Storm Gear

[daddle]

Originally Posted by maxingout

These attachment points will not fail in a storm.

They don't look so sturdy to me unless there is a great thickness of glass in the area - and why would there be on a cat since there is no headstay there? The bolts may just rip thru the glass sideways. Maybe fairlead the line thru to a genoa track, or something (on a mono the mast may be the stoutest thing nearby.)

[sneuman]

Originally Posted by rebel heart

Taking big waves on the stern is (in my experience) unmanageable. Unless you're a racing crew with a dozen qualified helmsmen that can take 30 minute shifts, it's just not practical. Maybe in a squall a small crew can pull it off, but in any storm lasting more than half a day you're going to have bleary eyed zombies who will eventually make mistakes.

We bought a boat with a (modified) full keel in part because of its ability to track and heave to. Buying a lighter displacement fin keel boat and then being boxed into limited storm management options was your (or whoever's) decision in the first place.

Read up in Heavy Weather Sailing. Hull designs (and certainly storms) haven't changed much since Coles did his rather bullet proof research. He talks about running off and reaches the same conclusion that anyone has who's tried it on a short handed boat in a long storm: you will tire, you will make mistakes, and you will eventually broach.

In fact, I have been in this very experience - a typhoon with F9-F10 for 2.5 days, with only two of us aboard. It's incredibly exhausting, not to mention that at night it's nearly impossible to do anything proactive as a helmsman other than to try to hold a predetermined course and hope for the best.

If I had it to do over, I would have certainly carried a sea anchor and would probably would have used it to heave to.

[SaltyMonkey]

As another POV, there is also a gravity opinion that full centerboard cruising boats have an advantage over fixed keel boats in that they can pull up their centerboards and avoid tripping when hit with a wave. They simply slip, naturally point with the wave, surf.

[zeehag]

our cruising of the gulf of mexico included many storms in night and in daylight hours , some extreme, as noaa said, asnd others wer emerely severe. severe included 71 kt breezes and seas of about 8 ft-10 ft in our area-they were short term storms-- but they had big impact. we were caughtin one in darkness, enjoying a sweet fast sail at constant 10 kts. as we were short handing we had to bring her in to a manageable level and slow her down--we spent many days doing htis, as we were sailing in summer and spring and fall in gulf off florida. tampa is worst for storms..
in the years and miles i have sailed in pacific, i have never been pooped.. in the gulf at 0300 somewhere off florida--8 or so foot sea broke over stbd quarter-- followed by a flying fish in my face... ok. is a very wet and weird experience. my formosa would not have received the sea over her side--she would have been slapped on her flank. i would have gotten wet, but not with enough water to sweep a deck, as i received over the 4 ft freeboard. i was glad the weather was reasonably warm there at the time-was a good laugh. never once did we consider slowing her down any more than we had already. we were safer as we were.

if by storm gear ye mean what to wear on watch as you are being pelted by rain so hard your face hurts and burns, and nothing can be seen and nothing holds out the water.. i only have one thing to say-- DONT WEAR SWEATS. they absorb too much water.. the rubber suits all leak. all. leak . lots. we are talking flowing rivers out the sleeves..LOL.. ,mebbe a survival suit with windshield washers. wipers at minimum. nekkid is more appropriate, as EVERYTHING will be soaked in less than 5 minuets.

[Kay Koudele]

So far it appears no one has mentioned protection against a lightning strike. When we were cruising, we had a lightning diffuser attached to the top of the mast, a wire from the chain plate to the keel bolts, and a cable we threw overboard that was attached to the shrouds. Did it do the job? Who knows? We weren't hit by any strikes.
www.kaykoudele.blogspot.com

[zeehag]

as far as lightning strikes is concerned, sailing for 3 days with electrical storms one to the next to into the next, our lightning protection was learned from a NASA engineer across the canal from a friend-- his was the only boat in the area protected from lightning strikes and his was the only one hit 2 times in 4 yrs. yes there are other sailing boats in the area..taller ones, too!
our lightning priotection consisted of my crocs,which, as we all know, attract nothing and no one, my sailing gloves, rubber coat with hood, and a guard kat. there has never in written history been recorded a lightning strike on a kat--therefore my guard kat became my potential anti zap kat hat. he is a good kat.
as lightning is random and doesnt care who it fouls and mayhems, we were as safe as anyone else on the gulf at that time. oops--there wasnt anyone else out there..LOL... oh well--we didnt get hit--and there is no reason as to why. no reason as to why not, also.... go figger.

[Capt Phil]

Reading this thread brought back memories of a delivery of a CT 41 from San Diego to San Francisco in February 1983. We got nailed off Pt Conception by the late season hurricane that marched up the Baja coast and took out the rock groin in front of the SoCal Edison plant in El Segundo and wiped out my favorite watering hole, the Blue Moon Saloon' at the end of the Redondo Beach pier when it fell into Santa Monica Bay. We were getting pounded so hard that it was impossible to steer in such steep seas so with a storm sail set, and trailing every piece of line I could lay my hands on as warps, I tied down the wheel and went below and just let her lie ahull. After about 16 hours (felt like 16 days), I ventured up on deck to find pretty much everything carried away, dinghy, oars, weathercloth, extra fuel cans, both loran and VHF antennas, nothing left but the storm sail. When I untied the wheel it just spun. The boat had been thrown so violently in the sea that with the wheel and rudder tied down, the steering cable (galvanized wire) had parted. Managed to jury rig a new cable using plastic cover clothesline through the sheeves and quadrant to get some steering, although a little sloppy. We limped into Monterey about 2 days later. Lessons learned were:
you never have enough spares
plan for the worst and you will still be unprepared
don't tie down the wheel under unsteerable conditions
think about comms' after the storm (we had a screw-in VHF antenna, $5)
ensure below deck is secure with nothing to fly around (a good test is to imagine you took your boat, laid it on her side and shook it... if nothing comes loose, you're in good shape)
We all survived, humbled but game to keep sailing. It isn't all gumdrops out there but I wouldn't trade it for the world... cheers, Capt Phil

[capt.bobfm]

Get a copy of the "Drogue device data base" and read it. It will answer a lot of your questions. You might also try heaving to and lying a-hull in fairly light conditions so that you can master the skills necessary and find out how your boat will react. Then you can try it all in 35 kts and get a feel for weather. Practice,practice,practice! Learn your boat and your own limits. Like dirty harry said,"A man's got to know his limitations".

[markpierce]

Originally Posted by Capt Phil

... The boat had been thrown so violently in the sea that with the wheel and rudder tied down, the steering cable (galvanized wire) had parted. Managed to jury rig a new cable using plastic cover clothesline through the sheeves and quadrant to get some steering, although a little sloppy.

, Capt'n Phil