I would suggest you rethink the mainsheet arrangement and fix it quickly. I was across the bay from you on the Chester River on Sunday and was having a ball. I was down to a reefed main and storm jib for a few hours. Even with that the mainsheet cleat got a good work out as the gusts were very strong with severe wind shifts. I still have my mainsheet cleat on the bridge deck and it is a large harken swivel block with a cleat. It never fails to release, uses an upward motion to release and is always handy. It is in an inconvenient location for company but I love it for single handing and would not change it. At an anchorage with lots of cabin traffic, I remove the mainsheet from the cleat and re-route it back to the traveler via the loop in the bowline at the end of the boom. Whatever you do GET IT FIXED. It is highly dangerous. I have seen some other arrangements that are attached to the boom and they function poorly as you described. It does sound like Wild Guppy lived up to it's name :-) Thanks Doug Kelch M15 #310 "Seas the Day" --- wcampion@aol.com wrote:
I did have that thought, although late. I was a bit paniced and all I could focus on was the mainsheet. Maybe the next time I will steer more into the wind to eliminate the crisis.
-----Original Message----- From: frederick@law-co.com To: montgomery_boats@mailman.xmission.com Sent: Mon, 30 Apr 2007 3:08 PM Subject: RE: M_Boats: Just how Stable??
If sea room allows, you can also regain control by steering into the wind to spill some wind off of the mainsail when the mainsheet is jammed.
-----Original Message----- From:
montgomery_boats-bounces+frederick=law-co.com@mailman.xmission.com
[mailto:montgomery_boats-bounces+frederick=law-co.com@mailman.xmission.com]
On Behalf Of wcampion@aol.com Sent: Monday, April 30, 2007 8:50 AM To: montgomery_boats@mailman.xmission.com Subject: M_Boats: Just how Stable??
All,
I was out sailing this past weekend and the wind was a bit gusty and being unpredictable. I was sailing in the Baltimore Harbor and the wind shifts a lot due to the buildings crowding the waters edge. I was on a port tack when a gust of wind hit the boat and healed us over. I was having problems releasing the main sheet. Every time I pulled up on the jam cleat, the cleat adjustment angle would move up one notch. The harder I pulled up, the higher the angle moved. The boat was healed over so much that the starboard gun wale was 6 inches under water and the cockpit was filling up. By the time we were able to release the main sheet we had 6+ inches of water in the cockpit. I was certain we were going swimming. With the exception of our shoes getting wet, everything else stayed dry.
I can not believe how stable and well balanced this boat is. I'm not sure at what angle we were sailing (nearly tipping over), but it is far greater then what I am comfortable with, and still the boat remained upright.
When we got back to the dock and began stowing our gear, I found the starboard locker full of water. In the end I'm glad this happened on the starboard side, since the port locker was cut out by a previous owner. Which means the bilge would have been full.
In the end, it's best to know the limits of the boat. Now I have a better idea of just how far I can heal over before I go swimming.
Fairwinds, Skip M-15 #201 '82 Wild Guppy
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