs, what were you doing out there in a multihull in those conditions anyway..

Seriously - that is a new low in this place, so now multis aren't even good in partially protected waters in 40 knots, seriously? And people wonder why people get upset. FFS

And on the issue of "dug in a hull" I have no idea what you mean

or get yourself a steel mono with big cleats.

Why on earth would he want to do that. Apart from anything else, he couldn't pull into 1770 in one.

[arsenelupiga]

Originally Posted by Factor

Seriously - that is a new low in this place, so now multis aren't even good in partially protected waters in 40 knots, seriously? And people wonder why people get upset. FFS

And on the issue of "dug in a hull" I have no idea what you mean

Why on earth would he want to do that. Apart from anything else, he couldn't pull into 1770 in one.

in 2 months 107 lagoons 42 were sold without any serious test, all based on 1/2 minute video.

Monos lie out there and noone wants them. Well, cant blame these guys trying to create market for them to sell monos else everyone will get cat in couple of years.

[atoll]

Originally Posted by Factor

Seriously - that is a new low in this place, so now multis aren't even good in partially protected waters in 40 knots, seriously? And people wonder why people get upset. FFS

And on the issue of "dug in a hull" I have no idea what you mean

Why on earth would he want to do that. Apart from anything else, he couldn't pull into 1770 in one.

re digging in the bow,something like this in a bigger cat with less tendancy to flip,with wave action on the quarter and sterns turning the vessel.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rb6yzbhnOJw

[Factor]

Originally Posted by atoll

re digging in the bow,something like this in a bigger cat with less tendancy to flip,with wave action on the quarter and sterns turning the vessel.

I understand what a pitchpole is, I understand what digging a bow in (done em both) is, in 30 years I have never "dug in a hull", thats a term I have no knowledge of.

[boatman61]

My reckoning on this is you peaked on the predominant wave formation and while your rudder had minimum grip you were struck by the bigger wave at an angle which pitched the boat to one side creating greater resistance (dig in to us Brits ) on the opposite ama to the offending wave and greatly assisting the wave force to spin you.. nothing whatsoever to do with the TP.. its happened to me a time or three..
It just needs a certain sequence to happen..
I do not know how many of you actually look at/study what the sea does but.. there are 'Rogue?' wave's that seem to rise vertically out of nowhere.. 'no pattern or regularity and unpredictable'.. in amongst the regular set and will fall over to one side.. get one of these at just the right moment and you will spin on mono's.. it can also affect Cats.. never been on a tri in open waters.. however I do not see them being immune to the effect